Josh Edwards recalls the magic

"The league table does not really reflect how we think we have been playing this season. We feel that we can put on better performances than the results show,

Dunfermline full back Josh Edwards is hoping that Saturday’s opposition’s manager will notice him for all the right reasons. As a teenager Josh was in the Kilmarnock youth system and as a Killie fan can remember watching Allan Johnston play. He met him signing balls at the Killie Open Day. Josh explained:-

“He used to play at Middlesbrough and my dad is a big Middlesbrough fan so he is one of the ones that my dad wanted me to meet. As a young boy I quite liked him as a player. I must have been about six or seven years old when I was getting him to sign my wee Killie ball.” Will he remember? “No chance!”

At the age of thirteen Josh moved on to Ayr United for six months before playing boys club football all the way up to seventeen when he signed for Airdrie. Having moved from there to Dunfermline in July this year Josh celebrated his fiftieth appearance of his career at senior level when making his seventh successive start for the Pars against Arbroath this week. He continued:-

“I have been on a good run at the minute, obviously the injuries around the defence have helped for me to break into the team.

“I had some dodgy games in the middle of that against Partick and Ayr where I struggled a wee bit but in the last few games I feel that I have come on to a bit of form.

“I felt that I played quite well at Dundee United and against Arbroath, although I was not great, I felt that defensively I was quite solid. I am feeling quite good and hopefully I can keep my place when some of the boys start coming back.

“Injuries along the way have helped me to get into the team. I would say that I have taken my chance when it comes. When I was given my chance I feel that I have done alright and to make my starting debut at Celtic Park is not too bad is it?

“I enjoyed that, it is the second time that I have been there. It was really good. I have been enjoying it, been relishing it and hopefully I can keep improving because I felt that improvement has been Jurassic since I have come here.”

Having been responsible for setpieces Josh revealed that he had been taken off them since the Dundee United game:-

“I got hooked off them for the Arbroath game. I enjoy taking them to be fair but if the gaffer thinks someone else can do a better job well that is completely up to him.”

With or without Josh’s setpieces it was good to get back on the winning track on Tuesday night. He said:-

“We knew that it was a big game for us, we needed the three points. The league table does not really reflect how we think we have been playing this season.

“We feel that we can put on better performances than the results show, especially at Dundee United where I thought we were really good in the second half. We just couldn’t score but that was a big three points for us on Tuesday night.”

“Obviously a tough team to play against are Arbroath. You know what you are coming up against a 4-4-2 pretty much solid two banks of four, so it was a good result for us especially after the first half.

“I would say that it was a cagey first half. Both teams didn’t want to give anything away in terms of conceding early. Eventually we got the breakthrough in the second half which settled is right down.

“We had a wee nervy spell right after we scored the first goal. We just tried to keep it tight but when we scored the second goal it felt comfortable after that.

“The team talk at half time was just saying that we felt that we were going to score but we just had to take our time, be patient, pick the right pass when it was on and don’t do anything stupid at the back. Keep it tight and the goal would eventually come, which it did.

“We took advantage of it and scored the second. He obviously said that if we scored the first goal we would get another. It was a big weight off our shoulders getting the first goal. The second sealed the game.”

When Allan Johnston arrives with his Queen of the South team on Saturday, Josh knows that is another big game for him and the side:-

“We are up to sixth now and another three points would be huge and push us back up the league table where we are meant to be in the play off fight. A big home win this weekend is much needed.”

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