Montrose fightback stuns Fifers





MONTROSE director of football Kenny Black praised the togetherness of his side as they fought back from 3-0 down to earn a draw at home to East Fife.

Ryan Blackadder fired East Fife into the lead in seven minutes, then a header from Jamie McGowan in 34 and a close range effort from Steven Nicholas in 62 appeared to have the Fifers on easy street.

Montrose stormed back and Stephen Black, son of Kenny, netted in 67 minutes, then a looping header from Scott Michie pulled them to within a goal. Black drilled home a low shot four minutes from time to give Montrose a point.

Black senior said, “I’m pleased for the players as they have had a torrid time with a run of defeats.”

“They are only young players and it is inevitable that their shoulders drop when things go against them.”

“I asked the players at half time to keep going, even if East Fife scored again. They certainly did that and I’m proud of them.

“At 3-0 some people would have been saying here we go again, but our players knew they still had a chance.”

Black joked that he was about to substitute his son before he scored. “Steven was playing in America but hadn’t kicked a ball since October before coming here,” he said. “We have good players here and it is all about confidence.”

“I was pleased to see the players applauded off the pitch. If our fans play their part, along with the players and those on the sidelines, we will be fine.”

A “gobsmacked” Bayview manager Dave Baikie could scarcely believe what had happened to his side.

“That was a massive disappointment,” he said. “We were worth our 2-0 lead at half time, then we scored another goal and I expected us to cruise in from there.”

“Their first goal seemed to trigger a bit of panic in the minds of my players and they didn’t cope well. That is the first time we have lost so many goals in the second half all season.

“It was a blow losing Jamie McGowan with medial ligament damage just on half time as we had been coping well defensively up until then.

“We have quality players but there’s still a weakness there.

“We had players missing like Jonathan Smart and Greg McDonald who has been out all season.

“They are strong characters with the ability to say we have lost a goal, but let us make sure we don’t lose another.

“My midfield is good when we are on the ascendancy, but we need a different type of player who is good defensively when things get tough.”

"We need a different type of player"

Didn't Baikie sign almost every member of the current team?

Of course he did. Maybe it's a different type of manager we need.