Dunfermline 2 Dundee 1

Tuesday, 30th Mar 2010

IRN BRU First Division. Three changes in Pars starting eleven. Gibson (5) 1-0, Bell (34) 2-0. Malone (89) 2-1

Dunfermline`s first win over Dundee in 12 matches, not great conditions but a fine result.

Ross Campbell, Neil McGregor and Steven Bell came into the Pars starting eleven at the expense of Nick Phinn, Chris Higgins and the suspended Joe Cardle.  Dundee were unchanged from the side that drew with Ross County on Saturday.

It was certainly a night for being beside the fire. As the `Final Countdown` strained over East End Park the sleet pelted in from the east on to a sodden surface.  Prior to kick off puddles formed on the south side under the Main Stand.  The groundstaff re-lined the pitch and then ran for cover.  The players weren`t so lucky, this had to be an occasion where footballers would rather stay in the dressing room.

Dundee kicked off towards the sparsely populated McCathie Stand with only four weatherproofed souls in the front 12 rows. Not a lot happened in the opening four minutes but Macca was doing plenty of shouting and when he got his team forward there was a big return.  Campbell sent McDougall wide right and his cross in set up the yellow boot of Willie GIBSON to smack the ball past  Tony Bullock from six yards for the opening goal.

Four minutes later the goalscorer almost took out two men as he dribbled in from the left but Richie Hart mde a great recovery to prevent Gibson setting up his teammates for a second.  On ten minutes Greg Ross collected an Eddie Malone clearance to pump another ball into the Dundee box that had no joy but with Macca calling `get in the box` Austin McCann sent one in from the other side Woods came very close to beating Bullock again.

Hutchison and Harkins forged a route through the defence in 19 minutes and not knowing the offside flag was up Greg Paterson dived in bravely to grab the ball.  Griffiths then managed a shot at goal but the ball ended up nearer the pie stall.

In 22 minutes Bullock was forced into a magnificent save after Gibson`s cross was deflected towards his own goal by Ryan O`Leary.  Campbell was next to have a go but he was well wide left. Three minutes later a penetrating Gibson run led to a defence splitting pass but McDougall, Bell and Woods were all offside.

The Dundonians in the East Stand had little to cheer as their team was restricted to poor shots from distance. When a ball broke back towards Paterson it was clear that he was seriously injured as he was struck by Ben Hutchinson as he attempted to kick clear on the edge of the box. The Dundee player, on loan from Celtic, was yellow carded before Greg was stretchered off in 33rd minute.

The gloom that descended around East End Park at such a sight was quickly eradicated when Steven BELL hit a 35 yard shot soaring past Bullock to double the Fifers advantage.

The Dee fans were booing their team as Gibson threatened yet again to run amok up the left.  Campbell and McDougall both failed to finish after the ex Killie man had done the hard bit.  Woods next had a fine chance that he headed wide right and the half ended with Dundee trying unsuccessfully to create something from a corner.

Half time was a welcome respite from the foul weather but for Dunfermline they would have been quite happy for it to be 90 minutes.  The only doubt around at the interval was whether or not the football could defeat the conditions and go the regulation time.

Half Time: Dunfermline 2 Dundee 0

Dundee made a triple substitution at the restart when Andrew Shinnie, Sean Higgins and former Par, Craig McKeown replaced Ben Hutchison, Gary McKenzie and Eric Paton.  Fleming was first keeper into action stopping a well struck shot from 30 yards out and then preventing Griffiths although the offside flag had been raised against him.

Grifffiths put in a good run in 52 minutes to pick out Gary Harkins for a shot but he pulled his effort across the goal. Gibson delivered another fine ball from the left but McDougall was offside as Harkins nipped back to turn the ball behind.  Higgins prodded the ball right for Shinnie in 59 minutes but he slipped as he shot and was wide right.

There was great disappointment for the Pars when just two minutes later Bell broke on the counter to release McDougall down the right but with Campbell waiting for the cross, he tried a shot that was woefully off target.

McKeown was next to get a pop at goal when a quickly taken corner on the right was defended only out as far as him on the edge of the box.  Craig sent that over the crossbar and the same fate awaited Maros Klimpl`s attempt as he latched on to a Dowie header.

Campbell came close at the other end as the match entered its final quarter; his angled shot was smashed narrowly wide.  Woods then had a similar chance and again narrowly wide, this time left into the arms of a Dunfermline sub.  There was a let off for Dundee as the ball was knocked back across their own goal but McKeown just thwarted Campbell.

After 80 minutes there was a mass exodus from the Dundee end as even the most loyal Dee gave up any hopes of a comeback.

Dunfermline continued to drive on with a grit and determination that their opponents lacked.  With one minute remaining a moment of weakness gave MALONE a consolation. Shinnie forced Fleming into turning a shot over for a corner and from that Dundee got a soft header in to find the net.. 

In the end it was a good result for the Pars but with Inverness demolishing Ross County in the Highland derby the gap between Terry Butcher`s side and Dunfermline remains six points.  Dundee remain in second position two points better off with a game in hand.  The Pars have five matches remaining, anything could happen yet.

DUNFERMLINE: Greg Paterson (Greg Fleming 33); Greg Ross, Neil McGregor, Andy Dowie, Austin McCann (c); Steven Bell, Gary Mason, Willie Gibson (Paul Willis 88): Calum Woods, Ross Campbell, Steven McDougall (Nick Phinn 76),
SUBS NOT USED: Chris Higgins, Scott Muirhead,
SCORERS: Gibson (5), Bell (34)
YELLOW CARD: Mason (54)

DUNDEE: Tony Bullock; Maros Klimpl, Ryan O`Leary, Gary McKenzie (Andrew Shinnie HT), Eric Paton (Craig McKeown HT), Eddie Malone; Gary Harkins, Brian Kerr, Richie Hart, Ben Hutchison (Sean Higgins HT), Leigh Griffiths.
SUBS NOT USED: Derek Soutar, Craig Forsyth.
SCORERS: Malone (89)
YELLOW CARD: Hutchinson (31), Paton (36), Hart (74), O`Leary (81)

REFEREE: Willie Collum
WEATHER: Wet 0°C
ATTENDANCE 2134

NEXT MATCH: (home) First Division v Ross County
Saturday 3rd April 2010, kick off 3.00pm

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Preview Dundee

Sunday, 28th Mar 2010

Out the last twelve matches between the teams, Dunfermline have won only one, Dundee six with five draws

Dundee are the next visitors to East End Park.  Last time they arrived as league leaders with an eight point advantage over their seventh placed hosts but they considered themselves fortunate to take a point from a match that the home side dominated.

The Pars lost out to a Gary Harkins penalty in the first meeting of the sides at Dens Park in September, then following the 1-1 draw in October Dundee won the return with the odd goal in five.

Pars v Dundee: The Full League Record
	P	W	D	L	F	A
At East End Park	51	24	11	16	89	71
At Dens Park	52	12	13	27	61	105
TOTALS	103	36	24	43	150	176

History shows the Dundee have the upperhand on their West Fife opponents and although their away record in the fixture is not their best the Dark Blues are unbeaten in their last five visits to East End Park. The Pars have not recorded a home win over their opponents since the end of the 2004-05 season in the SPL.

Milestones Dundee (Home)
Last League Victory	07/05/05	5-0	SPL
Last League Defeat	08/11/09	0-1	First Division
Best League Victory	19/03/88	6-1	Prem Lg
Worst League Defeat	27/10/45	0-6	Div B*
*Pre league reconstruction

Out the last twelve matches between the teams, Dunfermline have won only one, Dundee six with five draws.

Last Twelve League Matches v Dundee
Date	H/A	F-A	Scorers
17/01/10	A	2-3	[0-1] Griffiths, [1-1] Graham, [1-2] McMenamin, [2-2] Kirk, [2-3] Griffiths
31/10/09	H	1-1	[0-1] Harkins, [1-1] Bayne
12/09/09	A	0-1	[0-1] Harkins (pen.)
31/03/09	H	1-1	[0-1] Malone, [1-1] Woods
03/01/09	A	0-1	[0-1] Paton
08/11/09	H	0-1	[0-1] Antoine-Curier
13/09/08	A	0-0
22/03/08	H	0-1	[0-1] Daquin
05/01/08	A	0-0
01/12/07	H	0-1	[0-1] McDonald
15/09/07	A	1-1	[1-0] Hamilton, [1-1] McDonald
07/05/05	H	5-0	[1-0] Derek Young, [2-0] Derek Young, [3-0]  McDonald og, [4-0]  Skerla, [5-0] Derek Young

League Form 

Dunfermline	Dundee
Current League Position
3	2
League Points
46	51
Goal Difference
+7	+11
Last 6-Match League Form
DWWWLL	WDDLDD
Home/Away Record
P15, W7, D3, L5	P13, W3, D8, L2

Dundee`s last league win was on 20th February - a 1-0 win over Partick Thistle. They have won three times on the road in this league season, at Morton, Dingwall and Partick but they are draw specialist with eight out of 13 ending up all square.

The Pars managed to lose their fifth home match of this league campaign last Tuesday.  Partick were outplayed but Jim McIntyre`s team paid the penalty for umpteen misses.  Dunfermline have taken no points from their last two matches while Dundee have faired little better with just two.

Form last six league home / away
Dunfermline Home				Dundee Away
Partick Thistle	L	2-3		Ross County	D	1-1
Raith Rovers	W	2-1		Airdrie United	L	0-3
Queen of the South	W	3-1		Ayr United	D	1-1
Airdrie United	W	2-0		Queen of the South	D	1-1
Ayr United	L	0-1		Inverness CT	D	1-1
Celtic	L	2-4		Partick Thistle	W	2-0

Last Time Out

DUNFERMLINE  (v Queen of the South): Greg Paterson; Calum Woods, Chris Higgins, Andy Dowie, Austin McCann (c); Willie Gibson, Greg Ross (Ross Campbell 64), Nick Phinn, Gary Mason, Joe Cardle: Steven McDougall,
SUBS NOT USED: Paul Willis, Neil McGregor, Scott Muirhead, Greg Fleming (GK).

DUNDEE (v Ross County): Tony Bullock; Maros Klimpl, Ryan O`Leary, Gary McKenzie, Eric Paton, Eddie Malone; Gary Harkins, Brian Kerr, Richie Hart (Andrew Shinnie 60), Ben Hutchison (Sean Higgins 69), Leigh Griffiths (McKeown 81)
SUBS NOT USED: Derek Soutar, Craig Forsyth.

Referee will be Willie Collum.

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