Manager Darren Young said there were positives to take from East Fife’s 1-0 defeat at Stair Park.
It was far from the start the Bayview boss wanted but he saw more than enough during his side’s 90 minutes to convince him there’s plenty to be optimistic about this term.
A second half Jamie Hamill winner was all that separated the sides despite both creating more than enough chances to wrap up a comfortable win – something not lost on Young.
He said: “It’s a disappointing result and performance-wise we can do better.
“One of the things we’ve been speaking about during pre-season is taking our chances and we had three or four really good ones.
“But Stranraer did as well and it could have been 2-2 or 3-3.
“The second half there was nothing in it and we get countered from our own freekick.
“In that respect it was disappointing but there are quite a few positives.
“We have boys to come back from injury and we worked hard and created chances.
“The boys who we brought on all did well as well.
“It’s not too doom and gloom.”
East Fife started well during what was a pretty open early spell.
Paul Willis managed to jink past a couple of Stranraer defenders and fee Nathan Flanagan.
Flanagan managed to get a shot away under pressure but failed to trouble Cammy Belford.
It was an impressive start to the game from the Methil men who went close again on the 10 minute mark.
Some good work down the wing between Paul Willis and Kyle Wilson resulted in Wilson squaring the ball along the six yard box for Chris Duggan.
But Duggan too failed to get a clean connection on his strike and it sailed high over the bar.
Stranraer retaliated with an acrobatic effort from Ryan Wallace which Fife ‘keeper Ryan Goodfellow nudged around the post.
Wallace wasted a golden chance to open the scoring on the half hour mark when he scampered clear on Goodfellow’s goal.
The former Dunfermline man wasted his chance, though, by firing high and wide over the bar.
It was East Fife’s chance to be cursing their finishing next when Pat Slattery really should have put his side one up.
Hamill was slack with a pass in the middle of the park, allowing the Fife midfielder to race clear on Belford’s goal.
But with the goal at his mercy, Slattery knocked his shot past the post.
The second half started in the same fashion as the first, with Grant Anderson stinging Goodfellow’s palms from 10 yards.
Typically the game swung from end to end and a storming run forward by Flanagan only saw him lack a finish.
It was the story of the game really, both sides really looking good going forward but rusty in front of goal.
It took one of the most experienced player on the park to eventually break the deadlock.
Ryan Wallace did well to dispossess Mark Docherty on the half-way line and pick out former Hearts midfielder Hamill on the wing.
Hamill had all the space in the world to burst into and raced clear on Goodfellow’s goal before slamming past the Fife keeper.
East Fife took the knock on the chin and continued to press forward in hope of grabbing an equaliser.
Kyle Wilkie and Greg Hurst were added from the bench to increase the attacking threat on the Stranraer goal.
But with their lead to defend, the hosts were comfortable sitting back.
