YFS
East Fife Youth Academy kept up the chase for league leaders Hill of Beath Hawthorn with a well-fought 2-0 win over Kirkcaldy Eagles 2001 on a cold morning at Bayview.
The match was one of only two matches to beat the cold in the AFYFC leagues as the tie was moved from East Fife Academy's usual ground at King George V park in Leven to the 3G pitch at Bayview Stadium.
The match started fairly evenly with both teams trying to get a sense of the potential threat posed by each other and it took till the fifth minute for the game's first attempt at goal.
The ball was played high into the East Fife box where the home 'keeper Kyle Moran was put under pressure by Eagles forward Jake Emmerson, who tried an overhead kick only for it to be cleared away by Nathan Laird.
The Fifers had their first opportunity just one minute later when the ball fell for Adam Davidson who fired his shot just over the bar.
Kirkcaldy had a golden opportunity 10 minutes in to take the lead when a corner taken by Andrew McLeod was delivered into the path of Josh Sinclair who was free in the box but could only glance his header wide of the goal.
On the 23rd minute East Fife had the lead when the ball was played over into the box for Jordan Mackenzie, which sat up well for the midfielder to catch it on the half volly and shoot past opposition 'keeper Logan Clunie for the lead.
And they nearly doubled their lead three minutes later when Jake Horsburgh shot from distance only for Clunie to make a great save to tip the ball wide. From the resulting corner Laird hit a half-volley on the edge of the box when the ball fell to him and saw his shot cannon off the crossbar.
A two-goal lead would have been a valuable thing to take into half-time for East Fife and had a great opportunity to get it when they were awarded a penalty on the 45th minute. However Clunie proved to be a hero for Kirkcaldy as he produced a stunning save to keep out Adam Davidson's shot.