Fifers sting Wasps to keep their hopes of making play-offs alive

ALLOA 1 EAST FIFE 2

East Fife surged up to fifth spot in League One and ensured their play-off ambitions stayed alive with a dramatic win at Alloa.

Fife boss Darren Young made a few changes from the side which beat Airdrie 2-1 at Bayview on Saturday as he aimed to cut the gap between his side and the top four to six points.

Into the starting line-up came Kevin Smith, Adam Livingstone and Craig Thomson.

After a quiet opening spell, East Fife gradually grew into the game and had a penalty appeal snubbed when Chris Duggan went down under pressure.

At the other end the Wasps showed a threat of their own and Fife goalie Ben Mackenzie was relieved to watch Andy Graham’s header drop wide of the post.

Jim Goodwin’s side were aiming to put 12 points between themselves and their visitors and Iain Flannigan fired a free-kick past the post.

Chances began to come few and far between as the game became bogged down in a midfield battle.

Things looked a bit more promising as the second half kicked off with East Fife straight on the attack. Mark Lamont tested Neil Parry with a strike the keeper got down well to hold.

Young’s side had certainly signalled their intent and grabbed the lead just a few minutes later when Kevin Smith smashed home a loose ball from six yards after the hosts couldn’t clear Lamont’s corner.

But East Fife weren’t ahead for long. Alloa went off in search of an equaliser and were handed the perfect chance when Lamont bundled over Steven Hetherington inside the box.

It was soft, but referee Steven Kirkland pointed straight to the spot with Garry Fleming stepping up to pull the sides level.

The game had really sparked into life in the second half and again things swung in East Fife’s favour when they regained their league.

With the Alloa defence back off him, Chris Duggan punished them by lashing his drive from 20 yards past Parry.

East Fife’s cause was boosted on 66 minutes when Alloa were reduced to 10 men after Fleming saw a straight red for a lunge on Kevin Smith.

The Wasps threw everything they had at East Fife in the closing stages, but East Fife clung on to secure a massive three points.