Play Offs Looming Down to the nitty gritty now as we enter the last two games still in the danger zone and just one point ahead of Queens Park who, as it happens, face Arbroath, the very club that Big Dunc said might have downed tools by now! You couldn't write it, could you. In fairness, Dunfermline have nothing to play for but pride, and a few shekels, does that mean that they will also down tools? Have a word with yourself if you answered yes. The final day of the season next Friday night has Queens Park at home to Airdrie and Inverness at home to Morton. It's going to the wire. At the moment, it's still in our own hands, but it's not over until the fat lady sings. (sit down Michelle...) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Bus Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Venue H2H v Pars Pld Won Drn Lst For Agst + / - Home 25 10 10 5 31 22 +9 Away 25 9 11 5 30 27 +3 Neutral 2 0 1 1 3 4 -1 Total 52 19 22 11 64 53 +11 We have a pretty hefty advantage over the Pars since we first locked horns with them in the First Division (Championship) back in August, 1999. Our first encounter was at East End Park after we had gained promotion. That didn't end well, a 4-0 defeat, an early injury to Barry Wilson after 6 minutes, a Pars penalty before half time and a red card for Andrew Allan after 66 minutes. Ian Broadfoot's summary of that game: The reality of the First Division hit Caley Thistle hard in this opening league fixture as they slumped to a 4-0 defeat. They were hit by an early injury to Barry Wilson and Andrew Allan was ordered off in the 66th minute for a tackle on Brian Reid. Caley Thistle were only one down at half time to an Andy Smith penalty, but were overwhelmed in the second half. A Brian Reid low drive in 61 minutes made it 2-0 then came the ordering-off. Scott Thomson made it three in 81 minutes and Stewart Petrie completed the rout on the final whistle. Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Pars 0 - 0 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 2 - 0 (H) 1 - 1 (A) 1 - 2 (H) 0 - 0 (A) 1 - 0 (A) 1 - 1 (H) 1 - 3 (A) The stats show six draws from the last ten meetings with all three this season ending all square. That's where the smart money will be going. However, this is a different beast with more than just relegation at stake. Given our financial plight, the mere existence of our club functioning as it is just now is a growing concern. Going down may well be the catalyst for part time football and seasons in the doldrums should we survive. The ultimate price to pay for failure is plain for all to see. LAST TIME OUT The Caley Jags battered Raith Rovers to a 0-1 defeat at the Caledonian Stadium last Friday night, thanks mainly to a worldy performance by Raith keeper Kevin Dabrowski and his woodwork. Ably assisted by our inability to stick the ball into the net, we snatched defeat from the jaws of a comfortable victory. In terms of performance, everything was positive. In terms of result, it was a disaster. We can't fault the players for effort, but the season long issue of not taking our chances reared it's ugly head big time. It certainly looks likely that some familiar faces will not be here next season. LAST SIX: L D L W W L Dunfermline drew 0-0 with Queens Park at EEP last week as Queens showed plenty of resilience to deny their hosts. The Pars saw the better of the game in a dour scoreless encounter that ensured they have nothing left to play for and QP remained below us in the table. I'm sure Pars' aim will be to finish with a flourish especially at home in front of their own fans and of course the extra £££ for places. LAST SIX: W W W D L D Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts Table ahead of Airdrie v Dundee United on Friday night. 1. Dundee Utd 34 21 8 5 69 22 71 2. Raith Rovers 34 19 8 7 53 42 65 3. Partick Thistle 34 14 12 8 62 50 54 4. Airdrieonians 34 15 6 13 44 42 51 5. Morton 34 12 8 14 42 43 44 6. Dunfermline 34 11 10 13 39 44 43 7. Ayr United 34 12 6 16 50 58 42 8. Inverness CT 34 9 11 14 37 38 38 9. Queens Park 34 9 10 15 43 56 37 10. Arbroath 34 6 5 23 35 79 23 Friday 26th April Airdrieonians v Dundee United Saturday 27th April Arbroath v Queens PK Dunfermline v Inverness CT Morton v Rovers Partick Th v Ayr United LATEST TEAM NEWS Aaron Doran looks likely to have pulled on the Caley Jags strip for the last time after limping off against Raith Rovers last Friday. Sean McAllister returning was a bonus though but the mystery deepens as to why Roddy MacGregor, Austin Samuels and Nikola Ujdur are not featuring either on the injury list or the team list. Baffling to be honest as Roddy has the midfield attributes required, Austin has the speed and potential and Nikola in my opinion, if fit, would be my first choice on the team sheet. Are these guys on the way out? Add to that seven or eight loan players, then next season will see a massive restructure and rebuild at the Caledonian Stadium. I imagine the board members are squirming in their seats like Angela van den Bogerd at a Post Office inquiry. Here's Dunc isn't it>>> No changes, Doran Out with a knee injury... Dunfermline have former St Johnstone striker Chris Kane available and he is a handful, a sort of taller version of Alex Samuel but with less hair. They also have the human battering ram in the shape of the powerful Alex Jakubiak. Pars v QP last week @ EEP 3-4-3 Mehmet Fisher (Breen 86) Benedictus Fagan-Walcott Welch-Hayes (Jakubiak 68) Hamilton Ritchie-Hosler Edwards Todd Kane McCann (Holmes 80) Subs Not Used: Little; Sutherland, Chalmers, O'Halloran, Benjamin, Moffat