Close but no cigar as chances missed on both sides of the pitch

The wind at Methil would have cut you in half. The wind was causing all sorts of havoc with the passing of both teams.

The home side couldn’t use it to their advantage, while visitors Queen’s Park struggled to find their range with long passes.

By the interval, McElroy, Slattery and Woods engineered an opening for McPherson, who fired in a shot that slipped through the (probably) frozen hands of the East Fife keeper. The celebrations were cut short, however, by the sight of the raised flag on the far side as the assistant ruled McPherson offside.

In the second half, Queen’s had the lion’s share of possession but to no avail.

Niggling fouls and missplaced passes remained the order of the day.

A spokesman said: ““But we are still third in the league and are unbeaten in our last seven matches.

Queen’s face title favourites Arbroath at Hampden in their next match.