But after the agony of narrowly missing out on promotion last term, Sheerin said: “We’re starting to pick up results and we have to look ahead. I’d be lying if I said we aren’t trying for promotion.

“We finished second last year and want to improve on that.’’

The turning point arrived two minutes after the break when Johnstone was sent off for a two-footed lunge on Steven Doris.

Arbroath stepped up and stole the points in 53 minutes when Sheerin pounced on a loose ball to fire in from 15 yards.

From the Courier  

A GOAL from player-manager Paul Sheerin gave Arbroath a narrow but well-deserved victory over 10-man East Fife in an entertaining Second Division contest at Gayfield.

For the second week in a row the Methil side ended a match a man short after Craig Johnstone was dismissed for a crude tackle on Steven Doris shortly after the interval.

Doris, who heads off for a five-day trial with Birmingham City next week, escaped unscathed.

Sheerin was delighted with the result, which keeps the Gayfield men well-placed to make a strong bid to secure a play-off spot.

“It was a good performance today,” he said. “We passed the ball well, got some good crosses in and caused them a lot of problems even before the sending off and their goalkeeper pulled off three or four very good saves.”