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Match Preview - Stranraer
Oli Anderson previews tomorrow’s match against Stranraer.
*There is a pitch inspection planned for 9.15am tomorrow*
This weekend, granted that there is a successful pitch inspection on Saturday morning, the Fifers host Stranraer in arguably the biggest game of the season so far. After the 0-0 draw last week to Bonnyrigg Rose, we find ourselves just 5 points away from the relegation zone, as the bottom half of the table continues to get tighter. The visitors sit above us in 4th position, one point ahead, after an incredible 3-1 shock victory against title challengers Stirling Albion at Stair Park two weeks ago.
Hopefully Fife can capitalise on the Blues’ lack of league action last week and build on the clean sheet they earned against Bonnyrigg.
Squad News
1 player will face a fitness test ahead of the clash this weekend. Our long-term injury list remains the same, with goalkeeper Scott Gallacher, anchor Connor McManus, creative midfielder Brogan Walls and winger Rabin Omar all still side-lined.
Team Colours
East Fife will be clad in their pink away kit for the game this weekend, accompanied by the matching pink socks and black shorts. The man in between the sticks will don the traditional all yellow goalkeeper strip.
As for Stranraer, it has not been confirmed which strip the visitors will wear. This is also the case for the goalkeeper.
Previous Encounter
The last time the Fifers met the Blues was on matchday 5 of the cinch League Two season. The sides shared the spoils in an action-packed encounter at Stair Park. The game saw action in both halves. The hosts took the lead when Paul Woods fired home after quarter of an hour, but Fife responded well, with Ryan Schiavone scoring his maiden East Fife goal to pull the black and gold level. With 10 minutes left in the half, Stranraer fired ahead again, this time Luke Watt making the score 2-1. In the second half, Watt went from hero to zero, when he was sent packing after a harsh foul, with twenty minutes still to go. The game reached stoppage time with Fife still trailing… what happened next was one of the moments of the season, when local lad Jack Healy burst into the box, beating numerous men on the way in, and rifled his shot into the top corner, sending the two sides away with an equal slice of the pie.
Match Tickets
There will be no cash turnstiles for the game this weekend, and we encourage supporters to purchase their tickets online in advance. You can also get tickets from the club, either in person, or over the telephone at 01333 426323. Parent and Child tickets must be bought directly from the club office.
Full and half-season tickets will be valid for the game.
Turnstiles will be open from 2pm.
Prices Below
Adult- £18
Concessions- £15
U16s- £5
Parent & Child- £21
Parent & 2 Children- £24.
All child members of EFCFC & EFG&WFC have been granted free admission with a paying adult or as part of an organised group for all of our home league matches this season! Tickets for this are organised through EFCFC. We hope to see as many of you present as possible, to help support the team.
Live Stream
There will be no Live Stream for British and Irish based viewers, however for our international fans, the game can be watched on EFTV with a monthly or season pass.
Officials
The officials for the game this weekend will be a trio of Stewarts! The on-pitch referee will be Stewart Luke and his two assistants running the line will be Stuart Stevenson and Stuart Broadfoot.
Catering
The Stadium Bar will be open from 12:15 on Saturday afternoon and will re-open post-match for refreshments both before and after the game. Also, pie stalls will be open before the game until after half-time. Our pie stalls are now both cash and card!
Programme
Issue 13 of our Matchday Programme “The Bayview” will be available to buy from vendors for £2.50
Jim Stewart
Everyone at East Fife was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Club Historian and Honorary Director Jim Stewart earlier this week at the age of 79.
Jim joined the board of directors in 1996, later serving as Club Secretary before being appointed an Associate Director in 2008 and later an Honorary Director in 2017.
Jim previously acted as Player Liaison Director with the youth team, edited the matchday programme which he was still regularly contributing to until recently and was named as the Official Club Historian in 2000.
A full obituary will appear in our matchday programme in January.
Pitch Inspection
There will be a pitch inspection at 9.15am tomorrrow morning ahead of our match against Stranraer.
Ticket Info v Stranraer
Tickets for our cinch League Two match against Stranraer on Saturday 17th December at the Locality Hub Bayview Stadium are now on sale and can be purchased here.
Admission Prices
Adults - £18
Concessions* - £14
Under 16s** - £5
Parent & Child** - £21
Parent & 2 Children** - £24
*Over 65s/Full-Time Students/Disabled – proof of age/eligibility may be requested
**Proof of age may be requested.
All member of East Fife Community Football Club & East Fife Girls & Womens’ Football Club who are under 16 go free with a paying adult or as part of an organised group for all cinch League Two matches at Bayview this season. Tickets for this are arranged through EFCFC.
Full and half-season tickets are valid for this match.
There are no cash turnstiles at Bayview and supporters are strongly encouraged to purchase their tickets online. Online sales are available right up until kick off. Tickets can also be purchased over the phone by calling 01333 426323 or directly from the club office.
Please note, parent and child tickets cannot be purchased online and should be bought directly from the club office.
Match Report - Bonnyrigg Rose
A second match in a home triple header for the Fifers saw Bonnyrigg Rose make the trip to Bayview. The previous time the two teams met saw East Fife come out as comfortable winners, sealing a solid 4-1 win at New Dundas Park thanks to a Ferguson masterclass with two goals and two assists. Last weekend, East Fife suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Annan Athletic and the team were wanting to put that results amends and pick up three points against rose.
One change was made to the team that lost to Annan Athletic as Joao Balde returned after a week out due to illness, taking the place of Jack Healy in the starting line-up.
The game took a while to get going and it wasn’t until the 17th minute where Bonnyrigg had the first effort on goal for wither side. A good cross from Smith found Barrett inside the box but Fleming comfortably saves.
Around the 25-minute mark, East Fife had a flurry of chances, the first coming from Shepherd not giving up on a long ball over the top of the defence to get to the ball ahead of Grigor but unfortunately the attempted lob drops just wide of the post.
A corner kick right after Shepherd’s effort was excellently crafted and straight off the training ground. A low pass from Ferguson and a dummy by Shepard saw the ball reach Mercer who rifles the ball towards goal but Andrews was able to make the save and puts the ball behind for another corner.
HALF TIME: East Fife 0-0 Bonnyrigg Rose
East Fife had the first chance of the second half when a free kick from far out was whipped into the box by Ferguson, finding the leaping Balde who guides the ball towards goal however Andrews calmly claims
The best chance of the game fell to Bonnyrigg Rose when Mitchell took the ball round Murdoch and into the box with a clear sight of the goal but a miraculous save from Fleming prevents the Rose from taking the lead.
10 minutes into the second half, another chance fell the way of Shepherd and East Fife. A long ball over the top from Millar put the striker through on goal but a heavy a touch created a tight angle for himself, but he still managed to force Andrews into a very good save.
With 20 minutes remaining Bonnyrigg Rose were reduced to ten men when ex-Fifer Johnny Stewart receives a second yellow for a pull on Trouten.
After an uneventful and frustrating final 20 minutes for the Fifers, the final chance fell the way of Denham who couldn’t guide his headed effort on target.
FULL TIME: East Fife 0-0 Bonnyrigg Rose
A dull affair ends with both teams sharing a point with zero goals scored. Next up East Fife have the third of the three home games in the row as Stranraer are next to make the journey to Bayview. Stranraer are currently in 4th place whilst East Fife 1 point behind in 5th.
Report by Andrew Laing
East Fife Team: Fleming, Denham, Mercer (Healy 59’), Steele, Murdoch, Millar, Ferguson, Balde, Newton, Trouten (Schiavone 78’), Shepherd
Bonnyrigg Rose Team: Andrews, Martyniuk, Grigor, Horne, Stewart, S Gray, Doan, R Gray (Kane 86’), Barrett, Mitchell (Hunter 78’), Smith (Young 74’)
Referee: Alan Newlands
Attendance: 399
Club Office Closure
The club office will be closed today (Monday 12th December) and will reopen tomorrow (Tuesday 13th December) at 9am