Dave Baikie must have some power in his right foot! The boot he gave them all up the arse at half time completely changed this game around. What had been a dour, if evenly matched, first half turned into a goal fest after the break with a simply dazzling display from East Fife. Paul McManus had what must be his best afternoon playing the beautiful game, helping himself to four crackers. It's hard to argue that it could have been better for the striker but, believe it or not, he'll probably think he should have scored more.

Throughout the opening forty five minutes it looked like we were still suffering a bit from Wednesday night's disappointments at East End Park. The Warriors had come to Bayview to try to win the game and not simply sit back and soak up the pressure.

To their credit they looked no' bad at times and almost took advantage of some early slack defensive play - neither Smart nor Tweed looked too comfortable in the opening minutes and only a combination of good goalkeeping and dodgy finishing stopped what would have been a real sickener for the Fife. At the other end we huffed and puffed but, despite having the ball in the net (chalked off for offside), we never really looked like posing a serious threat.

All that was to change within two minutes of the re-start. The boys came out completely fired up and focussed - it was like watching a different team. Within five minutes this one was already in the bag. Stenhousemuir were left shellshocked after McManus scored his first and Paul Walker added a second. Worse was to come for the Warriors who already looked like they'd given up the ghost.

Every time we went forward it looked like we'd add another. And before the half was even ten minutes old it was three-nil, this time Jonathan Smart rising unmarked and heading home from a corner. With their discipline shot to hell it wasn't a great surprise to see the ref pull out a red card - Steven Ferguson had been booked in the first half for a shocking tackle and a similar attack resulted in the inevitable walk of shame.

We'd already been cruising but with a man advantage we pressed forward to add to our tally. Big Smart grabbed his second, a virtual carbon copy of his first, just shy of the hour mark. The Warriors heads sunk further and we smelled blood - this one was gonna be a rout. Sadly for the visitors, there weren't gonna be too many of their players witnissing it.

In the 61st minute the ref pulled out straight red for Ross Hamilton following a cynical professional foul. It was a ridiculous challenge to make; the resultant ordering off left their manager apoplectic - the foul had been committed on the half way line!

If it had been easy until then, this one now became a straightforward bump match. The final half hour of the match became the Paul McManus Show (watch out for that on UK Gold soon....), banging in a couple before the 70th minute and so laying claim to the match ball. Then, just in case there was any doubt, he sealed a perfect afternoon by banging in his fourth and the Fife's seventh with ten minutes remaining.

The three hundred who'd turned up (guess everyone else had got lost coming back from Dunfermline....?) had witnessed nothing short of the best display of the season so far. As the final whistle blew we were still camped in the Stenhousemuir penalty box, looking to add to the total.

The Warriors trudged off, a thoroughly broken side, and fourteen heroes clad in Black and Gold happily accepted the plaudits from the stand. They marched off triumphantly, soaking up the applause and the late afternoon sunshine, heads justifiably held high. This might not be what champions are made of but it can't be far away!

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