Templehall Rovers hold on to a vital victory, that send them level on points with top of the league, after seeing their captain dismissed against a resilient East Fife side. 

Coming into the match Templehall had mixed results, however they were unbeaten in their last three matches and were unbeaten in their last two home games.  On the other hand East Fife were looking to make it three away wins from three as they travelled to Kirkcaldy.

Templehall Rovers started off the better of the two sides with some impressive passing moves falling apart in the final third.  However the Kirkcaldy side finally made the breakthrough after Louix Cumming pounced on a loose ball from a corner whipped in by team mate Scott Graves in the 18th minute. 

Graves would have scored himself later in the first half if it wasn’t for a vital block from East Fife defender Robbie Lumsden.  Moments later Graves was denied again, this time his attempted dink finish was tipped behind for a corner by East Fife goalkeeper Tyler Wilson. 

Going into the half time break it was certain that Templehall Rovers would be the happier of the two sides.  The instructions from the Templehall Rovers coach must have been to put away more chances and continue to creatively pass through the midfield.  For East Fife on the other hand they had to put more of a threat on the Templehall Rovers defence after only creating very few chances.

As the second half began it was certain that a much improved and motivated East Fife team came back onto the pitch.  In fact they were unlucky not to equalise in the opening moments after the restart.  East Fife’s Harris Duffy danced through the Templehall defence with ease, rounded the keeper but could only find the side netting.

10 minutes into the second half it was evident that East Fife were playing with much more urgency and pace than in the first half.  However, despite some impressive build up play, they still could not find the break through.

In the 51st minute the turning point of the match arrived.  After constant pressure from East Fife the ball looped over Templehall’s goalkeeper and was certainly heading towards the goal until Templehall Rovers’ captain Ross Szmitz gave the referee no choice as he deflected the ball over the bar with his arm.  The defender was dismissed and the incident resulted in a penalty for East Fife.

Remarkably, as East Fife’s Robbie Lumsden struck the penalty Templehall’s goalkeeper Jay Ritchie guessed correctly and dived down well to catch the shot.

From then on East Fife were in control of the match and despite some promising counter attacks from Templehall it was the team from Methil that looked most like scoring. 

As the match progressed East Fife struggled to break through the brick wall of bodies forming the Templehall Rovers defence and this caused tempers to flare.  In the closing stages of the match East Fife defensive duo Robbie Lumsden and Jake Croakin were booked.

Despite the overwhelming second half pressure the hard working 10 men of Templehall Rovers dug in for a 1-0 win over an equally hard working East Fife side.