Naysmith refuses to criticise despite Fife losing pole position

East Fife were knocked off top spot in League Two but the final score failed to reflect the close nature of a tight promotion clash.

Gary Naysmith’s side fell behind to a John Carter strike on 55 minutes but were firmly in contention until injury-time goals settled it as the Fifers chased a leveller.

Methil boss Naysmith was disappointed with the performance but refused to be critical of his squad after the seven-game unbeaten run that had taken them to the summit.

The former Scotland full back said: “The final scoreline is harsh but whether it was 1-0 or 3-0 Queen’s Park deserved to win. We got what we deserved as we were second to most balls.”

The first half was a tight affair with a free-kick from the hosts’ Jamie McKernon forcing Liam Kelly into a smart save and Kyle Wilkie sending a driven Nathan Austin cross just wide.

After Carter lashed home the opener Pat Slattery had an effort deflected wide and Wilkie’ s 18- yard shot was saved by home keeper Willie Muir.

The game ended in bizarre fashion with home substitute Chris Duggan arriving in injury-time to dramatic effect.

With bodies thrown forward in search of a leveller, Duggan found space to have a shot blocked by Kelly before shrugging Naysmith off the ball to allow Paul Woods to sidefoot home.

Moments later Duggan capitalised on a mistake by Jonathan Page to cheekily send a shot through Kelly’s legs.

Naysmith said: “It is difficult for me as I could be critical of this performance but I will look at the biggerpicture. Eight games ago we were fifth or sixth in the league but the players went on a great run to get us top.

We have taken a knock but will look to bounce back at Elgin. If we win that game we go back to the top of the league and that is a great incentive.”