East Fife could repeat Forfar experiment

East Fife entertain Falkirk in their final Group B Betfred Cup game with manager Darren Young contemplating sticking with the change of formation that brought about a fine performance against Forfar last Sunday.

The Fifers drew 1-1 but Young was impressed with the chances his side created and he believes that a deadly attacking pair could have been found.

He said: “We went with a couple of strikers up front and it seemed to catch Forfar out. It is a game we should have won as we created so many chances and it was disappointing to lose it on penalties.

“However there were plenty of positives to take, especially in the performance of Kevin Smith. He was terrific and in fact it was the best game I have ever seen from him.

“He brought the best out of Anton Dowds who is just learning the game at this level. Anton will take a bit of confidence from scoring his first senior goal and it could well be that we have found a very good attacking duo.”

Young added: “It was a bit of an experiment, however it went that well that I am tempted to go with it again against Falkirk. There may be nothing at stake in terms of qualification – however it will be a tough game as they have improved in every outing so far.

“Their new players are settling into things and getting used to the game in Scotland. I watched their game at St Johnstone in midweek and in Deimantas Petravicius they have an absolute flying machine who will need very careful watching.

“Whilst we cannot qualify it is a game that we want to win. We have the chance to finish third in our group and that would be a decent start to the season.”

Chris Kane will miss out through suspension after being sent off against the Loons with Mark Docherty and Scott Linton both injured.

Striker Kevin Smith, above, has earned praise from boss Darren Young.