Falkirk 2-0 East Fife

Falkirk, with their full-time squad and big budget, have been equal to the part-time Methil men.

Boss Darren Young pointed out post match that it shows just how far the Bayview club have come in the past few years that there's a sense of disappointment at going away from home to a place like Falkirk and not picking anything up.

The first two meetings between these two this year have ended in 0-0 draws as both cancelled each other out.

This one appeared to be heading the same way until the hosts struck with 18 minutes left.

They added a quickfire second which made the margin of the win look a lot more comfortable than it was.

That's not to say they hadn't had their chances, they did, but so did East Fife, although they'll be the first to admit they didn't create as much as they would have liked.

Play swung from end to end in the opening half.

Falkirk were guilty of passing up the best of what was created, a theme that would haunt them the majority of the match.

Aidan Connolly, Margaro Gomis and Conor Sammon all had chances to hit the back of the net.

East Fife's chances were more rare, but they had a decent sight of goal when Pat Slattery picked Kevin Smith out inside the Falkirk box.

Smith did well to get the ball under control but blazed his finish high over the bar.

It was honours even at the break but the hosts looked to do something about that in the early stages of the second half.

Brett Long smothered an early corner before the Fife keeper was called on again to brilliantly keep out Louis Longridge's drive.

Longridge should have done better with his effort and by now the home fans were starting to get edgy.

East Fife weren't able to make life any more difficult for them, though, with moves too often breaking down in the final third.

Falkirk stuck gamely to their task and eventually got their noses in front.

Play was switched from one full back to the other, Paul Dixon picking out Michael Doyle.

Right back Doyle evaded the attentions of the Fife defence and slammed his finish beyond Long.

The goal both knocked the stuffing out of the visitors and calmed the nerves of the hosts.

They got number two when Declan McManus's drive came off the base of the post and sneaked over the line.

Bayview boss Young said: "It's testament to the players that they're disappointed we've come away from home to a full-time team and got beat.

"That's the level of expectation because of how we've been performing this season.

"A couple of things went against us and I counted nine times that Declan McManus fouled but not once did he get spoken to.

"That's inconsistency and it needs to be better.

"It happened all over the park but at the end of the day, on the night, they created the better chances.

"Defensively I'm proud of my players and there were a lot of positives because of their never say die attitude."