Faramir Posted September 15, 2007 Author Share Posted September 15, 2007 12.1.08 East Fife (2) Clyde (1) East Fife- Paul Martin 12 David Templeton 28 Clyde- Sean McKenna 87 MOM- David Templeton, East Fife Redcards- (Clyde- Chris Higgins 19) "I was very glad to hear that final whistle. Nothing is ever easy against that club," sighed a relieved Grayling. "It was an exciting first match to be a part of," grinned Hickey. "It could have been a lot less exciting. If Paul Walker converts the penalty after Chris Higgins got his 2nd yellow for tripping David Templeton in the area or if Templeton finishes one of his other golden chances- then McKenna's goal doesn't matter." "Templeton completely impressed me. He is going to be outstanding. Are you sure we can't get him here permanently?" "I am trying, but our chances are pretty minimal. David doesn't want to be playing down a league more than this season." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted September 17, 2007 Author Share Posted September 17, 2007 17.1.08 "New signing will be in training today," said Grayling to Hickey. "Who is our new addition?" asked Hickey. "You might know him Eddie. 25 year old Irish rightback Shane Sweeney. He was on free transfer list after Alloa released him." "Ah yes, I know Shane. A good bit of pickup there Lew." "I have been disappointed with the inconsistent play of Paddy Kelly. I have transfer listed him. Sweeney will work in rotation with Alex Rawcliffe at rightback." *** 19.1.08 Peterhead (3) East Fife (1) Peterhead- George Snee 36,66 Ben Jackson 40 East Fife- Craig O'Reilly 45 MOM- George Snee, Peterhead "Well, that wasn't a very worthy exhibition of playing defense," glumly commented Grayling. "Nor goal either. Michael Hilton has the signs of a good young keeper- but he proved today he isn't there yet," commented Hickey. "The backline played brutally bad. One of our worst matches in awhile." "Our midfield didn't exactly shine either, but they did play better than the backline." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted September 18, 2007 Author Share Posted September 18, 2007 26.1.08 Brechin (1) East Fife (3) Brechin- Iain Russell 64 East Fife- David Templeton 29 Craig O'Reilly 37 Sean Lynch 52 MOM- Craig O'Reilly, East Fife Redcard- (East Fife- Craig Farr 47) "Good thing we had a couple goals in the bag when the Referee decided to send Craig Farr off to the showers," stated Hickey. "I thought the boys improved their focus and determination- the Ref's call got them mad. Then David Templeton set up Sean Lynch for his 1st goal- that was icing," commented Grayling. "With Farr suspended, who will be in goal- Dodds?" "Sink or swim for the youngster. Michael Hilton will be back in goal. Dodds is leaving at the end of the season and Hilton is the one we need to keep developing." *** 1.2.08 "Pretty nice sweep there Lew," grinned Hickey. "It was great to see the tandem of David Templeton and Craig O'Reilly as Player of the Month and Young Player of the Month," said a smiling Grayling. "Now come on. Don't forget yourself as Manager of the Month- a trifecta." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted September 20, 2007 Author Share Posted September 20, 2007 2.2.08 East Fife (4) Berwick (0) East Fife- Craig O'Reilly 7,13 John Sutton 18 Sean Lynch 57 Berwick- None MOM- Andrew Duffy, East Fife Redcard- (Berwick- Darren Smith 64) "Excellent match for us. We never let struggling Berwick think they were in the match as we got those first three goals," observed Grayling. "I really thought O'Reilly would be MOM. The selection of Andrew Duffy surprised me," stated Hickey. "They could have picked any of a handful. Our squad played really well today." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted September 21, 2007 Author Share Posted September 21, 2007 9.2.08 Stirling (0) East Fife (2) Stirling- None East Fife- Sean Lynch 41 Craig O'Reilly 44 MOM- John Sutton, East Fife "It was pleasant to see us explode for those two goals at the end of the first half. After seeing Paul Walker miss *another* penalty, we managed to put the goals up that we needed for the win," offered Grayling. "Both goals came from good execution. David Templeton did a great job picking out Sean Lynch with the pass that allowed him to just blast away," answered Hickey. "Scott Christie had Templeton flustered- stopping two brilliant chances will do that." "It was another solid clean sheet for Craig Farr. I see why you like him so much, he always gives us steady play." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted September 22, 2007 Author Share Posted September 22, 2007 14.2.08 "It was surprising when he agreed to sign with us, but he can be a very good player if he develops at all," observed Grayling. "Ryan McStay is a very nice addition. I had heard a lot of good things about him and was surprised when Falkirk released him. The only problem I see now is the glut of center midfielders," replied Hickey. "That is a bit of a problem. But that is the kind of problem that will work itself out." *** 16.2.08 East Fife (1) Stranraer (1) East Fife- David Templeton 36-P Stranraer- Michael Bolochoweckyi 14 MOM- Andy Graham, Stranraer "One mistake on a set piece and we have to settle for a draw," muttered Hickey. "If we could have finished better, we would have won easily. We just didn't do the job around their goal today," stated Grayling. "Bolochoweckyi was both the hero and the goat of this one. That trip of Craig O'Reilly in the area was an easy call for the Ref to make." Scottish 2nd Division- 26 matches played, 10 remaining <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> 1- Clyde 58 pts (+23) 2- Hamilton 54 pts (+32) 3- East Fife 53 pts (+17) 4- Alloa 40 pts (-4) </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted September 24, 2007 Author Share Posted September 24, 2007 23.2.08 Raith (2) East Fife (2) Raith- Steven Hislop 1 Armand One 63 East Fife- David Templeton 45 Craig O'Reilly 84 MOM- Nicky Smith, East Fife "We deserved better than this draw," spat out Hickey bitterly. "No, we didn't," rumbled Grayling. "If we don't give away a goal in the first minute...or if we finish better, we win this match." "True, David Templeton had at least five one-on-one chances and only was able to score his 35 yard strike when Michael Brown was out of position." "We worked hard to at least earn this result. So for that, I can't be too upset. We just have to quit giving away bad goals." "Their second one was just a fluke- when Shane Sweeney went down, Armand One moved right into the empty space for the goal." *** 27.2.08 "That is bad news," murmured Grayling. "What?" asked Hickey, looking up from reading. "David Templeton was hurt running sprints. Back strain I guess. Looks like he will be out a month." "Argh. Right on the eve of our showdown match with Hamilton too." "We will just have to muddle through." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted September 25, 2007 Author Share Posted September 25, 2007 1.3.08 "Nice to see Nicky Smith get the recognition," beamed Hickey. "Player of the Month honours definately caught him by surprise," grinned Grayling. *** 1.3.08 Hamilton (3) East Fife (4) Hamilton- James McCarthey 3-P Javier Payo 18 Brian Wake 78 East Fife- Mark McLaughlin 44-OG Ryan Gregg 46 Ryan McStay 73-P,74 MOM- Ryan McStay, East Fife "Well, Ryan McStay certainly proved something to me today," said Grayling with admiration in his voice. "He came off the bench and sparked us to the win," agreed Hickey. "After we fell behind 2-0 and then just could not score- I thought we were in deep trouble. The own goal just before halftime was a blessing as it gave us hope- and then we equalized right away to open the second half." "It was a game effort from the boys. We almost wasted it after letting Wake score on his header with 10 minutes left." "We were a bit lucky they could not get the equalizer." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted September 26, 2007 Author Share Posted September 26, 2007 8.3.08 East Fife (1) Alloa (0) East Fife- Nicky Smith 32 Alloa- None MOM- Nicky Smith, East Fife "It was our turn to win a match on a set piece," chuckled Grayling. "A well-executed corner, as was Paul Walker's that Nicky Smith deflected past Allan Creer, is just a thing of beauty," observed Hickey. "We were more than a bit lucky that their shooting was atrocius today." *** 9.3.08 "Ryan McStay won't be available when we travel to face Clyde," said Grayling with a sigh. "His wrist?" asked Hickey. "Yes, it was badly sprained in the collision in practice today. He should be out a week or two." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted September 26, 2007 Author Share Posted September 26, 2007 15.3.08 Clyde (1) East Fife (2) Clyde- Gary Shields 23 East Fife- Nicky Smith 26,53 MOM- Nicky Smith, East Fife "It is hard to imagine stepping up that way in a huge match, but Nicky Smith clearly has put his name forward for the annals of East Fife," beamed a tired Grayling as they relaxed on the bus trip back home. "Nicky was tremendous. Clyde really kept our forwards from impacting the match and without Templeton's pace..." remarked Hickey. "The other key to the match was Craig Farr. He was just brilliant today as they overran us for large portions of the match." "Warmed my ex-keeper's heart to see him do so well," smiled Hickey. "Still, don't forget that we had pretty solid backline play- except for the counter-attack that sprung Shields for their goal." "When Smith hit back for us immediately after Shields goal, I had good feelings about the match." Scottish Second Division- 30 matches played, 6 remaining <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> 1- East Fife 63 pts (+20) 2- Clyde 62 pts (+20) 3- Hamilton 60 pts (+33) 4- Raith 49 pts (+12) 5- Alloa 46 pts (-3) </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted September 27, 2007 Author Share Posted September 27, 2007 22.3.08 East Fife (3) Peterhead (1) East Fife- Craig O'Reilly 52,56 Paul Walker 68 Peterhead- Martin Bavidge 28 MOM- Craig O'Reilly, East Fife Grayling shook his head, "I thought we might be in trouble after such a lackluster first half of play, but Craig O'Reilly stepped up with his best half of the season and more or less carried us to the win." "Well, I obviously haven't been here all season to see- but you're right- he was sensational in the second half. Both of his goals were scorchers that Kenneth O'Malley had no chance of saving," responded Hickey. "We settled down a lot defensively too in the second half and closed off the lanes they were trying to attack into." "Walker's header was a goal of beauty too, it really broke their spirit." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted September 28, 2007 Author Share Posted September 28, 2007 29.3.08 East Fife (1) Brechin (0) East Fife- Paul Walker 66 Brechin- None MOM- Nicky Smith, East Fife "Gah, that was a struggle!" muttered a clearly exhausted Grayling. "Well, they never threatened to score," grinned an equally tired Hickey. "If you don't allow the other sides any shots on goal, it makes it pretty easy for the keeper to earn his clean sheet bonus." "At least we got the goal we needed to win the match." "That was a pretty corner from Nicky (Smith). Paul (Walker) was perfectly placed to power it inside the far post." "We need to finish better than we did today. We did waste several excellent chances." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted September 29, 2007 Author Share Posted September 29, 2007 1.4.08 "Another nice award for you Lew," teased Hickey. "Well, I don't mind Manager of the Month- but I like the underlying fact that we won all our matches in the month- that means much more than any award." "At least you weren't alone- with Nicky Smith as Young Player of the Month." "And he just barely beat out Craig O'Reilly- pretty good tandem." *** 5.4.08 Stranraer (1) East Fife (4) Stranraer- Michael Moore 45 East Fife- Sean Lynch 10 Craig O'Reilly 18,52 Nicky Smith 27 MOM- Sean Lynch, East Fife "Getting off to a quick start was a big relief," said Grayling with a relieved smile. "Sean Lynch took over the match early, he had a big part in all three of our first half goals," offered Hickey. "Sean got all three started, but don't forget it was Paul Hampshire who assisted on all three goals." "I am just happy we got on the same page offensively and took control of the match early." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted September 30, 2007 Author Share Posted September 30, 2007 12.4.08 Berwick (1) East Fife (3) Berwick- Sean Simpson 44 East Fife- David Templeton 25,62 Lee Fieldwick 82-OG MOM- David Templeton, East Fife "David Templeton celebrated his return from injury very nicely," said Grayling wryly. "I know we were frustrated when we handed Sean Simpson that easy goal to put us back even," commented Hickey. "I wanted to give Craig O'Reilly a day off- he had been working extremely hard since Templeton went down." "We would have been much better off if Ryan McStay hadn't missed that early penalty kick." "Did you see the scores though? Both Clyde and Hamilton lost today- we finally have a couple inches of breathing room." "If we can put together two more good matches..." "Yes..." Scottish Second Division- 34 matches played, 2 remaining <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> 1- East Fife 75 pts (+28) 2- Clyde 71 pts (+24) 3- Hamilton 69 pts (+39) 4- Raith 55 pts (+13) 5- Alloa 52 pts (-5) </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted October 1, 2007 Author Share Posted October 1, 2007 19.4.08 East Fife (2) Stirling (1) East Fife- Craig O'Reilly 13 John Sutton 78 Stirling- Paul Keegan 51 MOM- Paul Walker, East Fife "Great way to start a celebration, eh?" asked Grayling loudly to Hickey- yelling to make himself heard over the tumult. "I can't thank you enough for bringing me aboard to be part of this Lew," said a beaming Hickey. "It is pretty fun, isn't it? If you had told me three months ago that we would be Champions of Second Division- I would have told you that you were dreaming. I can't believe we managed to get to this spot." "It has just been a good run, hasn't it. Just like today- after they equalized, Paul Walker lofts a beautiful corner and John Sutton puts away the match winner." "We survived a lot to get to this point. I know we can savor it now..." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted October 3, 2007 Author Share Posted October 3, 2007 26.4.08 East Fife (2) Raith (2) East Fife- Paul Doyle 28 Chris Morrow 71-OG Raith- Steven Hislop 7 Tom Webb 14 MOM- Mark Campbell, Raith "It wasn't exactly the way I wanted to close out the season, but I love how we fought back," said Grayling. "We gave the both their goals with our passing," grumbled Hickey. Scottish Second Division - Final <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> 1- East Fife 79 pts (+29) 2- Clyde 75 pts (+27) 3- Hamilton 73 pts (+40) 4- Raith 57 pts (+13) </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark wilson27 Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 Congrats on the Championship, when the FM08 comes out I might have to try a lower league Scottish team, would love to see if I could emulate the success you've had in your Scottish stories Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted October 4, 2007 Author Share Posted October 4, 2007 markw- Thanks Scotland remains one of my favorite places to bring a low side up to BSP *** 5.5.08 "Our fans are really excited at the signing," observed Hickey. "It was last year Eddie, but Graham Gibson was on loan all season and made a fine strike tandem with Craig O'Reilly. That is why they are so loud with their acclaim now that we have signed him permanently," stated Grayling. "I feel a little better now about our forward situation for next season." "Ah, it makes more sense now. I was surprised that Partick released him." "I was too, but wasn't about to let him get away. Also, congratulations with finishing out fine with the Reserves and Under-19s." "Most of the season was already done when I took over. Still it was nice to guide them both to crowns in their respective Groups." *** 14.5.08 "Four starters named to Team of the Year," said Hickey. "All four- John Sutton, Paul Martin, Andrew Duffy and Craig O'Reilly deserve kudos for their work." *** 23.5.08 "Another new signing for us Eddie," stated Grayling. "Who is joining us?" asked Hickey. "20 year old Scot forward Brian Graham. Morton just released him and he was happy to get a new contract." *** 2.6.08 "Did you see the end of the season summary in the press?" asked Hickey. "No, I have been poring over scouting reports. What was in it?" asked Grayling. "The two signings of the season were Craig O'Reilly and Nicky Smith. We were the overchieving club of Division 2." "That is an apt summation of things." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted October 4, 2007 Author Share Posted October 4, 2007 19.6.08 "The announcement was out today, East Fife is now officially a feeder club for Nottingham Forest," commented Grayling. "I have mixed feelings, but Chairman Gray feels it is in the best interest of the club." "Not to mention, he gets a nice little cut." "Still, it might work out fine. I just don't want them dictating to us. They are offering us loans of leftback Joseph Heath and center midfielder Alan Power." "I am not sure how much playing time another center mid can get here. We have a glut of them at the moment." "True, and I am still not sure how I want to address that problem." *** 22.6.08 "Power is coming on loan, but Heath isn't- he is going to Macclesfield," stated Grayling. "I know Power has a good reputation, but I am still not sure where we have the playing time for him," replied Hickey. "Just have to let it run and see how it plays out for us." *** 29.6.08 Holland won the European Football Championship on penalties over France after the two sides battled to a 1-1 score in regulation. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted October 6, 2007 Author Share Posted October 6, 2007 30.6.08 "More new free transfer signings will be here as we open up training tomorrow," said Grayling. "Hmm?" asked Hickey. "21 year old Scot leftwinger Adam Strachan signed with us after being released by Partick Thistle. Also joining us on free transfer from Aberdeen is 20 year old leftback Kenny Haswell. *** 4.7.08 "A 3-2 loss to Motherwell isn't too bad for a first friendly," commented Hickey. "It was a much better second half after falling behind 3-0 early. Still, did our defenders forget how to mark and play their position over the summer- because we looked bad all match in that area." *** 9.7.08 "That was better, but we certainly didn't finish well against Falkirk," observed Grayling. "And Edgar Janauskas finished very well against us- enough for a 2-0 win," said Hickey. "Still, I did see signs of improvement today." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted October 8, 2007 Author Share Posted October 8, 2007 12.7.08 "Another close 2-1 loss," sighed Grayling. "And some of the same mistakes repeated." "Still, ICT is a bigger and faster club than us, we did show them some life today- if not a lot of execution," answered Hickey. *** 19.7.08 "It was nice to finally have a well played match friendly on the books," smiled Grayling. "5-0 is nice, but it was only Saltcoats Vics after all," replied Hickey. "It doesn't really matter who it was- we just needed a nice effort that the boys were rewarded with a win for." *** 20.7.08 "Our fans are pretty excited about the signing of Ashley Vincent," observed Hickey. "He is an interesting player- and when Cheltenham released him, it seemed like a decent idea to sign him," stated Grayling. "Where does he fit on our roster?" "I am going to play him on rightwing. I know he might also help at forward and if injuries cause us to need him there I won't hesitate to use him- but his speed up and down right wing would be a nice boost to our attack." *** 20.7.08 Scottish First Division Odds by totalbet.com <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Falkirk 4-5 St.Johnstone 6-4 Livingston 7-4 Queen of the South 3-1 Morton 6-1 Airdrie 7-1 East Fife 200-1 </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted October 9, 2007 Author Share Posted October 9, 2007 23.7.08 "It was a good confidence builder, but a 4-0 result over Vale of Leven doesn't carry a lot implications," observed Hickey. "They still made some mistakes, but overall it wasn't a bad result for a road tilt," replied Grayling. *** 27.7.08 "We weren't sharp at all today," muttered Grayling. "Nottingham Forest is bit tougher than Vale of Leven," offered Hickey. "True, but I hoped we would show a bit more than we did today- which wasn't much." *** 2.8.08 Queen of the South (2) East Fife (2) Queen- Ben Gill 70-P John Sutton 83-OG East Fife- Craig O'Reilly 44,84 MOM- Craig O'Reilly, East Fife Grayling shook his head angrily, "What a waste of a win. We can't afford to make those kind of mistakes this season." Hickey nodded, "Ashley Vincent was foolish in his challenge in the area- the Referee is always going to make that call." "Then to see John Sutton virtually shoot the ball into our goal- that was frustrating." "At least Craig O'Reilly had the magic to finish his brace and salvage a 2-2 draw for us." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted October 10, 2007 Author Share Posted October 10, 2007 5.8.08 East Fife (2) Ayr (1) League Cup 1st Round East Fife- Paul Walker 42 Stevie Nicholas 60 Ayr- Mark Watson 90 MOM- Paul Munro, East Fife "Except for the late consolation goal, that was a pretty solid effort," stated Grayling. "We executed well on both offense and defense today," agreed Hickey. "Paul Munro impressed me today- his MOM was well earned by his midfield play." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted October 10, 2007 Author Share Posted October 10, 2007 9.8.08 Ross County (2) East Fife (1) Ross County- David Schofield 16 Guy Bates 81 East Fife- Craig O'Reilly 42 MOM- Fergus Tiernan, Ross County "We were fortunate to even be in the match at the point where they scored the match winner," offered Grayling. "Craig Farr kept us in the match until then," replied Hickey. "We needed to do more in the midfield and the backline, but neither played to the level we needed to gain a better result." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgess Basso Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 i am lovin the 2 scottish stories well the ones im following anyway i keep wondering how you have time for all of this and the even better east stirling story I wish You the best of luck btw wat are you going to do wen fm2008 comes out? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted October 12, 2007 Author Share Posted October 12, 2007 Burgess Basso- Thanks Glad you are enjoying the two Scot ones. No secret on the stories- I usually have two active and they are played well in advance of what is posted. When I receive my copy of FM 2008, first thing I have to do is review it (for website I do work for as my hobby). Then I will figure out what to tackle next for a story on it *** 13.8.08 East Fife (2) Ayr (0) Challenge Cup 1st Round East Fife- Brian Graham 30,90 Ayr- None MOM- Brian Graham, East Fife "Ayr is tired of running into us," grinned Hickey. "Thanks to Brian Graham today," smiled Grayling. "Brian Mackay was pretty good in goal today too- he looks like a good youngster." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted October 14, 2007 Author Share Posted October 14, 2007 16.8.08 East Fife (2) St.Johnstone (3) East Fife- Graham Gibson 2 Iain Vigurs 13 St.Johnstone- Andy Jackson 25,30 Michael Halliday 83 MOM- Andy Jackson, St.Johnstone "What in blazes is our backline doing?!" fumed Grayling loudly. "We take a 2-0 lead and then play badly enough to give them back the match and the win." "We are playing lousy positional football," agreed Hickey. "Craig Farr is also not coming up with the big saves that he did in last season." "I would rather we not have to depend on Craig to do that. It would be much easier if we would just play better defensive football, something that we aren't right now." *** 19.8.08 "We have a worthy new addition Eddie," stated a pleased Grayling. "Who is arriving?" asked Hickey. "21 year old rightback Jason Thomson from Hearts. He only cost 3K and I believe he will be much better than either Nana Ofori or Alex Rawcliffe. "For that much, he must be a nice bargain." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted October 15, 2007 Author Share Posted October 15, 2007 19.8.08 East Fife (0) Dunfermline (1) League Cup 2nd Round East Fife- None Dunfermline- Craig Wilson 16 MOM- Richard Haw, Dunfermline "We gave Dunfermline all they could handle," sighed Hickey. "It was a close one. We still didn't defend well on the only goal, but we did more right than wrong today," agreed Grayling. "If we just could have finished a bit better..." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted October 16, 2007 Author Share Posted October 16, 2007 23.8.08 East Fife (0) Dundee (0) East Fife- None Dundee- None MOM- John Sutton, East Fife "Remember what I said about finishing after last match? Well the same applies here," grumbled Hickey. "Yes, you're right. We had plenty of chances to hand them a loss- and didn't," offered Grayling. "We still made some defensive mistakes, but Brian Mackay played well in making up for them with good saves." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted October 17, 2007 Author Share Posted October 17, 2007 27.8.08 East Fife (1) Peterhead (1) Challenge Cup 2nd Round (East Fife advances on Penalties) East Fife- Brian Graham 64 Peterhead- Bryan Gilfillan 13 MOM- Callum MacDonald, Peterhead "The boys did a nice job of settling- so we could win on penalites," said Grayling. "We should not have needed to go to Penalties. We just made another set piece error, and were lucky to fight back," replied Hickey. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted October 18, 2007 Author Share Posted October 18, 2007 6.9.08 Livingston (3) East Fife (0) Livingston- Dominic Blizzard 16 Graeme Dorrans 19 Sean Kerr 33 East Fife- None MOM- Nicky Riley, Livingston "That was a thoroughly embarrassing effort," flatly stated an unhappy Grayling. "We showed little today, but Brian Mackay was horrid in goal too," observed Hickey. "With no help again from our backline." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted October 19, 2007 Author Share Posted October 19, 2007 9.9.08 Morton (0) East Fife (2) Challenge Cup 3rd Round Morton- Scott McLaughlin 36 Liam Keough 56 East Fife- None MOM- Calum Woods, Morton "Same story, different day. We played Ok, but we finished poorly and that was the difference in the match," stated Grayling. "Not quite all of the story, because I thought that Michael Hilton should have had one of those goals- after all, both were from 30 yards out," commented Hickey. "True. We still haven't played a good match in a while now." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted October 22, 2007 Author Share Posted October 22, 2007 13.9.08 East Fife (2) Airdrie (1) East Fife- Graham Gibson 24,46 Airdrie- Bryan Prunty 35 MOM- Graham Gibson, East Fife "You put some pressure on the boys, but they came through today," stated Hickey. "They needed the pressure. This was a match that we should have won much easier than we did. Still, I am pleased that we finally got a win- we needed that badly," commented Grayling. "We wouldn't have gotten a win- if Brian Mackay hadn't played well in goal today." "He more than made up for his poor effort against Livingston. Our backline play has got to improve though- we are still giving away passes right and left and not marking players all over our zone. We have *got* to improve if we don't want to go back down." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted October 23, 2007 Author Share Posted October 23, 2007 20.9.08 Clyde (1) East Fife (0) Clyde- Dougie Cameron 47-P East Fife- None MOM- John Sutton, East Fife "I *hate* losing like that- on a disputed penalty," said Grayling sourly. "We had our chances to score, but Joshua Lillis came up with big saves on Graham Gibson twice in the second half," replied Hickey. "The part that bothers me is that we have been playing well enough to earn better results, but we certainly aren't getting them." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted October 24, 2007 Author Share Posted October 24, 2007 27.9.08 East Fife (2) Morton (0) East Fife- Ashley Vincent 38,41 Morton- None MOM- John Sutton, East Fife "Ashley Vincent had a terrific match, but they got the selection for MOM honours right- John Sutton was the best player out there today," flatly stated Grayling. "Those were two pretty crosses- from Nicky Smith and Kenny Haswell- that Vincent deflected past Trevor Carson," replied Hickey. "They were. Still, it was our backline play and several timely stops from Brian Mackay that kept Morton from fighting back- they really poured the pressure on us in the second half. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted October 26, 2007 Author Share Posted October 26, 2007 11.10.08 East Fife (1) Falkirk (2) East Fife- Brian Graham 50 Falkirk- Patrick Deane 67,82 MOM- Patrick Deane, Falkirk "Bah! You *can't* hand chances like that to a 1st place club. We should have won this one, but our backline didn't step up again!" fumed Grayling. "The last goal by Deane was just a rocket- Craig Farr had no chance on it," stated Hickey. "That's true, but why was Kenny Haswell heading a ball out to the center of the pitch? Why?! We drill them and drill them- don't put the damm thing back into the middle- and there is the reason *why* we drill them- a match winning goal in the late moments." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted October 28, 2007 Author Share Posted October 28, 2007 18.10.08 East Fife (4) Ross County (1) East Fife- Craig O'Reilly 45,67,82,85 Ross County- Chris Templeman 38 MOM- Craig O'Reilly, East Fife "Wow. I thought we were due for a good offensive match- but to see Craig O'Reilly destroy them in the second half was quite a pleasing sight," grinned Hickey. "I agree- I thought we were due for something to go well. I didn't expect it to be Craig going that well," agreed a smiling Grayling. "When Chris Templeman scored, you could sense our crowd at New Bayview saying "Here we go again." Grayling smiled, "Not today. There were some brilliant passing to set up O'Reilly's 4-spot. I also thought Craig Farr did a nice job to hold us in there in the first half when we were struggling." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted October 29, 2007 Author Share Posted October 29, 2007 25.10.08 St.Johnstone (3) East Fife (0) St.Johnstone- Michael Halliday 30 Andy Jackson 45 Antony Sweeney 85 East Fife- None MOM- Jamie Harris, St.Johnstone Grayling shook his head, "The same mistakes from our backline- over and over. We gave away the ball too much and then we just didn't play good positional football." "Craig Farr didn't have one of his finest matches either," offered Hickey. "We also couldn't buy a break- to hit the post and crossbar and nothing to show for it." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted October 31, 2007 Author Share Posted October 31, 2007 29.10.08 East Fife (1) Queen of the South (0) East Fife- Brian Graham 79 Queen Sth- None MOM- Andrew Duffy, East Fife "It wasn't a picturesque performance, but we dearly needed a win against Queen- so I am happy with the result," sighed Grayling. "The win would have come a lot easier had John Sutton converted the penalty kick in the first half," observed Hickey. "True. We do not have a good penalty taker on our entire club. Still, we finally got the goal we needed when Brian Graham put the rebound past Chris Neal. With Queen being just below us in the table- I wanted the win badly." "Clark Kay's redcard for taking down Craig O'Reilly for the penalty changed the entire tempo of the match." "Craig (O'Reilly) is out for at least two weeks- he strained his hamstring." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted October 31, 2007 Author Share Posted October 31, 2007 1.11.08 Dundee (3) East Fife (1) Dundee- Steven Craig 57-P Bob Davidson 59 Ben Collett 70 East Fife- Stevie Nicholas 81 MOM- Steven Craig, Dundee Grayling slumped in his chair, "We lost our composure when Brian Mackay was called for tripping Davidson in the area and Craig converted the penalty." Hickey nodded, "We gave away those other two goals to Davidson and Collett- neither should have happened." "We played such a strong first half, but we continue to have problems stringing together good *full* matches." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted November 1, 2007 Author Share Posted November 1, 2007 15.11.08 East Fife (1) Livingston (0) East Fife- Brian Graham 14 Livingston- None MOM- Brian Graham, East Fife "Brian Graham is developing nicely. If he had just a bit better shooting touch today- he could easily have had a hat-trick," stated Grayling. "They had trouble marking him," agreed Hickey. "We would not have won without Michael Hilton playing as well as he did in goal- he was terrific today." "Michael was certainly one of the difference makers today. Our backline wasn't steady in the first half, but they settled down a lot more in the second." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted November 2, 2007 Author Share Posted November 2, 2007 19.11.08 Falkirk (1) East Fife (0) Falkirk- Charlie Lee 77 East Fife- None MOM- Charlie Lee, Falkirk "It was a good match, just they got the break," sighed a tired Grayling. "We played a good match, they just managed to convert one cross," agreed Hickey. "The chances were there for us, but we just didn't convert when we had the best chances." "Michael Hilton was pretty solid again today." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixie Flatline Posted November 3, 2007 Share Posted November 3, 2007 Hey Faramir. I've caught up with this one, finally. Congratulations on the promotion. Unfortunately it doesn't seem like Elgin came up with East Fife just yet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted November 3, 2007 Author Share Posted November 3, 2007 Hi Dixie Good to see you back around No, sorry- Elgin hasn't quite made the grade yet... *** 22.11.08 East Fife (2) Clyde (1) East Fife- Bryan Prunty 59 Stevie Nicholas 90 Clyde- Sean McKenna 90 MOM- Iain Vigurs, East Fife "That was a good, battling effort- even if we did give them a weak consolation goal at the end," smiled Grayling. "Your surprise move of giving 17 year old Rodney Grant his debut and bringing up Bryan Prunty to pair with him worked out pretty well," chuckled Hickey. "I notice the press quit talking about it *after* the match- it was good to see Bryan come up with the goal." "I really think that Rodney would have had a goal too- if he hadn't had to leave with the injury. How bad for Rodney?" "We won't be seeing him play again for a couple months- he has several fractured ribs." "That's too bad, he really excited our fans with his play." "At least Craig O'Reilly is finally back in full training and will be match ready soon." *** 25.11.08 "I let Danny Ogunmade go to Billericay on free transfer today," commented Grayling. "He deserved a chance to make the Senior side- and it wasn't going to happen here," replied Hickey. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted November 5, 2007 Author Share Posted November 5, 2007 29.11.08 Airdrie United (4) East Fife (1) Airdrie- Matthew Birley 23 Shane Tudor 45 Craig Hughes 74 Shaun Fagan 90-P East Fife- Brian Graham 16 MOM- Shaun Fagan, Airdrie United The clipboard smashed against the cement wall. "I am sick of this crap Kevin!" yelled Lewis Grayling. "We get called for every half foot past offside. They have 4 players offside on their first goal and three more on their next-to-last goal and not a freepin word or whistle! What a crock!" Kevin Hickey leaned resignedly against the doorframe, "That penalty call was none too special either." "The worst part is, we played a pretty good match and all three of those goals mattered in why we lost. I am fed up with these one-sided officiating crews." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted November 5, 2007 Author Share Posted November 5, 2007 6.12.08 Morton (0) East Fife (0) Morton- None East Fife- None MOM- Michael Hilton, East Fife Grayling shook his sadly, "Kevin, how can one side wind up with 34 fouls, 5 yellow cards and a redcard- and the other have 13 fouls and a single yellow card?" Hickey grumped, "Don't ask Lew- you wouldn't like the answer." "I guess we should be happy we salvaged a scoreless draw out of this monstrosity." "Michael Hilton kept us in there- despite the fact that our backline couldn't even challenge anyone without winding up with a yellow card- or red in Paul Martin's case." "Well, at least we are still 7th at the halfway point of the season. We need some more wins- or really to get on a roll for a few matches- to keep out of the relegation muddle." "We are only a point above Ross County- and 4 points above Queen of the South in 9th." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted November 6, 2007 Author Share Posted November 6, 2007 13.12.08 Ross County (0) East Fife (3) Ross County- None East Fife- Craig O'Reilly 6,60 Ryan McStay 20 MOM- John Sutton, East Fife "That may be our biggest win of the season- so far," said a relieved Grayling. "With them right behind us in the table- yes, I think you are right," agreed Hickey. "It was great to see Craig O'Reilly finally back in form. Both goals he scored were sensational today." "John Sutton really earned his MOM though- he was the anchor that our entire match revolved around." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted November 8, 2007 Author Share Posted November 8, 2007 20.12.08 East Fife (2) St.Johnstone (0) East Fife- Stevie Nicholas 24 Graham Gibson 85 St.Johnstone- None MOM- Stevie Nicholas, East Fife "Stevie (Nicholas) came off the bench to give us a great boost when Craig O'Reilly crumpled," observed Hickey. "His dynamic play made a difference today," agreed Grayling. "That was as solid as our backline has played this season." "They did an excellent job of playing together today, it helped Michael Hilton put up another clean sheet." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted November 8, 2007 Author Share Posted November 8, 2007 26.12.08 Queen of the South (2) East Fife (2) Queen Sth- Scott Dobbie 17,39 East Fife- Andrew Duffy 45 Brian Graham 60 MOM- Brian Graham, East Fife "Well, I would have loved a win, but a 2-2 fightback from going down two goals early is a perfectly acceptable result in my book," said a tired Grayling. "Andrew Duffy's clutch free kick goal in first half injury time really got us the little bit of momentum we needed for the second half," observed Hickey. "That was a huge goal. It was also good to see Michael Hilton shake off his poor first half and play a solid second half." *** 28.12.08 The draw against us was not enough for Queen of the South ex-Manager Ian McCall as their Board fired him today for the struggling season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faramir Posted November 9, 2007 Author Share Posted November 9, 2007 1.1.09 "We swept the Player honours for December Eddie," said Grayling. "Who were the lucky ones?" asked Hickey. "Andrew Duffy earned Player of the Month honours. John Sutton received Young Player of the Month honours." *** 1.1.09 "One new addition at the opening of the transfer window," offered Grayling. "Who is that?" "20 year old DC Gary Wild. Kilmarnock let him come to us for 1K. We also completed our 2K sale of Shane Sweeney to Montrose." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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