East Fife take a wee break over New Year

It was a tough final match of the year for the Fifers, travelling to face to league leaders Dumbarton, who were also marking the occasion of their club’s 150th anniversary.

The Methil men now take a short break as they have no game this weekend.

Their next match is scheduled for Saturday, January 7, when they travel north to Borough Briggs to face Elgin City.

The Fifers opened their league campaign with a fine 2-1 win at Elgin, and repeated that result when the two sides met again at Bayview in October.

A third victory of the same margin would no doubt suit East Fife.

However, Elgin’s form has picked up as the season has gone on, and they currently sit in third position, albeit currently only three points ahead of East Fife, although they do have a game in hand, which will be played at Forfar on Monday, January 2.

One of the pleasing aspects of the game at Dumbarton was the welcome return to the starting line-up of Ryan Schiavone, who played for an hour before being replaced by Alan Trouten.

Hopefully the short break will enable manager Greig McDonald to get a few more of his injured players closer to fitness, as the option to rotate his players could be beneficial for the remainder of the season.

Following the Elgin City match, East Fife’s first home League 2 game of 2023 will be when they welcome Stenhousemuir to Bayview on Saturday, January 14.