Match Report
East Fife strengthened their reputation as Clydebank's bogey side with a convincing 5-2 victory at Kilbowie, extending their winning run against the Bankies to four matches during the season.
The final scoreline did not tell the full story of a contest that was evenly balanced for long periods before the Fifers took complete control during a devastating second-half spell.
Clydebank suffered an early setback when Joe Rankin was carried from the field with a badly swollen ankle following a heavy challenge. Reduced to ten men for around thirteen minutes, the home side nevertheless held their own until his return.
Once back to full strength, the Bankies began to enjoy the better of the play. Their forwards repeatedly tested East Fife goalkeeper Ian Hamilton and came close on several occasions. Tony Moy was unfortunate to see one effort strike the crossbar with the goalkeeper beaten, while Tom Connelly was denied by a fine goal-line clearance from Davidson.
Despite Clydebank's pressure, it was East Fife who broke the deadlock. One minute before the interval Christie burst through the home defence and calmly finished to give the visitors a somewhat fortunate half-time lead.
The Bankies responded positively after the restart and eventually found a way back into the match when Connelly scored to level matters.
Any hopes of building on that equaliser were quickly dashed. East Fife responded in emphatic fashion, producing a ten-minute burst that effectively settled the contest.
Christie restored the visitors' lead with a header that deceived Ronnie Wilson before Cunningham added a third. The winger struck again in the 73rd minute, his effort taking a deflection off Archie Rankin on its way into the net.
The Fifers continued to press their advantage and added a fifth goal shortly afterwards as Clydebank struggled to contain the visitors' attacking play.
To their credit, the Bankies continued to battle and were rewarded in the closing stages when they won a penalty. Moy stepped forward in the 83rd minute and converted confidently to reduce the deficit.
The late goal provided some consolation, but there was no disguising East Fife's superiority during the decisive period of the match. Once they gained the initiative in the second half, the Fifers proved ruthless in front of goal and maintained their hold over a Clydebank side they had now defeated three times during the campaign.
Match report written by Stuart McBay
