The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Smith hails points haul against top two teams
EAST FIFE: Manager pleased with point and ‘excellent’ passages of play
EAST FIFE 0 ALLOA 0
East Fife retained their grip on third place, with boss Barry Smith hailing his side’s points return against League One’s top two sides.
The draw on Saturday added to last week’s impressive 1-0 win away from home at league leaders Livingston.
It has been a near perfect couple of weekends for an East Fife side which shows no sign of letting a play-off place slip out of their hands.
They will aim to reinforce their claims when they travel to Albion Rovers tomorrow night.
Despite neither side being able to break the deadlock at Bayview on Saturday it was an entertaining game with both teams having chances to win.
Smith reckoned it was a decent point for his side.
He said: “The first half we played some good stuff, and the second was a bit more even.
“It’s a good point and, looking at it, we’ve played the top two sides and taken four out of six. We have to be pleased with that.
“Some of the football and passages of play were excellent, so the boys deserve a lot of credit for that.
“Both keepers didn’t have a lot to do, but that didn’t stop the sides from trying to get on to the end of things and having efforts on goal.
“Alloa are a good team and pass the ball well, but I thought we were disciplined in our positions.
“We made it very difficult for them to break us down, and another clean sheet is great.”
The game started at a decent tempo, with East Fife having the best of the first half.
Scott Robinson had an early strike on the Alloa goal, a long-range drive which was tipped wide by Neil Parry.
On-loan Dundee midfielder Jesse Curran has made a positive impact since arriving at Bayview, and was next to try his luck. The Australian showed magnificent technique to fire in his volley from the edge of the box but, unfortunately for the home side, it sailed inches over the bar.
Greig Spence is Alloa’s top scorer and so often a thorn in East Fife’s side. He had the best chance for the Wasps but couldn’t keep his strike down.
The second half was as open as the first, with play swinging from end to end.
Nicki Paterson had a decent chance to break the deadlock but headed a Robinson cross over the bar.
With the game heading for a draw, East Fife almost snatched a late winner when Jason Kerr’s header was cleared off the line.