It is all to play for in the League 1 play-offs after East Fife and Stenhousemuir drew 1-1 at Bayview on Wednesday and Arbroath hit back to draw 2-2 with Queen’s Park.
The Fifers now head to Ochilview and player/manager Gary Naysmith said: “We started the game in the manner I had hoped we would and got a goal ahead. However, the longer the game went on the more Stenhousemuir got involved and they got their equaliser in the second half.
“Both sides had chances to get an advantage but it ended all square so we both start again. We had hoped to get a lead to take into Saturday’s game but it was not to be.”
Warriors boss Brown Ferguson said: “We got off to a bad start but recovered from it and I am proud of the players. We lost an early goal and sometimes sides that come into these play-offs after finishing second bottom are low on confidence and going behind can really hurt them but that never happened.
“We handled the setback and then started to take the game to East Fife. We got a deserved equaliser and if I had been offered a 1-1 draw before we came I would probably have taken it.”
The first meeting at Gayfield between the Red Lichties and the Spiders was a pulsating affair, with Bryan Wharton giving the amateurs an early lead before the hosts lost Kieran McWalter to a red card.
When Shaun Fraser made it 2-0 nine minutes from half-time it looked like Gus MacPherson’s team would be returning to Hampden in a strong position.
But Simon Murray scored just before the break to give Arbroath hope and manager Todd Lumsden’s two tactical substitutions at half-time worked as Murray was able to grab a leveller for the 10 men.
Lumsden said: “It was poor start to our play-off campaign as we lost two bad goals and a player to a red card. However, the players deserve credit for how they responded.
“After 40 minutes all I was looking for was a result that gave us a bit of hope for Saturday. We ended up with a terrific result in the circumstances but we cannot get complacent as the slate is wiped clean and we go again from the first whistle.”
MacPherson said: “It was a game that has left me with mixed emotions. Beforehand, I would have been happy to go back home with the scores level but we did have the chance to have a lead. That has gone now so I will rest content with not having to chase a goal to get level at Hampden.”
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