The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)

Fifers’ double bid falls short

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EAST FIFE 0 PARTICK THISTLE 1

League One East Fife put Championsh­ip side Partick out of the Irn-Bru Cup in September but could not repeat the feat in the Scottish.

Methil manager Darren Young was proud of his side’s efforts but frustrated at losing the game’s only goal from a set-piece.

On-loan St Johnstone defender Steven Anderson headed home a Craig Slater delivery in the second half to put Partick into the quarter-finals.

For Bayview boss Young, it was a case of what might have been.

He said: “We went with a 4-4-2 and felt it worked. We limited them to few chances and you couldn’t really tell who the Championsh­ip team was.

“Again, we’ve gone toe-to-toe with another full-time team and put in a great performanc­e. It’s just disappoint­ing that we lost a goal from a set-piece when we were on top.

“It’s something we highlighte­d – to make sure they don’t get any opportunit­ies.

“But apart from that they maybe only had one or maybe two chances and that was it. We did great and I can’t ask any more.

“The attitude, work-rate and desire was there but we could maybe have had a bit more composure on the ball in the second half.

“We’ll learn from it.”

East Fife went into the game still battling on three fronts, with promotion still more than possible and with their respective Scottish and Irn-Bru Cup campaigns alive.

They play Ross County on Friday night in the semi-finals of the Irn-Bru Cup.

The Fifers started brightly, a Liam Watt header from a Rory Currie delivery dropping narrowly wide of Conor Hazard’s post.

The Maryhill Jags posed plenty of threat in attack themselves, with Miles Storey and Aidan Fitzpatric­k both impressive.

Fitzpatric­k came closest to giving his side the lead after working room for himself inside the box only for Brett Long to make the stop.

Partick may have looked dangerous on the break, but their chances were few and far between as the home side dominated.

But for all their possession, they struggled to really test Hazard in the away goal.

However, shortly before the break East Fife were presented with an excellent chance to open the scoring when Hazard was penalised after catching his own clearance from a passback which had blown back into his hands.

Referee Don Robertson correctly awarded a free-kick inside the box but Scott Linton’s drive was deflected wide.

Thistle had been second best in the opening half but improved following the break.

Boss Gary Caldwell gave it barely 15 minutes after the restart to begin to make changes and introduced Blair Spittal and Kris Doolan from the bench.

Both brought decent experience and fresh legs to the park and wasted little time in making an impact.

Shortly after the 75-minute mark Thistle took the lead when Slater’s delivery was met six yards from goal by defender Anderson for what would be the only goal of the game.

It was cruel on the Fifers but they responded well.

The equaliser almost arrived when Anton Dowds flashed a cross along the face of goal which Jonny Court missed by a couple of inches.

East Fife piled on the pressure in the closing stages but Thistle managed to hold on.

 ?? Pictures: SNS Group. ?? Above: Partick’s Steven Anderson gets in front of Craig Watson to score the only goal of the tie in the second half from Craig Slater’s delivery; below: Darren Young, left thinking what might have been after losing disappoint­ing goal.
Pictures: SNS Group. Above: Partick’s Steven Anderson gets in front of Craig Watson to score the only goal of the tie in the second half from Craig Slater’s delivery; below: Darren Young, left thinking what might have been after losing disappoint­ing goal.
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