After an interminably long wait while all the international hoo-ha took centre stage, it was back to the real stuff today and a trip to Firs Park. Another first for the Commander - fuck sake, I've only ever been in Falkirk a handful of times, let alone a visit to East Stirling. And what a tip - utterly fantastic! After recent results, the expectation among the visiting fans (once again outnumbering the locals by at least two to one) was justifiably high.

It was to be a somewhat cumbersome (dare I say turgid?) and stuttering start for the Fife, however, with our hosts probably just edging it in the early stages. Hardly surprising, I suppose; on the opening day of the season the Shire proved worthy opponents before we eventually saw them off. Today's early action showed that they weren't gonna just lie down to the league leaders. But things soon calmed down and.... oh, aye, fuck all happened. Thankfully the weather was pleasant, the stadium was still proving novel enough to keep me interested and I'd met a guy from Kent who'd spent the night on a bus from London just so that he could mark off Firs Park from his list of 'must see' stadia. Whit a tool.

Twenty minutes in, I took a wee wander from behind the goals to see if it all looked any better from the shed alongside the pitch. The simple answer was that it didnae. However, that would be unfair on the team who weren't trying any less than they normally do. It just looked like they all had tired legs and few ideas about how to break down our hosts' defence. Well, that happens sometimes; the real measure of the team is how they shake off the tedium and pick up the points.

Eventually, our efforts were rewarded. Just five minutes from the break, the ref pointed to the spot and awarded East Fife a penalty. The locals grumbled about a soft decision but it looked clear to me; Paul McManus was very crudely bundled off the ball by the ponderous centre half, Paul Doyle, and it was encouraging that the ref had the haw-maws to actually award the spot-kick. Dougie Cameron stepped up and confidently struck the opener, sending the keeper the wrong way. We marched off at the interval probably just about good value for the lead.

The boys hardly came out of the traps for the second half but at least now we stopped all the long hoof up the park stuff and started tae play fuba. By playing straightforward, passing football in the first quarter of the season we've simply taken our opponents tae bits. It's a shame that the guys don't yet seem to have the confidence to do the same from the start. But whatever Baikie says to them at half-time, it certainly appears to have the desired effect.

The Shire were still making it tough for us and I'd be lying if I said that it was now engrossing, exciting football but at least we were now starting to make decent runs and, more importantly, find each other with decent, measured passes. As you'll no doubt be aware, Ryan Blackadder's no' exactly ma favourite but this afternoon he he put in a hard shift, combining well with Dougie Cameron and Fozzie on the left and making unselfish runs forward. (We'll no' mention the tackle in the first half that nearly hospitalised the Shire's Gary Kelly.... sturdy, forthright.... em, vicious!). Rob Linn also ran his socks off in a man of the match performance and was at the heart of everything that looked promising for the Fife. He was unlucky just after the restart when his deft wee chip saw the ball end up in the keeper's gloves.

But they were't gonna keep us out for much longer. Just shy of the hour mark Pauk McManus added another to his growing portfolio of goals this season. Not the prettiest that he's scored this term but he'll no' be complaining. Walker and Stewart combined well at the edge of the box but the attempted effort on goal didn't have sufficient venom to try the keeper. The ball somehow slid through to the edge of the six yard box where prize poacher McManus stuck out a boot and fired home past the hapless Shire goalie. And so, despite not having played at our best, that pretty much secured the points.

Which then allowed us to up the pressure and try to add to our tally. We looked confident, we looked comfortable, we looked at ease now that our hosts were flagging. But, unfortunately, we still didn't really look like we'd score many more. Big Tweed was unlucky when, twenty minutes from the end, he rose, unmarked, and headed the ball goalwards. The young Shire keeper, however, pulled off a wonderful save and the ball was then somehow cleared. The big defended had played his heart out again; it would have been fitting if he could have gotten his name on the scoresheet. But, as it was, he (and we) had to be satisfied with a two-nil victory.

It was encouraging to keep a clean sheet, but more satisfying that, despite no more than a workmanlike performance overall (come on, be honest, it was....), we still had the guts tae grind down the opposition and secure all three points. The victory won't do the confidence any harm either - with next week's opponents, Inverurie Loco, being knocked off the top of the Highland League this weekend by rivals, Buckie, they'll no doubt be right in the mood for a visit from the Fife next Saturday. And in what's already turning out to be a season to remember for the Commender, that one's just too good to miss. See you all next week! C'mon the Fife!

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