East Fife vs Stenhousemuir

Match Report

Match Report by Scott Gallacher, Communications Officer & Reporter

 

Stenhousemuir faced a 1-0 loss to East Fife at a freezing Bayview in the William Hill League One

Both teams were fired up for the game, but it was Tommy Goss’s goal that separated the sides, with the well drilled Fifers forcing Stenhousemuir to leave Fife empty handed.

Gary Naysmith made two changes to the starting XI from last week’s draw against Kelty Hearts with Oli Whyte, Dale Carrick and Leyton Grant coming into the side.

Lewis Latona fired an early warning to Stenhousemuir as his headed effort was dragged wide of the post.

Scott McGill had the first effort for the Warriors and fired from distance, aiming for a second screamer in as many weeks, but could only see it rattle the East Fife crossbar.

Despite being dragged down on the edge of box, Euan O’Reilly done well to recover and regain possession of the ball. The midfielder managed to get a shot away, but it was blocked well by the hosts defence.

A period of quick passing play from Stenhusemuir allowed Dale Carrick to fire another shot at goal, but this time, it would clatter the outside of the post and go out of play.

Lewis Latona had another attempt to get a goal, and this time, forced Darren Jamieson into a diving save, smothering the ball.

Euan O’Reilly’s inswinigng corner was met by Gregor Buchanan at the back post, but his headed effort just went wide of the target.

Before the break, Andrew Munro came very close to getting the opening goal as his headed effort bounced off the astroturf and inches wide of the far post.

Half-Time: East Fife 0-0 Stenhousemuir

Five minutes into the second half, Euan O’Reilly floated an extremely inviting ball into the Fifer’s box, but it was smothered by Matthew Rollo.

Despite this bright start, Tommy Goss would open the scoring for the visitors, as his headed effort from a corner deflected off Leyton Grant and into the net.

The match at this point became a scrappy affair, with several players from both teams receiving yellow cards.

Michael McKenna almost doubled East Fife’s lead as he latched onto a slack pass and charged through on goal, seeing his shot go wide of the post.

Tommy Goss was close to getting his second of the evening, but it was bravely blocked by Darren Jamieson and fired over the target for a corner.

The last chance of the game fell to substitute Ross Taylor, as his shot from the edge of the area looked to rescue a hard-earned point for Stenny, but Matthew Rollo collected it comfortably as the game came to an end.

Full-Time: East Fife 1-0 Stenhousemuir

 

East Fife: Rollo, Newton, Millar, Easton, McManus, Latona (Norey 92’), Munro, Bah, McKenna, Culbert (Nicol 92’), Goss (Trouten 80’)

Unused Subs: Thomson, Fairley, Slattery Austin, Peggie, Wilson

 

Stenhousemuir: Jamieson, Meechan, Buchanan, Graham, O’Reilly (Taylor 60’), Aitken (Gray 79’), Carrick, Anderson, Whyte, McGill (Cameron 72’), Grant (Bilham 79’)

Unused Subs: Gromov, Simpson, Jamieson, Ewen

 

Bookings: Newton 33’, Grant 64’, McGill 66’, Munro 69’, Bah 75’, Easton 87’, Graham 90’

MATCH PREVIEW

Match Preview by Scott Gallacher, Communications Officer & Reporter

 

Stenhousemuir make the trip to Methil on Saturday evening as they take on East Fife at the MGM Timber Bayview Stadium, with the match kicking off at 5pm. The game will also be broadcast live on BBC Alba.

The Warriors head into the fixture in strong form, extending their unbeaten run to six matches in all competitions following last weekend’s impressive comeback against Kelty Hearts at Ochilview.

Gary Naysmith’s men showed the same relentless attitude that has defined their season so far, battling back from two goals down to secure a well-deserved point.

Ricco Diack struck twice for Kelty, with his second coming from a sweetly-struck free-kick. However, Matty Aitken pulled one back late on before Scott McGill levelled just four minutes later with a superb effort from distance.

East Fife also come into the match on the back of a confidence-boosting result, defeating Edinburgh City 3-0 in the KDM Evolution Trophy.

Conor McManus opened the scoring from close range before Kieran Millar doubled the advantage with a strike from distance before the interval. The victory was sealed when Pat Slattery poked home from close range in the second half.

The last meeting between the sides came at Ochilview in August, where the points were shared in a 1-1 draw.

Euan O’Reilly opened the scoring for Stenhousemuir with a well-taken finish, but the Fifers rescued a point late on when Nathan Austin found the net in the 89th minute.

Looking ahead to the match, Assistant Manager Brown Ferguson said: “They’re a very difficult opponent. They’ve got some real strong physicality in their team and at East Fife it can be very windy. We don’t know what the conditions will be, but we’re expecting a very tough battle.”