Young praises Fife players after earning three crucial points

EAST FIFE 2 ALBION ROVERS 0

East Fife boss Darren Young was delighted with the way his side stood up to the pressure surrounding their meeting with Albion Rovers.

After a couple of losses on the bounce the Methil men found themselves slipping down the division to within touching distance of those behind them – including Rovers.

Brian Kerr’s side went into the game seven points adrift of East Fife in the relegation play-off zone but with two games in hand.

They knew that a win over their hosts would haul the Fifers back into the mix.

But it was a scenario Young’s side refused to accommodate, and they eased to a deserved 2-0 win which sees them back to within six points from the top four.

The Fife boss was delighted with the crucial three points.

He said: “We had put ourselves under pressure with the results and performances of the past few weeks.

“But we bounced back and fully deserved the three points.

“It was great to get the clean sheet and the other scores elsewhere have went our way as well.

“We spoke about taking things one game at a time.

“Airdrie were ahead of us but we’ve gone above them again.

“We’re just looking to keep catching the team above us.”

Rovers started better of the two sides and could have found themselves a couple of goals up early on.

The first opportunity came when the home side couldn’t clear their lines and the ball eventually broke for Alan Trouten six yards out, but the Rovers forward misfired and screwed his effort wide.

Within moments he was presented with a chance to redeem himself when Joao Victoria sliced open the Fife defence with a fine through ball.

Trouten burst clear on goal but was denied by on-loan St Johnstone keeper Ben MacKenzie who raced off his line to block.

The misses proved costly as East Fife went on to open the scoring and then really impose themselves on the game.

The goal arrived when Aaron Dunsmore slid a composed finish beyond Kieran Wright.

It was little surprise when the home side added a second.

It was one straight from the training ground with Scott Linton’s free-kick sent to the corner of the six yard box.

Chris Duggan had peeled off his marker and met Linton’s delivery on the volley, cracking his finish off the underside of the bar.

Pat Slattery should have added a third but sent his volley wide.