Dunfermline Athletic Football Club

Dunfermline 1 Queen of the South 0

Saturday, 11th Dec 2010

IRN BRU First Division: The 1-0 win secured by super sub, Joe Cardle just three minutes from time took the Pars to the top of the league.

MATCH PICTURES
It had been four weeks since either of these sides played a competitive match and there was a big reward for Dunfermline for clearing the pitch and making sure that this match could be played. The 1-0 win secured by super sub, Joe Cardle just three minutes from time took the Pars to the top of the league.

Before kick off the Pars players turned and applauded the crowd as a thank you for the hard work that had enabled this match to go ahead. It was one of just seven SFL matches that survived the weather. The pitch looked soft and was well sanded in the north east corner. Alex Keddie over struck a second minute pass back handing the visitors an early corner but fortunately that came to nothing.

In eighth minute Ryan Conroy was given plenty of time and space to get deep inside the left side of the Pars penalty box. His cross found Derek Holmes on the far side of the six yard box but the big man failed to connect properly and the Pars were off the hook.

As Queens continued to look the more dangerous on the break there were cries for some urgency from the home support. A Calum Woods free kick midway into the first half was punched away by David Hutton but really there was not too much to excite until on 24 minutes David Graham came in from the left to set up Woods. The Liverpudlian`s shot from 35 yards failed to engage the all orange Queens keeper.

Graham sent in a right footed cross on 27 that cannoned off Kirk to Mason but two blue shirts closed out his attempt to shoot. A neat move by Wullie Gibson almost got Kirk in on goal but the visitors gladly conceded a corner. That could have been costly had Keddie`s flick on Gibson`s cross from the right not travelled narrowly wide of the far post.

Nick Phinn kept Hutton employed with a lofty header and Graham popped a 35th minute shot over the crossbar from 30 yards. Next minute the Pars defence survived as Holmes managed to play the ball beyond McMenamin who was well placed in front of goal.

In 37 minutes Graham beat his man on the left and got to the byeline but his cross was blocked as unmarked, Gibson appealed for the pass on the right side of the opposition box. Gibson then swung over a useful looking ball to the left side but Phinn`s knock down failed to find either of the Pars strikers.

Just four minutes from the interval there was some frantic defending in front of Smith`s goal after Holmes header down was defended by Keddie but straight to McLaren. Dunfermline survived and nothing changed before Stevie O`Reilly brought a fairly uneventful first half to a close.

Half Time: Dunfermline 0 Queen of the South 0

Ryan Conroy had two shots at goal in the opening two minutes of the second half but each were well off target. Phinn sent Clarke through the middle of the Queens defence but a Lilley tackle took the ball away from the striker`s feet.

Bob Harris was yellow carded when he flattened Gibson on the touch line but the low ball from his ensuing free kick did not cause any problems in the packed penalty box.

In 58 minutes a Gibson corner was headed back along the six yard line by Andy Kirk but despite strenuous efforts Keddie just couldn`t get on the end of the chance. The ball broke to Graham but his shot was blocked. The home side launched a sustained period of offence but not before McMenamin flashed the ball across the face of the Dunfermline goal.

Phinn headed a Woods cross over the bar, Graham cut the ball across goal but Hutton foiled Kirk when a goal looked a certainty and then a dinked Gibson free kick was headed through the box by Dowie.

As the match entered its final quarter, Stephen McKenna collected the second card of the afternoon in stopping Gibson`s run but the free kick was deflected behind for a corner. Still it was one way traffic but nothing as yet had tested Hutton.

There was anger in the home ranks when in 74 minutes, Pars playmaker Wullie Gibson was red carded for what referee Stevie O`Reilly deemed a stamp on Stephen McKenna. Alex Keddie saw yellow when he climbed over Holmes. The resultant free kick in a central area just 27 yards out was sent over the bar by Harris.

The ten men kept up the fight but Holmes did thump a 25 yarder wide right and into the snow pile with five minutes remaining. Joe CARDLE replaced Andy Kirk and with his first touch put Dunfermline ahead. It was David Graham who set up the goal latching on to a through ball, taking the ball to the right perimeter of the penalty box before crossing to the far post for Super Joe to tap in.

The Dumfries side tried hard to salvage a point but the ten men saw out the final three minutes plus the four added. There was drama on the touchline when Manager Jim McIntyre was sent to the stand for demonstrating too much about a Queens challenge on Cardle right in front of the dug out. The cards were out again in the fifth minute of added time when Willie McLaren was the aggressor when he tangled with David Graham and for the second match running the midfielder collected a yellow card that he had did absolutely nothing to earn.

DUNFERMLINE: Chris Smith; Calum Woods, Andy Dowie, Alex Keddie, Austin McCann (c); Wullie Gibson, Nick Phinn, Gary Mason, David Graham; Andy Kirk (Joe Cardle 86), Pat Clarke (Steven McDougall 64)
SUBS NOT USED: Chris Higgins, Ryan Thomson, Kyle Allison (GK)
SCORERS: Cardle (87)
YELLOW CARD: Keddie (80), Graham (95)
RED CARD: Gibson (74)

QUEEN OF THE SOUTH: David Hutton; Ryan McGuffie, Craig Reid, David Lilley, Bob Harris; Paul Burns, Stephen McKenna (David Weatherston 77), Ryan Conroy, Willie McLaren; Colin McMenamin (Rocco Quinn 64), Derek Holmes
SUBS NOT USED: Alan Johnston, Daniel Carmichael, Lee Robinson (GK)
YELLOW CARD: Harris (50), McKenna (67), Lilley (77), McLaren (95)

REFEREE: Stevie O`Reilly
WEATHER: Fine 8°C
ATTENDANCE 2062

NEXT MATCH: SFL First Division v Partick Thistle
Tuesday 14th December 2010, kick off 7.45pm

Views : 3,998