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East Fife 1 v 0 Albion Rovers |  |
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East Fife 1 v 0 Albion Rovers | |
| Bell's League Third Division 11th March 2006 |
Attendance : 257
Scorers ~ East Fife : McDonald (23).
Albion Rovers travelled eastwards having picked up just one point since beating their hosts 2 months previously and continued their disappointing run. Jamie Ewings returned to the number 1 jersey after injury.
Rovers started positively with a Jamie Doyle free-kick from 30 yards failing to find it's target man in the homesters penalty area. A few minutes later East Fife got into the act when Greig McDonald produced a snapshot which was tipped over the bar by Ewings.
Iain Chisholm flighted in a cross from the side of the pitch which saw the waiting Rovers man just beaten to the ball by 'keeper Dodds.
In 23 minutes the Fifers grabbed the lead when poor defensive play gave McDonald the ball, he made space to loose the shot and score his 4th against Rovers this season with Ewings unable to stop it.
Fighting back a Doyle corner led to a woeful Chaplain attempt. Shortly afterwards Chaplain was booked by the referee after tussling with Savage who incredibly wasn't even ticked off by the official.
Donnelly was booked several minutes later for a seemingly fair tackle, the resulting free-kick led to Savage stooping to head the ball to Jamie Ewings. Kevin Gordon was next to have a go but his shot was deflected away from goal by a team-mate. Iain Chisholm was in the right place at the right time with 5 minutes of the half remaining but his shot was somewhat wide of the target.
Just before half-time Andy Campbell finally had his name taken by the referee for persistent fouling. Then one last assault on goal by Rovers saw a Doyle bullet shot skim past the East Fife goal.
Half-Time
Hampshire and Pelosi both had forgettable attempts for East Fife before Scott Friel put the ball into the box then a high ball had Chaplain challenging Dodds who punched the ball away.
Gordon Lennon was next to impress with a long mazy run goalward but the least said about the shot at the end of it the better. Former Rover John Bradford then came close from 6 yards out but his header was wide.
Stephen Donachy squandered a golden chance in 56 minutes by blasting over from close to the penalty spot from a Scott Chaplain cross which left him with an open goal.
George Wallace was through on goal for Rovers when the 'keeper intervened to kick the ball back to the striker whose second attempt was cleared by a defender for an unproductive corner.
Once more referee O'Reilly incurred the ire of Albion Rovers fans when he failed to take action against Campbell who felled Chisholm, such action would have seen the previously booked defender sent for an early shower.
Graham McGhee knew little about a fast paced free-kick through the East Fife box which came off him and skimmed past the goal. Stephen Reid who'd replaced McGhee was through on goal only for Dodds to deny him by plucking the ball from his feet.
Another Reid shot failed before Savage shot woefully high following a corner. Reid was advancing goalward when he stumbled over the ball on the 18 yard line which enabled Donachy to shoot straight to 'keeper Dodds.
Reid was again in the thick of it in 81 minutes when substitute Andy Sim's quality footwork gave him the ball but Dodds managed to block the shot. Then a low shot by Kevin Gordon failed to trouble Ewings. On the 90 mark Beith was booked for a foul indicative of the strategy of his team.
During the 5 minutes of injury time played a Chaplain shot skimmed over the East Fife bar, George Wallace lifted his leg high to latch onto a long upfield ball but gave it too much elevation. A Savage run up the far side outstepping the Rovers defence pended with a cross to Bradford who blasted past the goal.
Bradford having his name taken for kicking the ball way was the last event of the game.
McDonald and Kelly of the home side was also booked during the match.
East Fife : John Dodds, Lumsden, Hampshire (Beith 81), Smith, Campbell, McDonald, Gordon, Pelosi (Kelly 71), Bradford, Savage, Doyle. Subs Not Used : Kerr Dodds, Bain, Morrison.
Albion Rovers : Ewings, Friel, McGhee (Reid 67), Lennon, Donnelly (Selkirk 87), Doyle, Chisholm, Chaplain, Wallace, Bonnar (Sim 76), Donachy. Subs Not Used : Noble, McGlynn.
Referee : S. O'Reilly
