East Fife 1 Airdrieonians 0 Scottish League One, Bayview Stadium Saturday 28th September 2013 Match Report by Liam Thomson An early goal from Scott McBride was enough to seal all three points as East Fife moved off the bottom of the league and up to seventh position. The Fifers went into the match with an almost full strength squad to pick from. Manager Willie Aitchison made one change to the starting line up that lost last week at Stranraer with Johnny Stewart dropping out and Ross Brown coming into the team to partner Craig Johnstone in the centre of midfield. Young defender Chris O’Neil remained sidelined for Airdrie through injury with the Diamonds also again missing last season’s top goal scorer John Boyle. Striker Jim Lister was unavailable although pre-match injury doubt Lewis Coult managed to make the substitutes bench. The home side controlled the first half and the only disappointment was that they left the pitch for the interval with just a one goal lead to show for their efforts. The fact that they managed to be awarded nine corner kicks in the first 45 minutes perhaps gives one indication of their superiority. The winning goal came in the 12th minute. Scott McBride, who performed well throughout, struck from the edge of the area and with the help of a fortuitous deflection the ball went into the back of the net. In the 19th minute Gary Thom nearly scored with a diving header from a McBride corner but his attempt went over. A couple of minutes later and The Fifers had a claim for a penalty when McBride appeared to be brought down after a waltzing run but the referee was having none of it much to the fury of the home support. Pat Clarke hit a fine strike which hit the post in the 32nd minute following good work by Craig Johnstone. Gary Thom almost got on the score sheet when his header from a Paul Willis corner ricocheted off the bar and on to the goal line, with the referee ruling that the ball had not crossed the line. The Diamonds went closest later on in the half when there was a good old stramash in the East Fife box but Gary Thom managed to get the ball clear. Undoubtedly Jimmy Boyle’s side improved in the second period and looked more dangerous going forward, however they were unable to really test Greg Paterson much in the East Fife goal. Substitute Lewis Coult went closest but was prevented by a goal line clearance. Youngster Ross Brown should have scored in the 66th minute for The Fife when he was presented with a gilt edged opportunity. Scott McBride crossed the ball from the left side and Paul Willis at the back post headed the ball to Ross Brown but the midfielder concentrated perhaps too much on going for power with his header and he will have been disappointed that his effort went over the woodwork. In injury time Liam Buchanan almost wrapped up the match when he unleashed a strike which crashed off the bar. East Fife: Paterson, Neilson (Durie 21), Naysmith, Thom, Campbell, Johnstone, Willis (Mbu 88), Brown, Buchanan, Clarke, McBride (Moosari 81) Subs not used: Andrews, J Stewart, Austin, Dutot Airdrieonians: Gallacher, Buchanan (McLaren 56), Boyle, McCormack, Evans, Blockley, Bain, Drummond, Coogans (Coult 61), Hardie, Watt Subs not used: Duncan, Cadden, O’Byrne Referee: Kevin Graham Crowd 665
Posted on: Sun, 29 Sep 2013 07:36:29 +0000
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