East Fife must keep up the standard

East Fife had plenty to celebrate on Saturday after beating Cove 4-2. Pic by Kenny MackayEast Fife had plenty to celebrate on Saturday after beating Cove 4-2. Pic by Kenny Mackay
East Fife had plenty to celebrate on Saturday after beating Cove 4-2. Pic by Kenny Mackay
Darren Young is calling on his East Fife players to maintain the standards they set at the weekend when they visit Montrose on Saturday.

The Fifers looked anything like a team suffering at the bottom League One against Cove Rangers at Bayview, running out 4-2 winners thanks to, by far, their performance of the season.

It was an emphatic return to form and got the second quarter of the campaign off to a perfect start.

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They’ll look to repeat that performance on Saturday when they make the journey to Angus, but boss Young knows his men will need to be at their very best again to take all three points.

He said: “Montrose are no mugs and have been there or thereabouts for the past three or four seasons.

"They have some good players, especially in the forward line.

"Graham Webster is very good, Blair Lyons has come back on loan and, by all accounts, caused all sorts of problems for Clyde on Saturday, along with James Keatings, who has played at a very good level.

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"They’re a solid team, so we can’t afford to make any mistakes.

"They’re as good as, if not better, than Cove.

"We need to show the same attitude and the same desire as we did on Saturday.

"If we can do that, then we have a chance.”

East Fife were no doubt lifted by the return of Ryan Wallace to their strike-force on Saturday.

He partnered Kyle Connell, who made his first league start following injury since the last time the Fifers and Mo met back in August.

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“It makes a difference for us having them back,” said the Bayview boss.

"They gave everyone a boost.

"We were delighted with their performance and if we can keep that up, with four or five guys still to come back on top of that, it’s great from that point of view.”

As well as those returning players, Young was also delighted with the impact of teenage midfielder Liam Newton.

"He’s a bit of an unsung hero for us,” said the manager.

"He goes about doing the hard work and the dirty side but when he does get the ball, he has quality with his left foot.”

Ross Dunlop will miss Saturday’s game but Kieran Millar will return.

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