Greig Shields took charge of his first home game as St Andrews United manager when Glenrothes paid a visit to The Clayton Caravan Park Recreation Ground and the new boss would be delighted with the way that the festive derby unfolded. Shields was a little light on defensive options heading into the fixture so Kyle Sneddon once again partnered John Tod at centre back but Glenrothes hardly troubled home goalkeeper Logan Halliday over the course of the afternoon. Indeed, Saints started the fixture on the front foot and Luke Mahady tested visiting goalie Dale Wotherspoon with a low shot in the 12th minute. Alex McCreadie then earned a yellow card for diving in the Glenrothes box a few moments later when he could have unleashed a shot a few seconds earlier and the hosts continued to press thereafter. Mikey Ness made a terrific surge forward in the 27th minute before slipping the ball to Mahady yet the big number nine could only scuff a weak shot straight at Wotherspoon. Ryan McManus and Tod then collected yellow cards for making overly strong tackles in quick succession but the away players couldn’t fashion any chances from the resulting free kicks.

Ness subsequently made another superb break up the left touchline on the half hour mark and it looked like the impressive wing back would claim an assist as he released Lewis Payne towards goal, only for the tall striker to knock the ball out of the park following a clumsy touch. The visitors then created a rare chance in front of Halliday’s goal after Tod slipped near the front post but Cammy Muirhead launched the ball over the crossbar from inside the six-yard box. That glaring miss proved to be a real let-off for Saints yet the hosts quickly moved back up the slope in search of an opening goal. Lewis Craik, Payne and McCreadie all made a mess of scoring in the wake of good work by Freddie Rowe and Tod respectively before the latter tested Wotherspoon with a well-directed header. The veteran goalkeeper defied his age to make a stunning save on that occasion but he was beaten in the 35th minute when Mahady crossed for Payne to score with a powerful header from an unmarked position right in the middle of the goal. Tod also caught the eye with a lovely break in the 41st minute prior to picking out Payne and the fans behind the goal started to celebrate as the number ten took the ball around the stranded Wotherspoon. However, former St Andrews United defender Andy McDonald did extremely well to deflect Payne’s resulting shot onto the left-hand post so the score remained 1-0 heading into the break.

Unfortunately, the quality of the home team’s passing wasn’t as good during the second half and there weren’t any further incidents of note until Shields replaced Rowe and Mahady with Ross Cunningham and Lewis Sawers respectively. Sawers was not deemed worthy of start following some quiet performances in previous weeks, not helped by the fact he has been forced to play out of position, though he brought some much-needed class and composure to proceedings. Indeed, the star winger narrowly missed the far post with his first shot of the game and he was involved in the move that gave Payne his third one-v-one opportunity of the day. Alas, Payne hit another weak shot straight at Wotherspoon on that occasion and Glenrothes almost netted an equaliser in the 80th minute when former St Andrews United striker Jordan Mackenzie clipped the post with a deft header from a corner.

Shields then replaced the hard-working Craik with Andy Johnston and the substitute almost converted a great cross from Sawers a few seconds later. McCreadie also fired the loose ball over Wotherspoon’s bar as the home supporters grew a little nervous yet the points were secured in the 86th minute thanks to some impressive skills from Sawers. United’s top-scorer found Payne with a suitably composed pass and he tapped the ball into an empty net to bag his brace and make the score 2-0. Saints thus moved within one point of safety and three points of eleventh place in the Premier Division table and the home fans left Recreation Park in high spirits. The referee, Chris Newman, also did well to keep a lid on proceedings despite dishing out nine yellow cards and there were several candidates for man-of-the-match. Sponsor George McLeod of Blebo Construction picked Ryan McManus as the most valuable player on the park but Tod and Ness both produced outstanding performances throughout a typically hard-fought derby that kept all 251 spectators thoroughly entertained from start to finish!