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The Fifers broke the deadlock with a 2nd Division win by 4-3 at Bayview on 28th August 1926 but Ayr had to settle for a 1-1 draw at home that season. In fact Ayr had to wait until the home mach on 29th October 1927 for their first win by 3-0 although East Fife won the return match by 2-0.
Ayr United were promoted in season 1927/28 and the clubs didn't meet again until Ayr returned to the 2nd Division for season 1936/37 when they beat East Fife 4-1 at Ayr on 3rd October 1936 but lost b the same margin at Methil on 16th April 1937 when Ayr were on their way again to Division One.
There has been very little success for Ayr at Methil and when United lost 2-0 on 15th September they had still to win at East Fife.. Similafrly the Fifers hadnt won at Ayr. On 15th December 1945 in a 'B' Division match, the Ayr United goalkeeper was Tom Brown who was home from leave from the far east. Although his registration was held by Ipswich Town the ex-commando turned out for Ayr. A John Malcolm goal in 36 minutes left East Fife looking for their first win at Ayr. They came close with a late equaliser.
United lost 6-2 on 8th March 1947 at Methil, still the highest aggregate score between the clubs, with the Fifers already having lost 2-1 at Ayr on 14th September 1946. 23rd August was a breakthrough for East Fife. They won 5-2 at Somerset Park in a Scottish League Cup match and drew the league match 3-3 on 3rd January 1948, Ayr losing in Fife by 3-2.
It was season 1956/57 before the clubs met again but not much had changed with 22 draws home and away in first division matches. Ayr were relegated and so had East Fife been by the time of the second division match at Methil on 29th November 1958 when Ayr United eventually recorded their first ever win at Bayview Park scoring a superb 3-1 victory.
They followed this up with a 2-0 home win on 28th March 1959.
Ayr's next win at Bayview was on 23rd February 1963 although they only drew 1-1 at home on 20th October 1962. Two draws the following season, Ayr scoring three at Bayview, showed that Ayr were beginning to break that Bayview block but they lost 1-0 on 3rd April 1965. Ayr only had a 2-0 home win on 27th April 1966 as they headed for the First Division.
On return to Second Division football they lost 1-0 at Bayview on 21st October 1967 although they wn at home 2-0 on 10th February 1968. It was a similar story the following season. The clubs found themselves playing First Division football in the early 1970's and Ayr managed a 2-2 draw away on 6th November 1971 but winning 4-0 at home on 11th March 1972, still United's highest ever winning score against East Fife.
1972/73 saw a 2-2 draw at Methil on 14th October and a 3-2 win at Ayr on 10th February 1973. 22nd December 1973 saw a good 1-0 win at Somerset Park and Ayr United recorded only their third ever win at Bayview Park on 27th April 1974. It was relegation for East Fife that season and Ayr then moved into the newly established Premier League.
It was, therefore, the mid 1980's before the clubs met again, drawing 1-1 at East Fife on 1st September 1984 and 1-1 at Ayr on 16th March 1985. A 1-0 win for Ayr at home on 19th October 1985 was followed by a 3-1 win for Ayr at Methil on 21st December 1985 in a 1st division match before another draw in fife, this time 0-0 on 15th March 1986.
Again the clubs were separated by relegation and promotion and the next match was a B&Q Cup 1st Round match at Ayr on 5th October 1993 which Ayr won by 3-1.
1995/96 had honours even with the Fifers winning 1-0 at home on 26th August 1995 and drawing 1-1 at Ayr on 24th February 1996, but Ayr winning 1-0 at home on 27th April 1996.
The teams did not meet again until earlier this season on 27th September 2008 when the Fifers won by 3-0 at Bayview Park.
The Fifers have been hard to beat over the years, but United will be looking for a solid home win on Saturday.