Fife derby ends goalless.

Two consecutive 0-0 draws against difficult opponents has secured a couple of vital points as the Shipyard look to climb away from the bottom end of the table, a task that was made all the more difficult with the three-points deduction imposed on the club. Nonetheless, the position is far from insurmountable and the fact that points continue to be gathered is very positive. The Shippy were boosted by the return of several players and the management had the luxury of being able to list a full set of substitutes. With Scott Costello still unavailable it was Mikey Couser who donned the gloves for this match and following his brother Ryan’s fine showing last week Mikey was equally as good as he also kept a clean sheet. Craig Watt and Cammy Lewis remained side-lined through injury, though Rooney should be back very soon, alas Cammy will be out for a while with a wrist injury.

There was no doubt that the visitors dominated the first half and they would be disappointed that they never capitalised on the chances that they created with Dylan Honeyman and Stuart Cargill both missing the target from good positions. Couser made a good save when he tipped over a deflected shot and he held a header from the resultant corner. Glenrothes exerted a bit of pressure as the half drew to a close, that being said, the Shippy defence blocked any attempts and Couser was not forced into making a save of note.

The second half was a different matter as the Shippy started well and Kyle Bell would have been relieved to see his headed interception go just wide of the post. Good play from the Anthony brothers saw Ben cross for Jack Wilson and the burly striker saw his shot pushed away by Glen’s keeper Adam Shaw. Iain Millar then headed wide from a decent position as the Shippy were enjoying their best spell of the match. There was a couple of big talking points in the second half as many in the crowd and indeed some players thought that Glen’s centre back Blair Smart was shown a second yellow card. The referee said after the match that the first card was actually shown to another Glenrothes player. Then when substitute Rhys Wardlaw burst through the visitor’s defence and was hauled to the ground there were loud appeals for a red card but the referee deemed that Wardlaw had handled the ball and awarded a free kick to Glenrothes. The visitors began to impose themselves on the match again as we entered the last fifteen minutes and Graeme Walker hooked an effort wide, however, despite pressing in the closing stages Glenrothes could not fashion a clear cut chance and the match remained deadlocked as the final whistle blew.

 Next week we travel to Treaton Park to face Kennoway Star Hearts for another league fixture as the campaign reaches the halfway point. Please note that the kick-off time next week is at 1.30pm.

Burntisland Shipyard: M. Couser; L. Ross; R. O’Donnell; M. James; I. Millar; S. Orrock; B. Anthony; S. Glancy; J. Wilson; D. Anthony (R. Wardlaw); S. Keatings (J. Galloway). Unused Subs: D. Thomson; D. Pierce; A. Brown; L. Bell; R. Connor.

Glenrothes: A. Shaw; C. Kinnes; C. Wallace; C. Denton; B. Smart; R. McInnes; L. Schiavone; K. Bell; S. Cargill; G. Walker; D. Honeyman. Subs: C. Miller; C. Thompson; R. Gait; F M. Kay; C. Schiavone.

Referee: K. Hall.