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Match Report - Elgin City
Elgin City 1-1 East Fife, Saturday 26th August 2023
Borough Briggs, cinch League Two
Another disappointing result for the Fifers, as we drew 1-1 with Elgin City at Borough Briggs this past Saturday. Despite a much improved second half showing, a lacklustre first 45 was enough to deny the Black and Gold our first League win of the season.
City scored the opener inside the first 15 minutes, as forward Matty Wright latched onto a through ball that slid through the defence, before he coolly slotted the ball past Fleming, giving East Fife another mountain to climb.
The Methil Men created little, and the contest was fought largely in the middle of the park, though Healy was a stand-out from the wide position. On the stroke of half time, he hit a tidy free kick which forced a reaction save, before Elgin hit on the break, looking to double their lead. Fleming was called into action, to do what he does best, as the stopper swatted the ball out of the top bins, to give the Fifers a small foothold on the game.
The team looked low on confidence in the second half, as they played some incredible football leading up to the 18-yard box, but players were either too hesitant, or too hasty to release the ball, and challenge the Elgin ‘keeper. The was first seen just after the beginning of the second half when Schiavone struggled to get the ball out of his feet from a good position.
This looked to be the case again for Austin 20 minutes later, though the ball was already out of play before Fash could bring it down.
We relied on the old guard to give us some life, and they did just that. Healy and Austin linked up, with a crisp one-two, which saw the former being dragged down inside the box. Trouten stepped up and scored his 51st career penalty, maintaining a 93% conversion rate, in a span of almost 15 years.
The Methil Men then had the ball in the net to take the lead with 8 minutes left on the clock, though the referee adjudged that there was a foul in the box, and as a result the goal did not stand.
A back-and-forth end to what was a mediocre game at times, saw Fife and Elgin share the spoils. The course of the game made it clear that this was unfortunately two points dropped, rather than a point gained on the day.
Report by Oli Anderson
Elgin City – McHale, Cooney (Cooper 90+5’), Mackenzie (Dolzanski 90+5’), Draper, Ewan, MacEwan (Taylor 85’), Dingwall, Cameron, Wright, Harvey (Barron 70’), MacLeman. Subs not used: Hoban, Cairns
East Fife – Fleming, Murdoch, Page, Docherty (Philp 78’), Easton, McManus, Trouten, Walls (Austin 65’), Schiavone (Nicol 62’), Shepherd, Healy
Referee – Colin Whyte
Attendance - 542
Admission Info v Dumbarton
Admission prices for our cinch League Two match against Dumbarton on Saturday 2nd September at the Dumbarton Football Stadium have been confirmed as follows:
Adults - £17
*Concessions - £11
U16s – £5
*Over 65s/students – proof of age/eligibility required
Cash turnstiles are available via the home end (1 & 2) however tickets can also be purchased online in advance.
The Bar at the Dumbarton Football Stadium will be open from 1:30pm on Saturday and can be accessed after entering the ground via the home turnstile.
Due to demand, the 1903 Travel club have increased the size of the bus heading to Dumbarton this weekend and 5 seats are now available. Anyone interested in travelling should contact Ian Lowson to book their seat.
Match Highlights - Elgin City
Highlights from yesterday's match against Elgin City along with post-match reaction from Greig McDonald, Scott Shepherd and Connor McManus
Match Preview - Elgin City
Oli Anderson previews today’s match against Elgin City
We make the second camel trek of the League Two season today, as we venture north to Elgin, to play the Black and Whites at Borough Briggs. A disappointing start to the league campaign for both teams, as we both find ourselves on one single point after 3 games. Last week, we fell short against a strong Stenhousemuir side, as a Buchanan goal in the first half, and a cool finish from Adam Brown with the last kick of the ball, handed the Methil Men two losses from two at home so far. Today’s hosts, Elgin also fell on the wrong side of the scoreline, losing 2-1 to newly promoted Spartans at Ainslie Park. Two goals within three minutes of each other bedded City, but a late Russell Dingwall goal halved the deficit and made for an intriguing last 15.
The Standings
|
Position |
Team |
Played |
Pts |
GD |
|
1 |
Peterhead FC |
3 |
7 |
4 |
|
2 |
Dumbarton |
3 |
5 |
2 |
|
3 |
Bonnyrigg Rose |
3 |
5 |
2 |
|
4 |
Stenhousemuir |
3 |
5 |
2 |
|
5 |
The Spartans |
3 |
5 |
1 |
|
6 |
Stranraer |
3 |
5 |
1 |
|
7 |
Forfar Athletic |
3 |
2 |
-2 |
|
8 |
Elgin City |
3 |
1 |
-2 |
|
9 |
Clyde FC |
3 |
1 |
-3 |
|
10 |
East Fife |
3 |
1 |
-5 |
Previous Encounter
The last time the two sides met, we overcame Elgin 3-1 in rather convincing fashion, in the League Cup. A Nathan Austin hat-trick, along with a stunning performance from Jack Healy proved the difference, as the local lads ran riot in Methil. A late reply from Elgin was only enough to spoil the clean sheet in what was an impressive performance.
Squad News
Outs- Slattery and Murray both still miss out due to previous injuries.
Ins- Gregor Nicol returns to fitness and is available for this afternoon’s match
Team Colours
East Fife will don the Taxi Centre-sponsored away kit, matched with pink socks and white shorts today, while the goalkeeper will be clad in all yellow for the tie.
Elgin City will be in their classic kit, wearing black and white striped top and socks for the affair with black shorts. The City’s goalie will be in all blue for the clash.
Match Tickets
Tickets can be bought at the gate, or online at Fanbaseclub.com. Please find Prices Below:
Adult: £14/16 (stand/ground)
Concession: £9/11 (stand/ground)
U16s: Free with a paying adult
Live Streaming
There is no live coverage of today’s game for viewers within the UK or Ireland however live Streaming of the game will be available on East Fife TV for our international fans. This can be accessed through a monthly or season pass.
Officials
The on-pitch official on Saturday will be Colin Whyte while his assistants running the line are Paul McAvinue and Ross Donaldson.
Date Confirmed for SPFL Trust Trophy Match
Our SPFL Trust Trophy 3rd round match against Albion Rovers will take place on Saturday 9th September at the MGM Timber Bayview Stadium with a 1:00pm kick off.
Admission prices for the game have been agreed as follows:
Adults - £10
U16s - £5
Season tickets are not valid for this game.
Match Report - Stenhousemuir 19th August 2023
East Fife 0-2 Stenhousemuir, Saturday 19th August 2023
MGM Timber Bayview Stadium, cinch League Two
East Fife continued their poor start in League Two, falling 2-0 to Stenhousemuir, at the MGM Timber Bayview Stadium on Saturday. The Fifers now have only a single point from their 3 opening games and find themselves at the foot of the table after 3 rounds of fixtures. One of the few positives from the disappointing showing was the new home kit, as the Fifers return to the Black and Gold stripes to mark the club’s 120th anniversary.
The first chance of the game, however, came for the Fifers through Jack Healy. In textbook Healy fashion, the winger cut inside, and unleashed a curled effort on the far left that was blocked from its trajectory toward the top corner. Shortly after, McManus was denied by Jamieson too, in a promising start from the Fife.
As is apparent with watching the Fife from time to time, it’s the hope that kills you, and the tides started to turn soon after, with Fleming being pulled into a great double save to keep the score level. The experience stopper had a great game, keeping the score down from what could have been a demolition at times, with his reactions being called upon more than once.
The opener came 10 minutes later through Gregor Buchanan, who headed home after the Fifers failed to clear their lines. A stramash in the area led to the skipper getting on the end of an ariel duel and firing the ball into the roof of the net.
In routine fashion, the Fifers pushed but the Warriors sat back to see out the first half. Shepherd had a half chance in the dying embers of the first 45 but his half volley attempt was fired well wide.
The second half saw the Black and Gold trying to find the equaliser, to no avail. With Stenny defending robustly, and as has been a common theme this year so far, the Black and Gold lacking the cutting edge.
The chance of the game came from Nathan Austin, who was found by Healy with a great cutback. The winger jinked inside two then onto his right foot, before lashing a low driven ball to Austin, but the striker couldn’t suss out his feet and fired off target.
The nail in the coffin came in the 93rd minute, Adam Brown capitalised on the break, doubling the Warriors’ advantage, confirming that Gary Naysmith’s men would run out winners. Second best on the park on the day unfortunately, as Stenhousemuir looked like an outfit more than capable of cracking on and pushing for a higher finish than their 6th place from last year.
Although there is plenty of time, there is also plenty of work needing done this week for the Methil Men, as this weekend we travel up to Borough Briggs for a tussle with Elgin. In our last meeting, we ran out 3-1 winners during the Viaplay Cup group stage. A similar result is both desired and required this weekend.
Report by Oli Anderson
East Fife – Fleming, Murdoch, Docherty, Easton, Comerford, Millar (Walls 61’), McManus, Trouten, Shepherd, Healy, Austin (Schiavone 82’). Subs not used: Newton, Page, Philp, Hambrook, Beveridge
Stenhousemuir – D Jamieson, Meechan, Buchanan, N Jamieson, Bilham, Wedderburn, Berry, Taylor (Brown 69’), O’Reilly (Kirkpatrick 79’), Aitken, Yates (Lynch 90+2’). Subs not used: Lyle
Referee – Dan McFarlane
Attendance - 553