East Fife sit in second place in League Two, and Gary Naysmith says that’s the perfect reward for his hard-working players.
Following their 2-1 win over Arbroath on Saturday, the boss paid tribute to the efforts of the Methil men.
Naysmith has put together a young squad, but reckons they’re showing maturity beyond their years.
He said: “They are a fantastic group with a great work ethic, and I can honestly say there’s not one bad lad in the changing room.”
The two sides were clearly high on confidence, but the game didn’t quite turn out to be the cracker anticipated.
The first half was short on clear-cut chances.
The best of what was created fell the way of East Fife, with Nathan Austin seeing his effort saved by Allan Fleming.
But Austin wasn’t to be denied and put his side ahead on the stroke of half-time. Steven Campbell’s deep cross was exceptional, and the striker was on hand to head past Fleming.
The second wasn’t long in arriving, when Insall finished off an Austin cut-back.
East Fife were given a scare when Keiran Stewart rifled home a stunning effort.
Visiting boss Todd Lumsden said: “The goal before half time killed us. If we came in 0-0 it would have been a totally different game.
“It’s disappointing overall because I don’t think we created enough going forward and they worked ourkeeper more than we would have liked, so we have to reflect on that honestly,” Lumsden added.