Arbroath 0 Dunfermline 1
Monday, 9th Jul 2018Pre Season Friendly: starts for Joe Thomson, Callum Smith and Aidan Connolly. Matty Todd (39) 0-1
The Pre Season Friendly at Arbroath on Monday night saw starts for Joe Thomson, Callum Smith and Aidan Connolly. The rest of the team was made up of young squad members. The bench was augmented with young trialists.
The Arbroath side included former Pars Ryan Wallace and Jason Thomson. On the Lichties bench was Trialist in the shape of Finn Graham.
It was Wallace who got the game underway with Arbroath attacking the goal at the north end. It was that goal that the first attempt was directed to in third minute. Gavin Swankie played a neat one two off Wallace before releasing the ball for Kane Hester to run on to. Gregor Jordan covered across sufficiently to force the 23 year old striker to hit his low shot wide of the left upright. Three minutes later keeper Darren Jamieson was out fast to win the race over Smith after Josh Robertson had pumped through an inviting ball.
Gregor Jordan was forced to concede an eighth minute corner. That was taken short on the left and Wallace laid it off for Bobby Linn to shoot but he was off target. Smith and then Todd were caught offside as Arbroath made it hard for the Fifers to penetrate their defence.
Dunfermline produced a sweet flowing move to break from an Arbroath free kick. Connolly raced away with the ball out of his own box. He picked out Todd who moved it on to Smith who in turn switched it on for Thomson to return to him and it was desperately unlucky when his shot from the edge of the box landed outside the right upright.
Back to the other end and the hosts tested Cammy Gill as Tom O’Brien went out left to centre for Michael McKenna to power down a header from the centre of the box but the Pars keeper held.
Arbroath were awarded a 24th minute free kick 28 yards out left of centre as Stuart Morrison flattened Hester. O’Brien lofted the ball over the wall from the setpiece towards Thomson at the far post and Gill pulled off a fine save high to his right turning the ball behind but the offside flag had been raised anyway.
The Pars survived a Wallace corner from the left but play was pretty well stuck in towards Gill mode. In 31 minutes Morrison was blown up for stopping Hester on the edge of the Pars. Wallace took the free kick but again the Pars defence was resolute. Then Connolly and Swankie forgot it was a friendly and got a lecture from referee Gavin Ross whose gestures clearly pointed out that he had an option to send them for an early shower.
The Pars went ahead six minutes from the break and it took a special pass out to the right side from Brandon Luke to Smith. His first touch return into a central area was perfect for TODD to smack past Jamieson. 0-1
The goal boosted the confidence and the Angus side were out of it until a counterattack on the stroke of half time. Wallace sent Hester down the left and Gill did well to hold his low well struck lshot.
Half time: Arbroath 0 Dunfermline 1
The League One side made four substitutions at the start of the second half. Darren Hill replaced Darren Jamieson between the sticks and Finn Graham, Gary Fraser and David Gold came in place of Gavin Swankie, Rickie Little and Bobby Linn.
Arbroath started really well and Fraser dispatched a headed effort over the bar. It was ten minutes into the second half before the visitors were anywhere near keeper Hill. When Luke got over a cross from the left Thomson’s header was deflected behind at the near post.
Gill came to the rescue again clutching the ball in his goalmouth as Fraser and Hester bore down upon him. Next it was Gold who tried a shot but his 63rd minute attempt went wide right.
Two minutes later as Dunfermline appeared to put three men up front Hill booted a clearance all the way up the park. Hester was tracked by Morrison but the no.10 crashed a shot on target only to be denied by what could be described as a wonder save from Gill.
The keeper was getting plenty of practice, holding another well hit shot from Hester low to his right as the midway point of the half past. Wallace kept up the intense pressure with a fine delivery to the far post but the ref blew up for a push on Morrison.
There was some respite in 72 minutes when Smith and Jason Thomson tumbled as the Pars striker chased the ball up the left side of the box. Joe Thomson latched on the loose ball and glided into the box only to see Hill pull off a good save at his near post.
Back to the other end and a few defensive blocks before Hester got a chance from the edge of the box but this time his sights were narrowly wide left. The Pars faced a free kick while reduced to ten men while Todd received treatment and Gill made a really brave intervention when faced by a robust challenge from McKenna.
Todd returned as Connolly and Thomson were replaced by trialists no.17 and 18. Morrison immediately had to make a successful late ditch challenge to deny Hester and from the resultant corner Gill predictably held.
Four minutes from the end Paul Brown and Lewis Sawers replaced Callum Smith and Matty Todd. There was one final threat from a corner on the right but Omar Kadar thrashed the ball wildly wide.
A good win for the young Pars team who put up a tremendous defensive performance to keep out a tenacious Arbroath effort in the second half.
SUBS NOT USED:
YELLOW CARD: McKenna (87)
DUNFERMLINE: Cammy Gill (c), Josh Robertson, Gregor Jordan, Stuart Morrison, Kieran Swanson: Matty Todd (Lewis Sawyers 86), Joe Thomson (Trialist 79), Paul Allan, Brandon Luke: Aidan Connolly (Trialist 79): Callum Smith (Paul Brown 86).
SUBS NOT USED: Lewis Crosbie, Liam Newton, Trialist, Trialist, Trialist, Craig Burt (GK).
SCORERS: Todd (39)
REFEREE: Gavin Ross
WEATHER: 16C Cloudy
ATTENDANCE
NEXT MATCH: Pre Season Friendly (home) v Motherwell, Thursday 12 July 2018, 7.30pm kick off at East End Park.
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