On a lovely but cold evening Dunfermline welcomed East Fife to East End Park for a Reserve League Cup match.

Although the conditions overhead were ideal for football the park itself was rather bumpy due to the ravages of the harsh winter and this resulted in the players having to cope with a ball that would sometimes do the unexpected - although some could take credit for the odd masterful pass.

A very youthful Dunfermline team buoyed by the experienced trio of Ross, Holmes and Cardle started the game very well and in 5 minutes Cardle glided past three East Fife defenders but instead of passing to players who were in an excellent position running alongside he chose to acknowledge the rush of blood to his head and attempted to beat several others at the edge of the box and ultimately lost out to a combination of good defending and a lack of control, a good chance wasted.

Dunfermline continued to press and another good move between Ross and Turner saw the latter cross to the far post where Leslie just headed past the post.

East Fife at long last started to fight back into the game and an excellent passing move resulted in a cross into the box which Sheerin just head past the far post under pressure from Graham.

In 20th minute a neat interchange between Willis and Cardle saw Cardle thump a shot of the keepers right hand post and bounce to safety. A major let off for East Fife but Dunfermline at this stage were the better team and in the 25th minute the ball was played into the East Fife box and when East Fife failed to clear properly Leslie laid the ball back for TURNER who from 16 yards drilled the ball into the net.

On the half hour Dunfermline had a penalty claim turned down when Turner looked like he had been pushed in the back as he chased the ball into the box but the referee ignored the appeal and play resumed.

As the half was drawing to a close East Fife had a great chance to equalise when an inch perfect cross from Conway met the head of the onrushing Sheerin but from 10 yards out his header crept over the bar, much to the relief of the static Dunfermline defence.

East Fife came out in the second half and looked like a team that had been transformed, perhaps Stevie Crawford does have some magic left?

It took only 5 minutes to equalise. A through ball exposed, on this occasion, a very static Dunfermline back four and East Fife`s trialist ran away from Ross to slam the ball into the far corner of the net evading Gunns desperate dive. A well deserved equaliser as East Fife began to foster belief that they could win the game.

In the 52nd minute East Fife won a corner and confused defending saw a shot heading for the net but a timely clearance off the line by Smith saved the day.

Dunfermline were at last getting back into the game but in the 70th minute Conway skipped past three defenders before slamming the ball into the back of the net despite Gunn getting his hands to the shot. At this stage it was exactly what East Fife merited.

In 75th minute Dunfermline hauled themselves back into the game following a great run from Cardle who drove to the byline, evading three tacklers. Cardles cross was driven towards goal but a defender cleared off the line and the ball went out for a corner. The resulting corner fell to Smith on the edge of the box, who passed to Cardle and his cross was met by GRAHAM who floated a header into the net from 8 yards.

Dunfermline could smell victory now and they nearly got another goal in 78th minute when a superb crossfield ball from Holmes found Paul Willis but his shot was cleared off the line.

East Fife were not out this game yet and from a corner Cargill just headed wide of the post.

As the game was nearing the end a draw looked the likely result but one final push from Dunfermline saw Smith feed Scougal who in turn played a delightful ball to Cardle who shot towards goal. East Fife defenders threw themselves at the ball but the referee who was in a good position pointed to the penalty spot, citing the use of an arm. The first penalty claim looked more certain than this one but as the say `musn`t grumble`. CARDLE dispatched the penalty to the keepers right and victory was achieved.

All in all a good game to watch. Only three players were over 19, some under 17 so a very good win for Dunfermline. East Fife can feel slightly aggrieved but overall a Dunfermline win was probably justified.