Persistence pays off as Fifers land Boyd

East Fife manager Darren Young’s persistence has paid off ahead of the visit of Dumbarton, with the Methil manager securing the services of former Hamilton Accies striker Steven Boyd who was recently on trial at Stevenage.

The 22-year-old completed the paperwork on the move and goes straight into the league leaders’ squad.

Young said: “I have been patient, but we have added Steven to the squad, and he is in my plans for the Dumbarton game.

“He went through a full pre-season programme with Hamilton Accies so fitness is not an issue and he was really sharp in training the other night so he can be called upon easily.”

He added: “We are at the top of the league and we want to stay there after this game and for as long as possible afterwards.

“The only way to guarantee that is by winning games and that is what we will look to do in this one.

“We played well at Montrose last Saturday and whilst a lot of the focus has been on Aaron Dunsmore’s ability to get goals and Ryan Wallace sealing the 3-1 win our defence deserves a lot of credit.

“In the first half we were up against the wind and they put in a really strong performance to keep Montrose out.

“We managed to sneak in a goal to be leading at the break but at the start of the second half the wind helped Montrose equalise as it took the ball away from one of our players.

“We had a bit of a break as one of their players was sent off seconds after that.

“We then went on to create a host of chances and winning 3-1 did not flatter us at all.

“I would settle for creating lots of chances and another win.”

Kevin Smith is expected to shake off a knock, however Kyle Bell and Chris Duggan remain out

Steven Boyd, left, has signed for East Fife – to the delight of Darren Young.