Crawford makes major impact
Saturday, 9th Sep 2006Fairytale return of the favourite son. "There was only one thought on my mind after beating two players and that is hitting the target."
It took Stevie Crawford three games to get off the mark when Dick Campbell brought him to Dunfermline on loan from Hibs in October 1999 but the Scottish internationalist grabbed a spectacular winner 84 minutes into his debut second time around at East End Park:-
"There was only one thought on my mind after beating two players and that is hitting the target."
That was his fourth goal of the season but a very important one for Dunfermline:-
"It is great coming back and getting off the mark in my first game. It couldn't have been any sweeter but three points were the important thing.
"I have kept in touch with a lot of the boys over the years anyway and they have felt a little hard done by in the Hearts game; they ground out a result against Rangers and they have been at the bare boards regarding injuries. Today I wouldn't say it was a great performance because Kilmarnock scored two goals and they played well throughout the game as well but the important thing was getting three points.
"There is maybe pressure coming back to a club for a second time, it is great that it went well today. The fans were great and behind us from the start of the game but one result doesn't make a season. We know that there were bit and pieces throughout the game that weren't right but we will work hard on that on the training ground."
Owen Morrison pipped Stevie for the match sponsors Man of the Match Award although one suspects that their decision had to be made before Stevie's dramatic winner six minutes from time. He commented on playing with Owen for the first time:-
"There are some boys who I haven't played with but you can't do everything in the first week of training. Owen is an old style winger but he puts in a shift as well, boys who have the ability to go by a defender are hard to come by these days. I am sure that he will be a good option for us throughout the season."
He agreed that Jim Hamilton looked a likely striking partner for him but emphasised the selection headache that might soon face Jim Leishman despite himself being cup tied in the CIS Insurance Cup, having played in Aberdeen's embarrassing defeat at the hands of Queens Park:-
"It will be a wee problem for the Manager when we have Noel Whelan, Jim McIntyre and Mark Burchill coming back from injury. Freddie can play upfront as well so we have options now. The good thing about that is if boys are going through a bad patch whether with loss of form or injuries, the manager is going to have cover that can score goals."
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