Clyde 0-4 East Fife

Ian McCall endured a harrowing first afternoon in charge of The Bully Wee as East Fife cruised to a 4-0 victory at New Douglas Park.

The new manager made two changes to the side which picked up a point at Forfar last Saturday, with Stuart Carswell and Martin Rennie returning from injury to replace Kian Leslie and Connor Young, with the latter nursing a hamstring issue. Ray Grant also returned to the bench after over 11 months out with injury.

The first chance of the day fell to Alan Trouten after Jack Leighfield sliced his clearance paving the way for East Fife to break the deadlock early on, as Trouten slotted the ball into the back of the net. However, minutes later Ross Forbes almost got The Bully Wee back on terms after the midfielder came inches away from heading home his efforts.

East Fife doubled their lead after just ten minutes after Sean Docherty took advantage of Ross Lyon losing possession outside the box before cutting it back for Brogan Walls who smashed home his chance, leaving Vlyde with a mountain to climb.

Jack Leighfield then made a strong save after Brogan Walls looked to add a third from just outside with over ten minutes left of the half.

Nathan Austin soon after saw his effort denied by Leighfield once more, as the away side came close to adding another to their advantage.

The Bully Wee had a number of half chances after the interval however none of which troubled East Fife keeper Allan Fleming. That changed later in the half when Martin Rennie cannoned his chance goalward forcing Fleming to make a fully stretched save.

Despite the efforts to get back into the encounter, Clyde conceded a third with half an hour to play after Nathan Austin converted a cross beyond the hands of Leighfield.

Alexander King tried to test his luck from range after finding himself a pocket of space before blasting the ball over the bar.

Scott Shepherd came close to making it four from a free-kick just outside the box, but the Fifers didn’t have to wait long as a mix-up at the back allowed Trouten to poke it into the back of the net in the closing minutes.

BULLY WEE FUND DRAW WINNER: 26. ROBERT MCPHEE – £625

Pictures by Craig Black