Bayview Stadium played host to a huge match this weekend between the two top sides in League two. The Blue Toon travelled down south, backed by a large away support who were hopeful of seeing their team get a win and put themselves just 1 point away from the summit of the division. Both sides were coming off the back of draws in their previous matches, Peterhead of course held to a 2-2 draw by Clyde at Balmoor a week ago, and East Fife were rescued from defeat by a 85th minute penalty in their 1-1 draw with Bonnyrigg Rose last week.
Three changes were made to the team that started against Clyde last weekend, most notably Stuart McKenzie returning between the sticks in place of Blessing Oluyemi. Peter Pawlett made a return to the lineup after his short spell on the sidelines with an ankle injury, and Danny Strachan reclaimed his spot at right back. Oliver Colloty and Caleb Goldie dropped to the bench.
It was a blustery day on the coast, with both sides taking a moment to get used to the conditions. It was the hosts who started on the front foot, penning Peterhead in their own half for the majority of the first 15 minutes. The Blue Toon defence stayed robust and soaked up the early pressure, with East Fife having little to show for their period of domination and Stuart McKenzie remained relatively untroubled. Peterhead then managed to throw some punches of their own, finding joy on the wings and counter-attacking with pace to remind their opposition of their threat. Max Barry sent a number of excellent set piece deliveries into the East Fife area, finding his man more often than not. That man on most occasions was Scott Ross, who had two headed chances within the first half hour, freeing himself from his marker both times and connecting well, but his first effort sailed over the bar, and the second straight at McFarlane in goal. As you would expect from a game of such magnitude for both sides, chances were few and far between with both sets of defences doing their upmost to protect their goalkeepers, both of whom had had little saves to make. Also to be expected from these big games is a few meaty challenges in the midfield, of which there was no shortage on this occasion. The referee showed three yellow cards in the first half, the first for Max Barry, before showing yellow cards to Millar and McManus for East Fife. Peterhead went into the halftime break with momentum on their side though, ending the half strong despite not finding the killer touch in front of goal.
Half-time: East Fife 0-0 Peterhead
The second half continued in a similar vein to the first, with Peterhead the better team but still very little clear-cut chances to speak of for either side. East Fife were the first to make a substitution in an attempt to shake up the game, Laaref replacing Healy and immediately looking to make a difference. Laaref managed to manufacture a shooting chance for himself on the edge of the box just moments after being brought on, but his shot was smothered by McKenzie with little issue. Peterhead’s full backs were marauding forward all 90 minutes as they so often do, with both Ciaran Dunne and Danny Strachan firing plenty of crosses into the box, but the little bit of luck with the bounce of the ball was missing, as no cross ever seemed to sit up right for Kieran Shanks or any other men in black around the East Fife penalty box. Both sides made triple changes on the 70 minute mark, with Oliver Colloty, Jack Brown and Seb Ross all introduced for the Toon to try and create that golden opportunity. Both defences continued to stifle their opposition for the remainder of the match, but the golden opportunity finally came the way of Peterhead in the last passage of play of the game. A cross from the right wing evaded everyone in the box and went all the way through to Ciaran Dunne, who managed to pick up the scraps and drive behind his marker and into the East Fife penalty area. Dunne then cut the ball back across from the by-line, and found a black shirt unmarked no more than 10 yards from goal. The East Fife defender flung their bodies in the way of the initial shot, desperate to hold onto their point. The ball was never cleared however, and Cammy Smith pounced on the loose ball before firing what felt destined to be the winner. Both sets of supporters held their breath as Smith got his shot away, which took a heavy deflection and looped up onto the crossbar. The ball bounced up off the bar three times before eventually falling behind for what would have been a corner, but the referee sounded the final whistle before the Blue Toon could test one more cross into the East Fife box.
Full-time: East Fife 0-0 Peterhead
Starting XI: McKenzie, Danny Strachan, Scott Ross, Jason Brown, Dunne, Pawlett (Carnwath 86’), Forrest (Brown 71’), McCarthy, Barry (Seb Ross 71’), Smith, Shanks (Colloty 71’)
