Smith takes many positives in defeat

East Fife’s unbeaten run came to an end at Bayview, but boss Barry Smith couldn’t have been happier with his players.

The 11-game winning run the Methil men were on faced its sternest test as Championship side St Mirren visited in last-16 Scottish Cup action.

The sides shared five goals and two penalties.

Smith said: “We came back from being two goals down last week and a goal again this week.

“But we don’t want to be chasing games, we need to start getting our noses in front.

“That’s probably being overly critical of the players because of how they responded and what they gave during the game.

“In the second-half we played some really good stuff and created good opportunities.”

East Fife had the better of the opening spell. Chris Kane passed up a great chance to break the deadlock when he headed over from just a few yards out.

Saints took the lead when Cammy Smith took advantage of a loose ball inside the box and hooked his finish over Ryan Goodfellow.

East Fife grabbed a deserved second-half equaliser. Ross Brown was barged over in the box, and Chris Duggan scored from the resulting penalty.

The home side went on to enjoy a period of dominance.

Jack Ross on the opposing bench introduced Lewis Morgan, who put St Mirren ahead from a neat Stevie Mallan delivery.

East Fife were hit by a sucker punch when Morgan grabbed his second goal, curled superbly beyond Goodfellow.

Duggan pulled another back for East Fife, again from the spot, after Jamie Insall had been hauled back inside the box.

A Chris Duggan double from the spot wasn’t enough for East Fife.