East Fife will be looking to provide a swift response to their stoppage-time sickener against Rangers when they travel to Stranraer.
The Methil men looked to have done enough to merit a point against Ally McCoist’s men on Saturday, only to see a late Lee McCulloch penalty leave them empty-handed and end the day back in the relegation zone.
Now the focus turns to tonight at Stair Park against a Stranraer side pushing hard for a play-off spot at the right end of the table, and boss Gary Naysmith is keen to see his team’s luck change for the better.
While defeat to Rangers coupled with Airdrieonians’ win over Ayr on Saturday which pushed the Fifers down into ninth spot was hard enough to take, the weekend’s misery was compounded by an injury to midfielder Gary Fisher, which will see him sidelined for several weeks.
“I would say over the piece we won most of the individual battles, so for us then not to get a result was extremely disappointing,” Naysmith commented.
“When Pato (Greg Paterson) was called upon, he made the saves that needed to be made and when you get into the 92nd minute you think you’re going to get the draw out of it.
“But we’re not getting the rewards for what we’re putting in as a team. We lost a last-minute goal against Stenhousemuir, a last-minute goal against Rangers and then we lose Gary with what looks like a dislocated elbow.
“So we’re not getting the breaks as a team just now.”
Tuesday night’s game had to be rescheduled after a waterlogged pitch put paid to the initial fixture in January at short notice, with the team bus and many supporters already in the area at the time after making the lengthy trip west.
With Fisher already out, Naysmith conceded he may be forced to make a few alterations in personnel after his side’s exertions against Rangers at the weekend.
“It’s going to be very difficult to get these players back to their full maximum fitness levels after what they put in (against Rangers), so it’s maybe something where we’ll have to make a few changes,” he concluded.
“None of that 11 deserve to be left out of the team for Tuesday but we have just got to assess everybody.”