East Fife eight unbeaten but frustration is the feeling after Montrose draw
East Fife’s unbeaten run stretched to an impressive eight matches last Saturday after a 1-1 draw with Montrose in Scottish League One.
Dick Campbell’s side welcomed the Angus outfit to the MGM Timber Bayview looking to build on the previous weekend’s 2-1 win over Queen of the South.
And the Fifers got off to a flyer. Craig Brown sent an early header well over the bar for Montrose, and after that the chances came the way of the hosts. Brian Easton connected with a Michael McKenna corner but he couldn’t steer the ball home.
Soon after, Lewis Latona had an effort blocked following great work out wide from Nathan Austin.
Centre-back Easton opened the scoring for East Fife after 11 minutes, this time taking advantage of a McKenna corner kick – directing the ball home at the near post from Andy Munro’s brilliant header back across.
Up the other end, Ruairidh Adams made a stunning stop to deny Brown after he found himself free in the middle of the penalty area.
East Fife should have made it two after 28 minutes when Tommy Goss’ headed effort smashed off the post after Reis Peggie’s long throw caused chaos.
And three minutes later, they were made to pay when Montrose grabbed a leveller. Graham Webster slotted home from after a lofted free-kick wasn’t dealt with.
Austin should have swiftly restored the Fifers’ lead straight from kick off, but he somehow clipped the bar with an effort in front of goal following a great run from Latona.
In the second half, the Fifers had the majority of the chances but couldn’t find another goal. Forward Austin had a couple of decent runs and efforts, but it wasn’t his day.
And Montrose managed to hold on for a point despite late pressure from the hosts – who did more than enough to merit a victory.
Speaking to East Fife TV after the 1-1 draw, manager Campbell admitted that his side should have won the match.
"I think we could have picked up another two points,” he said. “It wasn’t a great game. You can’t kid the public on. I’m sure Stewart (Petrie) would agree. We had the best chances. We had the most chances. We had seven chances and didn’t take them.
"They score a goal from a set-piece. We shouldn’t be losing a goal like that with the type of players we have in our defence. The ball has travelled 40-odd yards and we haven’t picked it up – it is a bad goal to lose.
"They didn’t have many chances. I could be here all night telling you about the ones that we had. But I tell you what… Montrose will be delighted with a draw. They dealt with our presence and height well, the best any team has this season.
"We are disappointed that we didn’t win the match. One thing you can’t do is coach players to score goals – Fash (Nathan Austin) was through one-on-one three times.”
The Fifers faced Clyde in the KDM Evolution Trophy league-phase on Tuesday evening while this newspaper went to press. On Saturday, Campbell’s side return to Scottish League One action with a trip to second-placed Inverness Caley Thistle.