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Dunfermline met Clyde tonight in the Co-operative Insurance Cup with the game only being decided for sure with three minutes of the original 90 to go with the Pars winning through.he chill factor was high and I was glad I did not partake of too much coffee pre-game. Is it always this cold in Dunfermline? Anyway, both sides used the full pitch to get their muscles warmed up for the challenge ahead and Clyde managed to get the sunny side of the ground. They decided the keep that end of the pitch for the kick-off. Dunfermline were beaten 2-0 at the weekend by Fife rivals Raith Rovers and it could have been worse as the home side had the chance to take the lead just after half-time with a penalty. |
| Editor Ger Harley (ger@scottishfitba.net) Admin Team (admin@scottishfitba.net) This is Scottish-Fitba.Net |
Tonight's home crowd were augmented by a small band of travellers from Cumbernauld with 1,107 fans welcoming the teams onto the pitch but the home fans were stunned to see the visitors score within two minutes. After a shot cannoned off a defender the ball broke to Adam Strachan who was unmarked around 15 metres out and he slammed the ball past Chris Smith who stood no chance. This did not auger well for the Pars. The home side struggled to settle and even more so to find their teammates with the ball. The referee had a quiet time in the first 15 minutes which was a good job as he dropped his notebook (with the red and yellow cards attached) and only noticed when he 
spotted it on the quarter-hour. The Pars had a number of corners in the opening session but failed to make best use of them. The game was mostly played in the visitors half but without any great threat to John Hutchison in goal. The Pars were eventually resorting to long range efforts which sailed all over the place apart from on target. There was a great deal of huffing a puffing from the home side (and a lot worse from the home fans) as the half wore on. Clyde were always dangerous on the break Kevin Finlayson and Strachan always willing to test the pace of the back tracking defenders. It took Dunfermline till just before half time before they restored parity. The ball was crossed from the left and found Steven Bell's head and he nodded it down for the on-rushing Andy Kirk to finish from six yards. 
The second half started pretty much like the first with Clyde heading up field and scoring a goal. It did not take them so long this time as it was just 49 seconds into the half when striker Mark McCusker who scored from 12 yards out after being fed by Srachan. Dunfermline thought they had equalised just three minutes later, but Joe Cardle's effort was disallowed. The Pars spent most of the second half encamped in the Clyde half but try as they might they could not make the superior procession count. However, that changed just after Steven McDougall came on as a substitute in just after the hour mark and he found the back of the net three minutes after coming on. This gee-ed up the Pars fans and they were baying for their favourites to finish off the tie within regulation time. The pressure just mounted on Clyde and you could see the energy levels dropping as they absorbed wave after wave of attacks. With the prospect of extra-time being a very real possibility, Kirk stepped up with five minutes to go to put that notion out of everybody's head when he headed his second goal of the night in from six yards. Taking account of the pressure the home side put Clyde under, there should have been clear water between the sides long before the last five minutes of the game. Killer instinct does not seem to be a natural trait of the Pars players. They could regret that against a more resilient side.