Crucial Times Ahead

 

The big games keep coming as we reach the business end of the season, the intensity of this one heightened in midweek after the Pars thrashed Partick Thistle 4-1 on Tuesday night ahead of their visit to the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday. The game kicks off at 3:00pm with points vital for both sides for different reasons. John Hughes is the man tasked with saving Dunfermline's season and it's not all gone to plan so far, but the midweek rout of Partick is an untimely reminder that they can cause problems to the best sides in this division. How many people, like me, had the Pars down as one of the favourites to get promotion given the depth and quality of their squad. I certainly did not expect them to be exiting the Championship at the bottom end. Crazy season heading for a tense finish at both ends of the table.

MATCH/TICKETS/STREAMING INFO

OFFICIAL PREVIEW

Venue Head 2 Head

Pld

Won

Drn

Lst

For

Agst

+ / -

Home	22	9	8	5	28	21	+7
Away	24	9	10	5	29	26	+3
Neutral	2	0	1	1	3	4	-1
Total	48	18	19	11	60	51	+9

Last 10 Competitive Meetings v Pars

1 - 1 (A)

1 - 2 (H)

0 - 0 (A)

1 - 0 (A)

1 - 1 (H)

1 - 3 (A)

2 - 1 (A)

2 - 0 (H)

1 - 0 (A)

1 - 0 (H)

The honours tilt towards us over the years, a far cry from our first taste of the big time when Dunfermline pumped us 4-0 at East End Park in our first game in Division one or the Championship as we know it now. August 7th 1999 with nearly 5,000 in attendance, steak bridies and all. At last we had made the big time....Alas, we had a lot to learn.  Click on the link below to see Ian Broadfoot's brief report as we ended the game with 10 men against an accomplished Dunfermline Athletic.

Aug 7th

League

0 - 4

(A)

4,865

Fast Forward to May 12th 2007 when Dunfermline were officially relegated after we beat them at the Caledonian Stadium; full report from Ian Broadfoot. Look at that crowd back in 2007, no doubt swelled by the Fifers as they tried to stave off relegation.

May 12th

League

2 - 1

(H)

6,464

 

All games Saturday 3:00pm

    Arbroath v Raith Rvrs

Hamilton v Queens

       Killie v Partick 

   Morton v Ayr Utd

 Inverness CT v Dunfermline

Pos Team Pld W D L F A Pts   1. Kilmarnock 30 17 5 8 41 21 56 2. Arbroath 30 14 12 4 41 22 54 3. Inverness CT 30 12 10 8 41 29 46 4. Partick Thistle 30 12 9 9 42 34 45 5. Raith Rovers 30 10 12 8 37 37 42 6. Morton 30 8 11 11 33 40 35 7. Hamilton Ac. 30 8 11 11 35 45 35 8. Ayr United 30 8 8 14 30 44 32 9. Dunfermline 30 5 14 11 31 45 29 10. Q.O.S. 30 6 8 16 30 44 26

As a result of Dunfermline swatting away the Jags in midweek, all teams have now played 30 games with Inverness remaining in 3rd position whilst Partick and Raith capitulate. No room to crow about it though as we have only just returned to winning ways after a horrendous run of eleven games with no wins, taking only six points from a possible thirty three.

This season we have yet to beat the Pars. We were fortunate to draw 0-0 at East End Park in September as Dunfermline looked for their first win of the season after five games. We were top on 15 points, Dunfermline bottom with just two points after this one.

We went down 2-1 at the Caledonian Stadium in November after having led through a Billy Mckay goal. A Danny Devine og restored parity before a superb Dom Thomas solo goal clinched the points. Under Par: Inverness opened the scoring after probing well for over twenty minutes. Michael Gardyne drifted inside and the Pars defence opened up allowing him to get a shot away. It came back off the woodwork and Billy Mckay reacted first to knock the ball into the net. However, Dunfermline got their first win of the season as Inverness fired blanks thereafter, and goals from Kevin O'Hara assisted by a massive Danny Devine deflection and a great solo effort from Dom Thomas won the points for the Pars. Another bad day at the office continued with Inverness slipping to third following wins for Killie Raith and Partick.

The third encounter was a 1-1 draw at EEP: More points thrown away in our wasteful period in January. Inverness wasted an opportunity to put pressure on the top of the table after squandering a first half lead through Shane Sutherland. Steven Lawless levelled from the spot in the second half with ten minutes remaining after David Carson was adjudged to have blocked a cross with a flailing arm. Another drab performance after a first half full of promise. No surprise really given recent performances, but frustrating nonetheless.

So, time to redress the balance for this season as Dunfermline begin to realise the severity of their plight. 

Last Time Out

We came away with an unlikely three points after Logan Chalmers scored two spectacular goals in the dying embers of a game we looked like losing, even against ten men. Raith took an early lead through Aidan Connolly before Shane Sutherland stabbed in the equaliser. That was short lived as Poplatnik restored Raith's advantage before the break. A couple of enforced changes weakened Raith but we still struggled and even after Kyle Benedictus was red carded with twenty minutes to go we looked spent on ideas. Up popped Chalmers with two sweet left foot strikes to take the points North. That result came on the back of us ending our drought with a 3-0 win over Arbroath the week before to revive our flagging play-off hopes.

On yersel Logan

As said before, Dunfermline helped us out in midweek by thumping Partick thistle 4-1. More importantly they helped themselves massively and climbed off the foot of the table in doing so. Partick had opened the scoring with a strike from distance through Ross Docherty. They fought back and deservedly levelled with an og from Lewis Mayo. Mathew Todd scored a second for a rampant Pars in the first half followed by Josh Edwards. Man of the Match Dom Thomas scored a spectacular fourth in the second half to put the icing on the cake. Great result for the Pars led of course by none other that John Hughes, our former Scottish Cup winning manager.

Latest Team News

Scott Allardice is out long term with Roddy MacGregor rumoured to be returned to full training.

More team news to follow...

View full article

So what exactly has changed, from aimless and dispirited performances in that 11 match winless run, to 3 good performances and wins in a row?

Hopefully the Ridgers must start brigade chill out a bit now. Obviously Ridgers is quality but Cammys dedicated his whole life to Caley and is worthy of a run in the team, barely missed a session and has been very solid since coming in. 1 mistake and calling to be dropped is very harsh. He’s human.

Edited March 26, 20224 yr by RossM1997
Mistake

Really, really good performance. We were under the cosh for 5, 10 minutes after we scored the first but it was great to see players throwing themselves in front of shots and Mackay making some great saves to keep us ahead. There seemed a real determination and fight about the team today. For me that was Carsons best performance in a long time but I thought McAlear and in particular Sean Welsh were outstanding, completey dominated the midfield. Looks like we could be timing our return to form just at the perfect time.

Edited March 26, 20224 yr by SteveA

8 minutes ago, RossM1997 said:

Hopefully the Ridgers must start brigade chill out a bit now. Obviously Ridgers is quality but Cammys dedicated his whole life to Caley and is worthy of a run in the team, barely missed a session and has been very solid since coming in. 1 mistake and calling to be dropped is very harsh. He’s human.

Didn't have much to do in 1st half but made some crucial stops after we went ahead and dunfermline capitalised on a brief period of pressure.

Credit also to the numerous blue & red shirts that were blocking shots in & around our box for a fraught 10 minute spell.

It's a pity that, now that we have last tapped into a vein of good form, that there is such a delay before our next fixture.

I like the Challenge Cup as a tournament although I would rather we are not eligible to take part next season.

However, the final usually takes place earlier in the season and I wonder whether it is appropriate, at this late crucial stage in the league season with so many sides having so much to play for, it is appropriate for it to take precedence over league fixtures rather that being played midweek under the lights.

Whats changed is the fear of failure has gone and been replaced with a joy in playing. 

 

All the players were playing lower percentage higher value passes in the final third which were just much more dangerous. 

 

Think of all the times in that eleven game run where possession ended in a dismal short pass rather than an edgy fast pass into a channel.

Doran was good today but I would pick out Logan Chalmers as a huge improvement in the team.

But it isn't for his personal contribution but for his constant closing down of space for dunfermline, the excellent communication and discipline he showed listening to Duran deas and Welsh directing traffic, and his hunting to play quick balls into dangerous areas when going forward.

Excellent game from a team player. 

 

Happy chappy chappy. 

4 wins to go.

Like the other posters I really enjoyed today watching a good all round performance from all the team, a well earned three points well done   McAlear's goal was fantastic and Samuel's a great finish which will give him a bit more confidence.

1 hour ago, Yngwie said:

So what exactly has changed, from aimless and dispirited performances in that 11 match winless run, to 3 good performances and wins in a row?

I haven't a clue it was totally different today and if we had only won three of these games we would be up challenging Kilmarnock.

2 hours ago, Jaggernaut said:

A fantastic three points, and a very good performance, once we stopped punting the ball up the park for a ten minute period. An amazing goal from Mcalear, we were right in line with it, what a strike. There were good performances all over the pitch. Some games it was difficult to pick a man of the match, because the performance wasn't good, this game was the opposite, so many players could have been man of the match. Can't remember the last time we won three on the bounce. Happy days.

 

A mention for Duffy who had a good game. His willingness to run forward providing the freekick that led to Maclears goal. 

Great team performance.  Solid performances from the regular starters and really important contributions from MacKay in goal, Duffy and Chalmers.  What is good to see is how we are getting men forward  with a lot more movement up front allowing more threatening through balls to be played.  We were unfortunate not to have been in the lead at half time and had the chances to be out of sight.

Dunfermline were disappointing and demonstrated why they will only get out of the Championship at the wrong end with Yogi is in charge.  In the 1st half they played some neat and tidy possession football in their own half, but when they came up against our press, they would either pass the ball back in the time honoured Yogi way or lose possession.  For all the possession they had, they rarely posed any kind of threat. Yet after we scored, they suddenly started playing proper football and for a short period looked very threatening indeed.  It required a great save from MacKay and some backs to the wall defending to keep them out.  

Once we got our second, the fight went out of them and the cracks in their team spirit began to show.  Defensively, Dunfermline were poor and seemed overly focussed on keeping their shape rather than tracking our runners.  I hope they are looking forward to their derbies with Kelty next season.

42 minutes ago, DoofersDad said:

Great team performance.  Solid performances from the regular starters and really important contributions from MacKay in goal, Duffy and Chalmers.  What is good to see is how we are getting men forward  with a lot more movement up front allowing more threatening through balls to be played.  We were unfortunate not to have been in the lead at half time and had the chances to be out of sight.

Dunfermline were disappointing and demonstrated why they will only get out of the Championship at the wrong end with Yogi is in charge.  In the 1st half they played some neat and tidy possession football in their own half, but when they came up against our press, they would either pass the ball back in the time honoured Yogi way or lose possession.  For all the possession they had, they rarely posed any kind of threat. Yet after we scored, they suddenly started playing proper football and for a short period looked very threatening indeed.  It required a great save from MacKay and some backs to the wall defending to keep them out.  

Once we got our second, the fight went out of them and the cracks in their team spirit began to show.  Defensively, Dunfermline were poor and seemed overly focussed on keeping their shape rather than tracking our runners.  I hope they are looking forward to their derbies with Kelty next season.

Also taking off Thomas and Polworth sealed their fate- cheers Yogi 😁

41 minutes ago, jed5697 said:

Also taking off Thomas and Polworth sealed their fate- cheers Yogi 😁

The 'master tactician'.

6 hours ago, RossM1997 said:

Hopefully the Ridgers must start brigade chill out a bit now. Obviously Ridgers is quality but Cammys dedicated his whole life to Caley and is worthy of a run in the team, barely missed a session and has been very solid since coming in. 1 mistake and calling to be dropped is very harsh. He’s human.

OK Cammy 👍 👍 

I've watched this strike all morning... 

 

Time to do last nights dishes now though RIG

23 minutes ago, RiG said:

I've watched this strike all morning... 

 

The fury shown by their 'keeper towards his defenders is priceless.

In fairness to the manager who has been, rightly in my view, criticised for much of the season, his use of the loan system is now paying dividends with vital goals from a loan player last week and from two loan players this.

Suddenly, it looks like we have options in the squad which may expand further if Roddy becomes fit to play during our enforced extended break.

8 hours ago, Kingsmills said:

The 'master tactician'.

Nothing will take away from a good all round performance yesterday and yes maybe saying Yogi was a master at tactics was pushing it,but come back to me when any Inverness Manager can claim similar to 3 cups and first division with Falkirk,Scottish Cup with Inverness,PFA Manager of the year etc.What I meant is Yogi will have done his homework and if he sees any weakness he will capitalise.Thankfully the boys were all good yesterday.

33 minutes ago, Kingsmills said:

In fairness to the manager who has been, rightly in my view, criticised for much of the season, his use of the loan system is now paying dividends with vital goals from a loan player last week and from two loan players this.

Suddenly, it looks like we have options in the squad which may expand further if Roddy becomes fit to play during our enforced extended break.

Did Samuels not sign a permanent 18 month contract? 

3 minutes ago, SteveA said:

Did Samuels not sign a permanent 18 month contract? 

Yes.

I was fortunate to be invited to hospitality yesterday, and it was excellent. Hosted by Keith Haggart, Robbo spoke pre-match and Reece McAleer was interviewed at the Man of the Match presentation. A nice meal and good service, with a jovial atmosphere throughout. I’d recommend it.

Robbo advised that Danny Devine and Joe Hardy picked up knocks on Thursday, whilst Roddy MacGregor had also looked to be ready, but was feeling his leg so they didn’t risk him.

Reece McAlear is clearly enjoying his time here and feels he has learnt and developed a lot. He was particularly complimentary about Kirk Broadfoot who has been mentoring him.

As for the game, a good performance and a well deserved result, topped off by two fine goals.

Other than a short spell after our first goal, with two important and good saves by Cammy MacKay, I thought we were well on top and seldom troubled.

The other highlight was the chanting after Polworth got subbed of “Polly Polly what’s the score?” whilst Donaldson was booed whenever the ball was near him and he was losing the plot by the end.

A good day all round!

11 minutes ago, Robert said:

Yes.

My mistake. Hopefully, we will be seeing him in the Premiership next season.

12 hours ago, RossM1997 said:

Hopefully the Ridgers must start brigade chill out a bit now. Obviously Ridgers is quality but Cammys dedicated his whole life to Caley and is worthy of a run in the team, barely missed a session and has been very solid since coming in. 1 mistake and calling to be dropped is very harsh. He’s human.

During the first half PPV commentary, Ross T noted that Cammy's ball distribution has been excellent in the games that he has played.  So that's two of us who think that

We now have the problem of keeping two first-team quality keepers happy and motivated!

10 minutes ago, snorbens_caleyman said:

During the first half PPV commentary, Ross T noted that Cammy's ball distribution has been excellent in the games that he has played.  So that's two of us who think that

We now have the problem of keeping two first-team quality keepers happy and motivated!

Premiership wages next season should go a long way to doing that.