East Fife boss Darren Young bids to end 42year wait for last eight spot

It has been more than 40 years since East Fife reached the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup.

However, manager Darren Young hopes his stars can end that long wait when they face Partick Thistle at Bayview tomorrow.

It was 1977 the last time the Fifers appeared in the last eight, losing 3-2 to Hearts in a Bayview replay thriller after a 0-0 draw at Tynecastle.

It was the year Kenny Dalglish became Britain’s most expensive footballer in a £440,000 transfer from Celtic to Liverpool, Virginia Wade captured Wimbledon and Red Rum won the Grand National for a third time.

So far 2019 is shaping into a memorable year for the Fifers, sitting third in League One ahead of the Partick showdown and Friday night’s Irn-Bru Cup semi-final against Ross County in Dingwall.

However, Young admits East Fife, who toppled another Championship side, Morton, in the previous round of the Scottish Cup, face a major test against a rejuvenated Partick who have won their last three games under Gary Caldwell.

He said: “If we can get to a quarter-final on top of a semifinal in the same season it will be brilliant.

“When you take in our league position as well, we are on the right road, that’s for sure.

“We are winning games and that’s a good habit to get into.

“Of course, we are the underdogs going into the Partick game – they are a fulltime Championship team.

“But we fancy our chances – as they will. At the end of the day we are at home and while it’s not going to be easy, we are still confident we can go out there and cause an upset.

“We beat Partick in the Irn-Bru Cup earlier in the season but they are a different team now.

“But we are on a good wee run ourselves and I’m delighted how well the whole team has done. Everyone has gelled together on and off the park.”

Young is hoping his players can give the supporters plenty to cheer about after the debacle of Dublin on Saturday, when their Irn-Bru tie against Bohemians was called off just five minutes before the kick-off, which saw the Irish club withdraw from the competition.

He added: “I think we should get a big crowd and hopefully, we can put in a good performance for our fans.”