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Match Report - Dumbarton
A westerly trip to the league leaders Dumbarton beckoned for the Fifers. Earlier on in the season, the two sides met at Bayview and a dull affair ended with the Sons scrapping a narrow 1-0 victory. Last weekend East Fife’s game against Stranraer was called off after a pitch inspection due to heavy snowfall the day prior.
3 changes were made to the starting squad that fought out a 0-0 draw against Bonnyrigg Rose last time out. Liam Parker, Jack Healy and Ryan Schiavone all returned to the starting line-up in place of Aaron Steele, Joao Balde and Alan Trouten.
The first chance of the game fell to the Sons on the 6th minute when Gray got down the line and delivered a low cross for Wallace but Denham managed to get to the ball first and turn behind for a corner.
A corner for Dumbarton in the 20th minute picked out Buchanan who had ghosted away from his man however the ball narrowly evaded him.
After 30 minutes, Fleming preformed yet another miraculous save to keep out Wallace’s header from near unmissable range to keep the scores level.
Dumbarton continued to knock on the door and another corner floated into Buchanan but this time he got good connection but the ball cannons off the crossbar.
On the 32nd minute, Dumbarton took the lead when a poorly cleared ball dropped onto the head of Buchanan who sent a looping header into the far corner of the net, putting the Sons 1-0 up.
HALF TIME: Dumbarton 1-0 East Fife
Two minutes into the second half, Dumbarton doubled their lead when a poorly dealt with ball puts Wallace in possession who slides through Wilson who rifles past Fleming
East Fife had a chance on the 62nd minute as the ball fell to Healy on the edge of the box but his effort falls into the arms of Long comfortably.
The best chance for East Fife came in the 67th minute when Healy’s skipped past Lynas and into the box before cutting the ball back for Trouten who failed to hit the target from close range, shanking the ball high and wide.
With 9 minutes remaining, the Methil men tried a clever shirt free kick when Healy plays a rolling pass to Ferguson whose powerful shot looked to be sailing towards the bottom corner but was kept out by a fine save from Long.
FULL TIME: Dumbarton 2-0 East Fife
The Sons came out victorious on their 150th Anniversary celebration day. East Fife are now in 6th, a point behind 4th placed Annan Athletic. Next up for the Fifers is an away trip to 3rd placed Elgin City and the team will be hoping to pick a first win in 6 outings.
Dumbarton Team: Long, Buchanan, Carswell, Lynas, McNiff, Wylde (Love 70’), Orsi, Wilson, McKee, Gray (McLean 69’). Wallace (Garrity 86’)
East Fife Team: Fleming, Murdoch, Denham, Parker (Trouten 61’), Mercer, Millar, Healy, Newton, Ferguson, Schiavone (Steven 61’), Shepherd
Referee: Graham Beaton
Attendance: TBC
Match Preview - Dumbarton
This weekend, on Christmas Eve, the Fifers make the 165-mile round trip journey to “The Rock” to face league leaders Dumbarton. McDonald’s men will certainly be hoping for a “Miracle on Victoria Street”.
Neither side played last week due to the adverse weather conditions as the Sons were set to host Stenhousemuir in Dumbartonshire, while we were ready to welcome Stranraer at Bayview. The week before, Fife played out a goalless draw when they hosted bottom of the table Bonnyrigg Rose. Funnily enough, the last time Dumbarton played, which is now be three weeks ago, they travelled to New Dundas Park to face the aforementioned Bonnyrigg Rose. They played out a 1-1 draw, with Neil Martyniuk scoring a penalty on the stroke of half time, before Josh Grigor scored an own goal in the second half to pulling the league leaders level.
The ho-ho-hosts have won 4 in their last 6, including an impressive Scottish Cup win, against cinch League 1 side Clyde. They have also not been beaten since the 8th of October, when they were on the receiving end of a 6-0 drubbing at the hands of title chasers Stirling Albion.
On the other hand, we find ourselves in a sticky patch of form, last winning a game in October, when we overcame Elgin City. Hopefully this can be broken to give the Fifers some festive cheer.
Team news
We have no fresh injuries going into the fixture this weekend, and our long-term injury list is beginning to shrink week by week. Summer signing Rabin Omar has entered the squad for the first time since his arrival at the club and is available for selection against top-of-the-table Dumbarton. Brogan Walls is also making good progress, as he returned to non-contact training this week with anchor Conor McManus is set to return to non-contact training in the new year too. Scott Gallacher is also off the treatment table, and is back in training, however the stopper is not quite ready to return to the squad.
Team Colours
At the weekend, both sides will be partaking in and sharing their support for the #NoHomeKit campaign, in conjunction with Shelter Scotland. The campaign raised awareness surrounding the scale of households made homeless in Scotland. All SPFL clubs are showing their support for the campaign and those in the SWPL are also taking part. The campaign is also endorsed across English Football.
As a result, Fife will return to action in the away kit, donning the green and white top, with matching white shorts and socks to boot. The shot-stopper on the day will be in the all Turquoise Goalkeeper kit.
Dumbarton will be in their away colours too, wearing a navy shirt with matching shorts, with red socks, completing the kit. The home goalie will be clad in all Grey for the encounter.
Previous encounter
The Fifers last met the Sons on matchday 6 of the cinch League 2 season, at Bayview. When they met, both sides were at the sharp end of the table, with Fife sitting in third position.
The game was quick paced, but no side was making any clear-cut chances, and neither keeper having to do anything in the opening 30 minutes. However, in the 35th minute, Dumbarton showed why they are sat top of the league and pounced on a chance that came from a defensive mishap. Declan Byrne was there to capitalise, and slotted past Fleming. The game was then primarily controlled by the visitors and fizzled out slowly.
In their last 6 games against one another, Dumbarton and East Fife have won 3 games each. Dumbarton having won both of our last visits to “The Rock”. It would be a great result for the Black and Gold to take all three points this visit, and would for sure leave supporters saying, “It’s a wonderful Fife”.
Match Tickets
There will be cash turnstiles at the game this weekend, however if you would prefer to purchase in advance, you can buy a ticket from Dumbarton’s Ticketco page.
Adults: £15
Concessions (Seniors and Students): £10
Under 16s: £5
Officials
Our on-pitch official on Saturday will be Graham Beaton, and his assistants on the day will be Brian Christie and Jamie Andrews.
Live Stream
There will be no Live Stream for British and Irish-based viewers, however, our international supporters can watch the game on EFTV with a monthly or season pass.
Catering.
The stadium bar will be open from 11am tomorrow! Supporters can enter once through the home gate.
To celebrate 150 years since the Sons were founded (23rd December 1872), both teams will be piped out pre-match. On top of this, the matchday programme will be sold at a one-off price of £1.50 to mark the celebrations.
Ticket Info v Dumbarton
On Saturday we travel to the Dumbarton Football Stadium to face Dumbarton in our final match of 2022. Admission for the game is via cash turnstiles however tickets can also be purchased in advance here.
Admission Prices
Adults - £15
Concessions* - £10
Under 16s** - £5
*Over 65s/Full-Time Students/– proof of age/eligibility may be requested
**Proof of age may be requested.
The stadium bar will be open from 11am and can be accessed after entering through the turnstiles.
There will be no Live Stream for viewers in the UK or Ireland, however for international fans the game can be watched on EFTV with a monthly or season pass.
Goldmine Christmas Bonus Draw
The draw was made on Saturday evening here at Bayview and our lucky winners are :
| £500 Cash Prize | Catriona Morris (N Lindsay) |
| £30 East Dock Bar Voucher | Alex Philp (Station Bar) |
| £20 Voucher from Finesse Floral Designs | Neil Ritchie (online) |
| £20 Voucher from Mr Mechanic | Ian Lindsay (office) |
| £20 Scott's Fruit & Veg Voucher | C Stewart (standing order) |
| £20 Farmfoods Voucher | C Boyd (M Lothian) |
| £20 Sainsburys Voucher | AJ Barclay (standing order) |
| £20 Sainsburys Voucher | Tom Duff (Windsor Leven) |
| £20 Sainsburys Voucher | TC Jackson (standing order) |
| £20 Sainsburys Voucher | Catriona Barclay (online) |
| £20 Sainsburys Voucher | Jim Duthie & Rab Grieve (Windsor Leven) |
Congratulations to all our winners and a big thank you from us to everyone for taking part.
We will be in touch with all our winners shortly.
Match Postponed
Today's cinch League Two match against Stranraer has been postponed following a 9.15 am pitch inspection.
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