Fifers come back from two down to seal 3-2 win

The Methil men looked out of steam as they fell to a 2-0 defeat which ultimately proved to be the bumper to derail their League Cup hopes.

But the friendly had been arranged much earlier in the summer and had to be played.

To be fair, although both managers were keen not to add to their respective injury lists ahead of Saturday’s league kick-off, the game did have a bit of a crackle not normally associated with friendlies at this stage of the year.

Whether that was down to both sides having already completed a few competitive games is up for debate.

As it was, the 90 minutes turned out to be a pretty decent exercise with Bayview boss Gary Naysmith able to get some minutes into those players who haven’t had much of a look-in over the League Cup campaign.

Brodie Gray, Ross Mutch and Kevin O’Hara where handed starts while Tony Wallace was a welcome return from injury.

Ryan Goodfellow and Willie Muir shared a half each, both performing well, and arguably giving Naysmith his biggest headache ahead of the weekend.

O’Hara and Mutch, both just 17-years-old, worked hard up front but it was former Kennoway Star Hearts youngster Gray who impressed the most.

Out on the wide left, Gray looked neat and tidy in possession, strong on the ball and keen to get up and down the line.

Cowden raced into a two goal lead before the break with Kris Renton and Kyle Miller netting.

Naysmith brought on some experienced heads as the second half went on and their introductions turned the game in East Fife’s favour.

Sub Kevin Smith pulled one back when his shot deflected over Jamie Sneddon.

Pat Slattery raced in on goal and levelled matters before Smith wrapped up the comeback with a stunning strike from the edge of the box.

Attention now turns to a return to league business.