East Fife 2 v 2 Albion Rovers

Attendance : 594

Scorers ~ East Fife Gordon (10), O'Reilly (56). Albion Rovers : Lennox (7), Creaney (18).

On the back of 3 consecutive league defeats Albion Rovers travelled to Methil to play the league leaders who were unbeaten at home in this seasons campaign, but it was the Coatbridge men who had their opponents on the rack for much of the match.

The Fifers were first to come close when a Ryan Blackadder 30 yard free-kick ended up on the top of the net. A long Lennon throw-in caused some difficulty for the home defence before Rovers stunned the league leaders in 7 minutes when Bryan Felvus grabbed the ball and squared it to Tommy Lennox who had a simple tap-in.

A couple of minutes later Jamie Ewings failed to deal with a corner and Jon Smart had his header cleared from the goal line by Jamie Doyle. In 10 minutes East Fife drew level when Kevin Gordon threaded the ball through a packed Rovers box when the ball re-entered the area.

Rovers were quick to try and regain their advantage Lennox laying off the ball to Bryan Felvus whose powerful low shot was regrettably wide. In 18 minutes Rovers were ahead again when excellent Lennon play provided the opportunity for Phil Creaney to volley the ball to bag his first goal for the club since joining over a year ago in only his 3rd start due to injury.

Craig O'Reilly had a shot deflected for a corner in 34 minutes, Courts header was stopped by Ewings. There followed a few East Fife corners which caused difficulties for the visitors. Creaney shot had 'keeper Dodds scrambling to save, eventually picking it up a second before Felvus got there.

With seconds of the half remaining Scott Chaplain seemed to be shoved within the Fifers penalty box but perhaps because he took a couple of seconds to go down no penalty was awarded.

Half-Time

Creaney started where he left off in the first period when he volleyed a shot which Dodds was equal to. Ewings did well a minute later to get down at the feet of the fast advancing Craig Smart and gain the ball.

Ryan Blackadder vilified by the visiting fans for his apparent difficulty staying upright blasted the ball of Rovers crossbar after a perfect lay-off had set it up nicely. Brian Smith went on a run which disappointingly ended with a shot straight to Dodds.

In 56 minutes East Fife equalised when Jason Dair side-stepped Doyle at the far touchline to put a high ball into the Rovers box which Ewings went for and completely missed, Craig O'Reilly was one of the waiting Fifers in front of goal to head home from 3 yards.

O'Reilly had a strong shot stopped by Jamie Ewings before Rovers were to go on the offensive once more, Jamie Doyle crossing for that man Creaney to head only for Dodds to make a save.

Andy Sim replaced Tommy Lennox in an attempt to push for a win in 70 minutes. This was soon followed by Jamie Doyle chipping over the East Fife 'keeper at the edge of his box, Scott Chaplain stretched but couldn't quite get the ball.

When Andy Sim was brought down on the edge of the box Jamie Doyle lofted the ball far too high to be of concern to the homesters. Unphased Rovers attacked almost immediately when Gordon Lennon advanced up the wing giving the ball to Smith when he got sufficiently close but the midfielder was off-balance when he struck the ball and gave it too much elevation.

Martin Bonnar then replaced Jamie Doyle who managed 75 minutes in his first match back from injury. Smith had a neat back healer to Donnelly at the corner of the park and the resultant shot was high with Dodds up to get it. Play switched ends very quickly forcing Ewings to punch clear.

Blackadder reprised his early free-kick putting it onto the top of the Rovers net once more. Donnelly had a cross cum shot headed clear and the next move saw Lennon on the wing again and tapped the ball past a defender to run onto, unfortunately this didn't lead to anything too worrying for home fans.

Felvus was again making a nuisance of himself when he tapped a through ball to Chaplain who stretched unsuccessfully to reach the ball. Kevin Nicoll was booked by the extremely inconsistent Mr. Winter leading to Jim Chapman exchanging views with the whistler. Ewings was then called on to save a shot which ricocheted on its way to him.

Rovers physio Derek Kelly then had a chat with Mr. Winter soon followed by a doomed attempt by each side before the final whistle sounded.

Summary

A battling performance by Albion Rovers in which Phil Creaney proved a revelation while watched by his better known brother Gerry from the stands. The defensive frailties all to evident of late were still there but the fighting spirit was impressive.

East Fife : Dodds, Smith,  Dair, Jonathan Smart, Doyle, Courts, Gordon (Martin 85), Jablonski (Fortune 90),  O'Reilly (Crabbe 77), Craig Smart, Blackadder. Subs Not Used : Hampshire, Ross.

Albion Rovers : Ewings, Watson, Niccol, Lennon, Donnelly, Doyle (Bonnar 75), Lennox (Sim 70), Chaplain, Felvus, Creaney, Smith. Subs Not Used : Walker, Moffat, Thompson.

Referee : Brian Winter

Man of the Match - Phil Creaney

Fixtures/Results/Reports/Pics

Home  Latest  League Table