Away From The Numbers
All good things come to an end. Or so they say. AFTN has been around since 1989, first as a fanzine and then making the jump to a website and forum in 2003. We've been through the many ups and down at East Fife in those 12 years but policing the forum has become a giant pain in the ass in recent years. As such, we made the decision not to renew it when it expired.
The forum is no more and will remain as a locked archive until it is eventually deleted by the host. We're looking in to try to save some of the content as an archive.
This is not the end of AFTN though. The site will continue and will be revamped and return in its full glory for the start of the 2016/17 season. Maybe even sooner. There will be a comment sections and possibly even a new, registered forum. Check our Twitter (@aftnwebsite) for all the latest info and we'll also post in on the EFFC memories Facebook page.
Until then, have a last browse here, thanks for all your support over the years, and 'Mon the Fife.
GoF
From Courier
East Fife impress, but Saints find goal touch
St Johnstone 3 East Fife 1
ST JOHNSTONE advanced to the second round of the CIS Cup at McDiarmid Park last night with a scoreline that flattered the first division club, writes Eric Nicolson.
A hard-working East Fife matched the Perth men for long spells of the tie, but three second-half goals in quick succession—two from Jason Scotland and one from Martin Hardie—ensured there would be no cup shock.
Saints boss Owen Coyle reflected, “In the first half we were lacking a spark and were poor, but for half an hour in the second half we were more like ourselves and we took our goals well.”
East Fife more then held their own in the first half and created the best chances.
Five minutes into the match a slick four-man move through midfield presented John Martin with an opportunity which he blazed over.
Saints couldn’t claim a clear-cut opening in first period, with a Paul Sheerin deflected volley from the edge of the box the nearest they came to a goal.
Midway through the half, the Methil side twice came close within three minutes.
A Jonathon Smart header was tipped over the bar by Bryn Halliwell, then Kevin Gordon dragged a shot past the near post after he latched on to a miss-hit clearance from the Perth keeper.
The Saints upped the tempo after the restart and were rewarded for their improvement with two goals in two minutes around the hour mark.
The deadlock was broken by Scotland after substitute Derek Young split the East Fife defence with a perfectly-weighted through ball.
The game was effectively put beyond the reach of the part-timers with a looping Hardie back post header from Peter MacDonald’s cross. And on 70 minutes the Saints were 3-0 ahead when Scotland rounded keeper Iain Ross to net.
The Fifers grabbed a consolation on 76 minutes when Craig O’Reilly converted a Ryan Blackadder corner.
Attendance—1222.
St Johnstone—Halliwell, Lawrie, Stanic, McManus, Rutkiewicz, Dyer (Young 45), Mensing, Hardie, Milne (MacDonald 45), Scotland (Jackson 79), Sheering. Subs not used—Stevenson, Cuthbert.
East Fife—Ross, Smith, Linton, Smart, McGowan, Courts, Blackadder, Jablonski, Crabbe (Ritchie 2
, Martin (O’Reilly 67), Gordon (Smart 67). Subs not used—Fortune, Dodds.
Referee—John Underhill.
Unfortunately there are no pictures of tonights game even though I had the camera gear with me, ROCKSTEADY in there infinate wisdom thought I might crack somebodies head open with 2k work of camera....where do they get them?
Man of the people, Matthew McLean, puzzled many with why he hasn't been snapped up by a TV or radio commentary team for his insightful match thoughts as he remarked "it's not good now like".
Spoke to John Martin after the game as he limped out of the stadium, following the dirty tackle he recieved in the fisrt half, up untill then John was a real threat, but after the tackle John struggled to play on in constant pain, hope you recover for Saturdays game John.
I didn't take the camera as I'd heard they were one of these awkward clubs with silly rules and didn't allow photos to be taken during games. Can't understand why.
At Tannadice a few years back I was told to put my camera away or it would be confiscated by a steward, who bustled his way along the row I was sitting in, annoying everyone he had to squeeze past. When I asked him why, he just said "Dunno, it's just a rule. They picked you up on the CCTV and sent me down to deal with the problem".
I had a similar experience at Kilmarnock, where they allowed me to take photos before the game but not during it.
