Match Report - Stranraer

Stranraer 1-1 East Fife, Saturday 12^th August 2023

Stair Park, cinch League Two

East Fife got their first point of the season against Stranraer on Saturday, after a late Johnny Page goal broke the hearts of the 10-man Blues. Despite more chances flowing and the Fifers having more control of this game, in the early stages, they were too slack in the final third, failing to capitalise on the man advantage.

The sending off in mention came inside the first ten minutes of the contest. Nathan ‘Fash’ Austin was looking to break away from Craig Ross, who, after realising Fash was too quick for him, hauled the striker down, being sent for a very early shower.

That was the start that the Methil Men were hoping for, and in the next 10 minutes, they had two clear chances to take the lead, being denied by goalkeeper McDonald. Shepherd had a crack from outside of the area, which the ‘keeper parried away after 11 minutes, and 5 minutes later Fash had just as good, if not a better chance, managing to wiggle the ball onto his favoured left foot, before McDonald also managed to keep him out.

After the second save, the Fifers fell flat, and allowed the Blues into the game. Fortunately for the Black and Gold, the only good chance was a scuffed effort from side of the penalty spot by Dolan, which fell out for a goal kick.

Half Time- Stranraer 0-0 East Fife

The second half didn’t start well for the Methil Men, as Dolan created the opener for Orr to slot home for Aggy’s Stranraer. It was a good strike, but that was no consolation to the frustration felt on and off the park.

The pick-me-up took a while to come, as East Fife were squandering chance after chance. In the 77th minute however, McManus fouled the aforementioned Dolan in the area, leaving the referee no choice but to point to the spot. Allan Fleming made a solid save with the first one, denying Armour from the spot, but the officials forced a re-take judging that Flem was off his line. The goalie went from half-hero to full god moments later, denying Armour yet again, giving the Fifers a boost into the last 10 minutes.

The boost paid dividends with 4 minutes on the clock after a textbook Healy effort was spilled by McDonald, and Johnny Page used all of his experience to slot home, in his league debut this season. Perhaps against the run of play in the second period, the Fifers managed to claw their way to a point, despite all looking gloom.

Credit has to go to Stranraer too, who showed that it is not about the dog in the fight, but the fight in the dog, playing with a man down for the vast majority of the game, and still playing an attacking style of football.

The Methil Men are back in action midweek, playing Dundee B in the SPFL Trust Trophy, in the Jute Capital.

Final Score: Stranraer 1 (Orr 54’)- 1 (Page 86’) East Fife.

Report by Oli Anderson

Stranraer – M McDonald, Williamson, Girvan, Ross, Gallagher (Robertson 47’), Dolan (Walker 90’), Forrest, Fleming, McIntosh, Armour, Orr (O McDonald 59’). Subs not used: Hughes, O’Connor

East Fife – Fleming, Murdoch, Newton (Docherty 69’), Page, Easton, Millar (McManus 69’), Trouten, Nicol (Healy 53’), Walls, Shepherd, Austin. Subs not used: Schiavone, Philp, Hambrook, Beveridge, Comerford

Referee – Ryan Lee

Attendance - 372

Match Highlights - Stranraer

Highlights from Saturday's match against Stranraer along with post-match reaction from Greig McDonald, Jonathan Page and Stewart Murdoch

Match Preview - Stranraer

Oli Anderson previews today’s match against Stranraer.

East Fife face their first camel trek of the season, down to Stair Park to face Scott Agnew’s Stranraer this afternoon. A dreadful start to the Fifers cinch League Two campaign last weekend has put us on the backfoot after one matchday. East Fife understood the task at hand, a home tie against freshly relegated Peterhead, though the Methil Men failed to rise to the occasion, and the visitors ran out comprehensive 3-0 winners. A Jack Brown goal after 35 minutes opened the scoring, despite a positive opening twenty from the Fifers. The game was taken by the scruff of the neck, courtesy of the Blues in the second half, with Connor O’Keefe opening his goal account for the League this season, before doubling it during the tie as well. Stranraer on the other hand, took maximum points last weekend, beating Elgin City 1-0 at Borough Briggs. The goal came in the first half, thanks to wingback James Dolan.

The Standings:

Previous Encounter

The last time these two sides met was a game to remember for Fife fans, and a day which will be very difficult to forget for those at Stranraer. In Scott Agnew’s last game as part of the Fife coaching team, the Black and Gold ran rampant, spoiling supporters with the free flowing second half:

In a truly dominating display, East Fife delivered a score line of a lifetime as they dispatched of Stranraer 8-0, at the MGM Timber Bayview Stadium. It was the first time since the 1960s that the Fifers have won at home by such a margin. A rampant second half was the difference maker, as the Methil Men scored 6 in the last 45 minutes, against a 10-man Blues side.

It was not all roses however, as East Fife started slowly, and missed a barrage of chances in the first half, with Ryan Schiavone squabbling chances from close range on three separate occasions. On top of this, even though he scored an own goal, which was rather unfortunate, Stranraer goalkeeper Luke Scullion made another 3 great saves across the 90 to keep the score down for the visitors.

East Fife opened the scoring through a Luke Watt own goal after 20 minutes of play, after a killer ball from Connor McManus could not be cleared. Watt converted the cross after trying to block it.

Stranraer’s only chance of the game came 5 minutes later when James Hilton’s chip beat Fleming and the crossbar.

After 40 minutes, the Fife doubled their advantage through Alex Ferguson, whose composed head was able to convert a driven ball that was pinged across the box.

In the first half of stoppage time, Blues defender Scott Robertson was sent off in bizarre fashion after an off the ball challenge on Aaron Steele following a set play.

Half Time: East Fife 2-0 Stranraer.

Five minutes after the restart, Schiavone made up for his missed chances, as he slotted past Scullion to make it 3-0 East Fife. This is when the Black and Gold really took off. The finish marked Schiavone’s first goal at MGM Timber Bayview this season.

A further ten minutes later saw Shepherd match Schiavone’s feat also scoring his first goal in front of the Methil Faithful this year to make it four, with half an hour still on the clock.

Number five came courtesy of a Luke Scullion own goal, which was created by a fantastic long-range effort from Brogan Walls. The shot ricocheted off the crossbar and hit Scullion before crossing the line.

The sixth was Fife’s easiest of the day, after a very smart run from Sam Denham gave him a free header from a corner, which the centre half converted.

Goals at Bayview have been like London Buses for Scott Shepherd, he has waited all season to open his home tally, and in the penultimate league game at the Timber Fortress, he got two at once, capping off a great team move to make it seven.

The eighth goal was scored in stoppage time, converted by Rangers loanee Connor Young. His shot was so powerful it went through Scullion on its way to rippling the net.

Full-Time: East Fife 8-0 Stranraer

Squad News

Outs: Unfortunately, Pat Slattery and Charlie Murray both remain unavailable due to injury for the foreseeable future. Mikey Cunningham is also now unavailable, having joined Cowdenbeath on loan last night.

Ins: Both Johnny Page, and Scott Shepherd return to the line-up this weekend, having served their suspensions. However, Pagey will have to serve a 1 match ban in next season’s League Cup group stage.

Team Colours

East Fife will don the Taxi Centre sponsored away kit, wearing a pink top, matched with pink socks and black shorts on Saturday, while the goalkeeper will be clad in all green for the tie.

Stranraer will be in their classic kit, wearing a blue top, with matching socks and white shorts for the affair. The Blues’ goalie will be in all yellow for the clash.

Match Tickets

Tickets are pay at the gate on Saturday, with prices below:

Adults- £15

Concessions - £10

Youth (U16)- £5

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. Your commentator for this afternoon is Liam Anderson.

Officials

The on-pitch official on Saturday will be Ryan Lee, while his assistants running the line are Paul O’Neill and Thomas Denholm.

Refreshments

Stranraer’s small Pavilion Bar will be open from 1pm for both sets of fans on matchday at Stair Park. The larger Fitba Bar (which can accommodate up to 300 supporters) can be found around 800 yards away from the stadium.

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Match Report - Peterhead

East Fife 0-3 Peterhead, cinch League Two

Saturday 5^th August 2023, MGM Timber Bayview Stadium

East Fife started their cinch League Two season in dismal fashion, as they fell 3-0 to newly relegated Peterhead 3-0 at the MGM Timber Bayview Stadium. A fast start fizzled out quickly, as the Blues capitalised on a lacklustre display from the Methil Men.

The encounter was scrappy, and very bitty, with no side able to get the ball down in the first 10 minutes or so. East Fife were getting the better of the Peterhead midfield, but no chances of note were created. The first notable piece of action came after 16 minutes when Peterhead skipper Jason Brown clattered through the back of an onrushing Brogan Walls, with his studs colliding with the Fifers’ calf. Brown only saw yellow for the exchange, perhaps because it was in the early stages of the game, but, on another day, he most definitely could have seen red for the challenge.

The game then became more back and forth, with Fleming being called into action, to tip a Hamish Ritchie shot over the bar from range, before the aforementioned Brown made an excellent block denying Healy from the edge of the area.

Shortly after the exchanges, Peterhead took the lead. A darting run from Ryan Strachan right down the middle of the park was missed by almost every Fifer in front of the defence, before he looped a great ball to Kieran Shanks, whose pinpoint delivery met Jack Brown who turned the ball home at the back post.

Things went from bad to worse for East Fife in the closing stages, as a clumsy challenge from McManus, and a rash one from Walls led to Chris Fordyce dishing out another two yellow cards.

The second half started bitty, with no side able to challenge the respective goalkeepers. In the 55th minute, Conor Duthie went down after a collision with Jack Healy. The Blues striker was stretchered off the park. We wish Conor all the best in his recovery.

Connor McManus had both of East Fife’s two chances in the second half, but he fired both right down Stewart McKenzie’s gullet on both occasions. The first came in the 63rd minute, when a cutback landed at his feet, but his strike couldn’t have been closer to the goalkeeper if he tried.

If the miss wasn’t bad enough, it also unleashed the counter which led to Peterhead doubling their advantage when Connor O’Keefe broke free, with Shanks on his left, though the number 77 went on his own and lashed his shot by Fleming. 2-0 Peterhead

McManus’ other chance came almost right from kick-off, in an almost parallel moment, the cutback finding him on the penalty spot, but McKenzie made a great save to deny him yet again.

The game was well and truly put to bed after 78 minutes of play when O’Keefe bagged his brace. The forward had a dig from at least 30 yards out, which even an outstretched Fleming couldn’t come close to, as the shot was buried in the top left corner.

The 3 goals and 3 points returned to Balmoor on the opening day, which ended seeing East Fife at the foot of the table. There is still lots to play for, and the Fifers will be looking for a swift reply next week, as we travel down to Stair Park to play Stranraer.

Report by Oli Anderson

East Fife – Fleming, Newton (Philp 90+5’), Docherty, Easton (Comerford 82’), McManus (Millar 82’), Trouten, Healy, Walls (Nicol 68’), Schiavone (Hambrook 83’), Austin. Subs not used: Cunningham, Beveridge

Peterhead – McKenzie, D Strachan, Goldie, Jason Brown, R Strachan (Wilson 83’), Ritchie (Jordan Brown 84’), McCarthy, Jack Brown, Duthie (Ward 58’), Shanks (Reid 84’), O’Keefe

Referee: Chris Fordyce

Attendance: 542