Our fortunes will change

Darren Young has urged his side to keep doing all the right things as they wait for their luck to change in front of goal.
Mark Hurst clears the danger as East Fife are put under pressure at the weekend. Pic by Chris Coutts.Mark Hurst clears the danger as East Fife are put under pressure at the weekend. Pic by Chris Coutts.
Mark Hurst clears the danger as East Fife are put under pressure at the weekend. Pic by Chris Coutts.

On Saturday East Fife went down 2-0 at Forfar in a game which mirrored the previous week’s 1-0 loss at Raith Rovers.

In both games the Methil club had large spells of possession where they pressed the opposition goal while never really looking threatened at the back themselves.

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Forfar, on the other hand, had a couple of shots on goal the whole game and managed to find the net twice.

Boss Young admits it’s a frustrating spell in front of goal, but is confident if his side keeps doing the things they’re doing well just now, the tide will turn.

He said: “It’s the same story for us at the moment.

“We go into a game with injuries and suspensions but still feel as if we do enough to get the result.

“The goals we lost were poor again though as well.

“We’ve had lots of shots from distance and did well in the wide areas.

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“Nathan Flanagan and Mark Lamont were both playing as wingers and I thought it worked okay for us.

“We’d been going over a few things in training like crossing and shooting exercises but it’s just not coming off for us in a game at the moment for one reason or another.

“We’ll need to work on our corners and free-kicks now as well because we’re getting plenty but not making the most of them.

“It’s just a wee spell we’re going through and I’d be a lot more concerned if we weren’t creating the chances we are.”

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On a positive note for the Methil men Chris Kane returned to the side from long term injury at Forfar while Kevin Smith got another run out under his belt.

Kyle Wilkie’s suspension has also now been served and he’s free to return.

“It was good to get Chris back at the weekend,” said the manager.

“With Kevin we’re just playing it slowly and gradually introducing him back by playing him for 30 or 35 minutes.

“We need to do things right for him.

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“He’s been doing well just coming off the bench at the moment but hopefully it won’t be too long until he can start because we know the quality he has and are going to be without Greg Hurst and Pat Slattery.

“Scott Linton will hopefully be back soon as well and Craig Watson isn’t too far away.”

The Fifers take a break from league duty on Saturday when they travel to meet Clyde in the Scottish Cup.

The Broadwood club have been struggling in League Two this season and parted company with manager Jim Chapman.

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But they’ll head into the match with a new man in the dug-out, former St Mirren boss Danny Lennon taking over at the club on Monday.

“If we play the way we have been and keep the ball then we can be confident going into the game,” said Young.

“The game will be about us winning our battles, not making any mistakes and taking our chances in the final third.”

Pat Slattery, Scott Linton and Craig Watson will all miss the cup tie.

The club is still awaiting confirmation from Dundee to see if on-loan defender Jordan Piggott can play in the Scottish Cup match.