East Fife reach League Two summit after 1-0 win at Spartans

East Fife winger Jack Healy – who set up Nathan Austin’s winner – on the ball against The Spartans (Pictures by Kenny Mackay)

East Fife secured a hard-fought 1-0 win at The Spartans last Saturday afternoon to climb to the summit of the William Hill League Two table.

Dick Campbell’s side came into the match on the back of a 2-0 success over second-placed Peterhead last weekend, and they followed that up with another clean sheet – and three points – against another title contender in Dougie Samuel’s capital club.

Leven ace Nathan Austin grabbed the only goal of the match on the hour mark, firing home past Blair Carswell from substitute Jack Healy’s early cross.

And with the Fifers now a point ahead of the Blue Toon after eight outings, delighted assistant manager Ian Campbell told East Fife TV: “It was all about East Fife today.

"We managed the game professionally and we went about our job properly.

“We got close to them all over the pitch and the manner in which we managed it was brilliant.

“I tend to look at how well we do when we don’t have the ball. It was a good performance against a good side.

“There’s a lot to be happy about, three points and we are top of the league now.

On the performance, he added: “Spartans did well in the first half. They didn’t hurt us greatly but they possession in good areas and they had the extra man in the middle of the park. They were a wee bit better than us.

“We sorted that out at half time and after the break we showed once again what we a capable of doing. We were tremendous.

“We were through one-on-one with the goalkeeper three times. Jack Healy came off and changed the psychology of the game.

"It does that when you have someone who can take the ball and turn and run, the dynamic changes as it asks questions of the opposition defence.

“We gained more confidence and you can see the quality of the squad.

“They threw the kitchen sink at us late on as you would expect but to get it over the line was great.”

East Fife now host Callum Elliot’s Bonnyrigg Rose at home this Saturday, with kick-off at the MGM Timber Bayview Stadium set for 3pm. The Rosey Posey sit in fifth spot.