Comfortable Victory For East Fife

Ladbrokes League 1

Saturday 23^rdSeptember 2017

Bayview Stadium

East Fife 3 (Duggan 4’, Docherty 21’(P), 62’(P))

Forfar Athletic 0

East Fife XI: M Hurst, Dunsmore, Page, Watson, Linton (Mutch 76’), Docherty (Kane 72’), Slattery, G Hurst (Wilson 63’), Millar, Flanagan, Duggan

Subs: Goodfellow, Reilly

Forfar Athletic XI: McCallum, Bain, Kennedy, Whyte, Mensing (Travis 32’), Millar, Cregg (Lister 45’), Malone, Scott, Cox, Peters (Quigley 66’)

Subs: See, Easton, Aitken, King

Booked: Kennedy, Millar, Malone

Dismissed: Kennedy

Referee:  David Lowe

Attendance: 519

East Fife welcomed Forfar Athletic to Bayview yesterday with the home side running out comfortable 3-0 winners. Manager Darren Young made one change to the side that overcame Airdrieonians last time out with Pat Slattery replacing Kyle Wilkie who missed out through illness.

Newly-promoted Forfar have found life difficult following their promotion last season with the side sitting bottom of League 1 with only 3 points, picked up in an opening day defeat of Airdrieonians, and lost Manager Gary Bollan earlier in the week after a run of six straight defeats.

The game was only 4 minutes old when Chris Duggan latched onto a long ball from Aaron Dunsmore to slot past Loon’s ‘keeper Marc McCallum for his third goal of the season. Forfar then had two great opportunities to draw level and were unlucky not to score when first David Cox rattled the crossbar from 12-yards before Josh Peters saw his drive saved by Mark Hurst and his follow-up blocked by Mark Docherty on 11 minutes. Docherty almost extended the home side’s lead at the other end with a volley from 30-yards that McCallum was forced to tip over the bar.

East Fife did double their lead from the penalty spot with 20 minutes on the clock when a quick break saw Dunsmore bundled over inside the area by Darren Whyte. Docherty stepped up and sent McCallum the wrong way for his second in as many games. In the build up to the penalty being awarded, Mark Hurst pulled off a terrific save to deny Eddie Malone who had been afforded a free header at the back post.

The rest of the opening 45 minutes was all East Fife with Nathan Flanagan in particular causing all sorts of problems on the right-hand side. Good play by the winger saw the ball eventually fall for Docherty at the back post forcing McCallum into a save from a tight angle. Kieran Millar was next to go close for the home side only to see his drive from 20-yards come back off the post with McCallum beaten. Duggan got in behind the Forfar defence again just before the half hour mark but was unable to get the ball out of his feet allowing McCallum to collect.

Michael Kennedy then picked up the first booking of the game for a pull of Flanagan. East Fife had a couple of opportunities to add to their lead before the break when first Greg Hurst hit the side-netting from close range before a long-throw by Scott Linton saw Duggan head narrowly over.

A difficult task got even harder for the visitor shortly after the re-start when Kennedy picked up his second yellow for a foul on Flanagan. In a rare venture into the East Fife half, Jim Lister sent a header wide of the target for the visitors on 56 minutes. East Fife added a deserved third goal on 61 minutes from the penalty sport after a hand-ball by Cox; Docherty giving McCallum no change a he converted his second of the game.

A terrific run by Flanagan with 20 minutes to go saw his leave at least 3 Forfar players in his wake but was unable to find the target when he got his shot away. Substitute Ross Mutch was unlucky not to get his name on the score sheet with 5 minutes to go when he got on the end of a cross from Craig Watson but McCallum – easily the visitors man of the match – managed to turn his strike behind for a corner. McCallum was on hand again a couple of minutes later, this time denying Flanagan from close range.

A well-deserved victory for the home side with impressive performances across the park.

East Fife Welcome Loons to Bayview

Forfar Athletic are the visitors to Bayview Stadium tomorrow as East Fife look to build on last week’s win against Airdrieonians.

The Fifers were buoyed last week by the return of talisman Jonathan Page who made his first start in six months following an injury picked up during a 1-0 win over Livingston back in March and Manager Darren Young should have the same squad to pick from this weekend with only Captain Kevin Smith missing as he continues his recovery.

The visitors have not had the best start to their league campaign following promotion via the play-offs last season with their only points coming from a 2-1 win against Airdrieonians on the opening day of the season. However, they will be looking to bounce back from last weekend’s painful 5-0 defeat at the hands of local rivals Arbroath – a result that spelled the end for Manager Gary Bollan.

The last league meeting between the sides was back in March 2014 when goals from Liam Buchanan and Nathan Austin fired East Fife to a 2-1 win at Station Park, current Fifer Chris Duggan netting for the home side. The game will be remembered, however, for an impressive solo run from Kevin Smith when he picked up the ball on the edge of his own box and left three Loon’s defenders in his wake on route to setting up Austin for the winner.

The Fifers triumphed by the same scoring in the last meeting at Bayview in January 2014 when Marc McKenzie (with more than a little deflection off Forfar defender Darren Dodds) and Stephen O’Neill both scored on their debut.

Supporters of both clubs are reminded that they are welcome to enjoy refreshments in the stadium bars before and after the game.

The Bayview | Black & Gold & Blue - George Aitken

Jim Corstorphine looks back at the career of East Fife’s most capped player in an article which featured in issue no. 5 of The Bayview.

Born in the Fife mining village of Lochgelly in May 1925, George Aitken pulled on the dark blue of Scotland an impressive five times (not counting “unofficial” appearances!) during his time at Bayview, making him East Fife’s most capped player. Signed from Lochgelly St. Andrew’s in 1944, left-half George made no fewer than 141 competitive appearances for the club, scoring five goals in the process. George was also a member of the League Cup winning sides in both 1947 and 1949, and appeared in the Scottish Cup Final defeat to Rangers in 1950. He also picked up a ‘B’ Division winners’ medal in season 1947/48.

It was during East Fife’s first season back in the top flight, 1948/49, that George came to the attention of the international selection committee, which resulted in the player’s inclusion in the Scotland team to face England at Wembley on 9^th April 1949. The left-half did his country proud on his debut, and helped the Scots defeat the ‘Auld Enemy’ by three-goals-to-one on their own turf in front of 98,188 spectators. On the mark for Scotland that afternoon were Third Lanark’s Jimmy Mason, Derby County’s Billy Steel and Hibs’ Lawrie Reilly, who had the dark blues three-nil ahead before Jackie Milburn netted a late consolation. Described by the Sunday Post’s Jack Harkness as “probably biggest success of all”, George played no small part in overcoming an England side that contained such household names as Stanley Matthews and Tom Finney to name but two. It was inevitable that George Aitken would retain his place in the team dubbed by the press as “The Wizards of 1949” and, later that month, he made his home international debut on Wednesday 27^th April against France in front of an incredible 125,683 at Hampden Park, where a Billy Steel goal in each half sealed a two-nil victory.

In late May 1949, the Scotland squad embarked on a month-long tour of the United States and Canada and, unsurprisingly, George was included in the touring party. George took up his usual place at left-half for the opening match, against St. Louis All-Stars in Missouri, USA, on Wednesday 25^th May 1949, where the Scots hammered the home side by six goals without reply. Dropped for the next two games in New York, George returned to the side for the 3-1 victory over Kearny in New Jersey on Sunday 5^th June, then kept his place in the team for the 2-0 win against Ontario Major League in Toronto, Canada, on 8^th June. After missing the following match, played the following day against Eastern Canada in Montreal, George played in all three of Scotland’s remaining tour games in the USA; the 8-1 hammering of Philadelphia on 12^th June, the 3-1 win against New-England All-Stars at Fall River on 15^th June, and victory over the USA national team by four goals without replay in New York on Sunday 19^th June. Interestingly, all nine tour matches were officially classed as ‘Unofficial Internationals’ by the SFA, but the United States Soccer Football Association recorded their four-nil defeat by the Scots in New York on 19^th June as a full international match!

George was now considered to be an established member of the Scotland team and, as expected, travelled to Belfast for the Home International against Ireland on Saturday 1^st October 1949, where he took up his usual position of left-half in front of a Windsor Park crowd of 55,000 alongside East Fife team mate Henry Morris, who was making his Scotland debut at centre-forward. This was the first time that two East Fife players had played in the same Scotland side, but it was not to be the last! In a match which doubled as a World Cup qualifier for the Brazil tournament in 1950, Scotland swept the Irish aside with an emphatic 8-2 victory, with East Fife’s Morris scoring a hat-trick along with a brace from Rangers’ Willie Waddell and further goals from Hibs’ Lawrie Reilly, Derby County’s Billy Steel and Third Lanark’s Jimmy Mason.

Just over a month later, on Wednesday 9^th November 1949, George made his fourth appearance for Scotland against Wales at Hampden in front of 73,781, where their 100% record in the Home International Championship and World Cup qualifying campaign was maintained with a 2-0 win thanks to a first-half goal from Celtic’s John McPhail and a second-half strike from Clyde’s Alex. Linwood. A surprising omission from the Scotland team that evening was hat-trick hero Henry Morris; the reason for which will be scrutinised in an article on Morris which will appear in a future edition of “The Bayview”.

Scotland’s next match, the Home International Championship and World Cup qualifying decider against England on Saturday 15^th April 1950, was billed as “Hampden’s Game of the Century”, but missing from the team that Saturday afternoon was George Aitken, who was suffering with a sore throat and had missed East Fife’s league match with Rangers the previous week; his place at Hampden being filled by Arsenal’s Alex. Forbes. Unfortunately, Scotland’s dream of travelling to Rio disappeared in front of 133,300 fans that afternoon as England won by a single goal, landing them the Home International Championship and securing a place in the 1950 World Cup Finals.

George Aitken returned to the Scotland team for the friendly against Switzerland at Hampden on Wednesday 26^th April 1950, just four days after turning out for East Fife in the Scottish Cup Final against Rangers at the same venue. It was to be George’s final appearance for Scotland as an East Fife player, and 123,751 looked on as he lined up alongside team mate Allan Brown, who was making his International debut. This was the second time that two East Fife players had played in the same Scotland team, and the Bayview boys did their country proud. With Scotland leading 2-1 thanks to a header from Hearts’ Willie Bauld and a low drive from Chelsea’s Bobby Campbell either side of a counter from Switzerland’s Antenen, the impressive Allan Brown nipped in to net number three on the stroke of half-time to win the match 3-1 for the Scots.

Sadly, all was not well regarding George’s relationship with East Fife at the time. An on-going dispute with the club regarding his availability for transfer escalated, and George was dropped from the first team, for whom he made his final appearance against Cowdenbeath in a Fife Cup tie on 10^th May 1950.

A legal battle between East Fife and George Aitken ensued for most of the following season, and ended with the player being transferred to Third Lanark in February 1952. George eventually moved south to Sunderland, where he resumed his international career with three further appearances; against Wales and Northern Ireland in 1952 and against England in 1954.

Jim Corstorphine

Walking Football

We have had a successful two weeks since Walking Football returned to Bayview with around 12-14 players attending but we would be delighted to see new or returning players. Walking Football takes place on the new 3G pitch at Bayview on Wednesday nights from 7 pm.

Please note studded footwear must be worn. NO trainers, blades or astros will be permitted.

Fife Cup 2017/2018

The 2017/2018 Fife Cup kicks off on Saturday 7th October here at Bayview when Cowdenbeath FC are our visitors, kick off at 1.00pm.