Draw the fair result, reckons Gary Naysmith as Stenhousemuir move 16 points clear at top of League Two

The Warriors, who were missing captain Gregor Buchanan and Ross Taylor through injury, got off to the perfect start when Ross Meechan headed home from a corner after just five minutes but they were pegged back by a Nathan Austin strike.

And manager Gary Naysmith reckons the draw was the fair result on the day, telling Warriors TV: “We went in front early thanks to a corner but I think East Fife were the better team and had more chances in that first half period.

"We weren’t poor but we weren’t great either. In the second half, we tweaked things and we were by far the better side. East Fife had a few corners late on mind you. I think the draw was the fair result.”

Goalscorer Meechan took the captain’s armband in the absence of Buchanan, and Naysmith singled out the defender for praise.

He said: “Ross is a versatile player and he can play across that back four. He is a loud character in the changing room and with Gregor missing today we just thought it was the right choice to make him captain.

"He is a brilliant player and it was great for him to score – he has a lot of affection for Stenhousemuir and you can see that in the way he plays.

"Gregor simply had a knock from last weekend, he is confident that he will be fit for this weekend which is great. Nicky Jamieson came through the game too."

The boss added: “Ross Taylor was actually in line for a start before having to pull out due to injury. It was an innocuous challenge right at the end of training last Thursday.

"We were going to freshen up the team a little bit more than we actually did but Ross rolled his ankle and he is in a moon boot for a couple of days.”

Veteran boss Dick Campbell was in the East Fife dugout for the first time against Stenny and Naysmith admitted that it probably gave the hosts a lift.

"It happened when I took over at Stenny last season,” he said. “It does happen for whatever reason.”