Jim Jefferies Post Cowdenbeath

27/07/13: JJ - "I can put up with saying that you are a young team against an experienced side but you are well capable of winning this game ...

Jim Jefferies was pleased to be through to the Second Round of the Ramsden Cup but was far from pleased with his players first half performance. After the match he gave in insight into what he had said at the half time interval:-

"I said to them it is alright planning about how you are going to play but if you have to do the basics right - and the basics were that we did not pick up people properly, we sat off people - especially the two strikers in the first half. Our defence backed off them and I said 'go and ask Ryan Thomson and Ryan Wallace if Cowdenbeath are allowing them to turn and run at them?'

"They were marking them tight because they know that they have got to, otherwise they will get destroyed. What is happening is that the front two are causing us nothing but problems because you are just backing off. Then when you let them run at you, you are in all sorts of problems because they are taking you on and you have got to turn. It is not right."

The Cowdenbeath goal that came just quarter of an hour into the game was particularly annoying for the Pars gaffer:-

"We go through it all, we delegate (orders) but number five heads a ball in the box without anybody else around about him, and you are standing fifteen yards away moaning to somebody else. I said to Morris look at the boards - you are marking five. You didn't do your job and then when it was played in Thommo wasn't goal side of number six. So you are asking for trouble and you'd better start wakening up.

"I can put up with saying that you are a young team against an experienced side but you are well capable of winning this game because in little flashes when you have broken you have done quite well."

Jefferies impressed upon his players that they need to set the tone and he was pleased to see a completely different performance in the second half, especially when they took on board the criticism and reacted to it.

"We look for a response from what you tell them and I don't think Morris lost a header in the second half. When he was winning headers they were trying to foul him because he was so powerful. Kerr Young did not let his man turn. When did you ever see their strikers turn in the second half and run at us? We were marking them tighter.

Shaun Byrne v Cowdenbeath

"What we had then was the midfield players picking up the crumbs and starting to get on the ball. Shaun Byrne started to dictate a wee bit, Chris Kane was excellent at breaking everything up, wee Whittle was running great down the left yet Josh and Whittle were the only two I thought should have got pass marks for the first half apart from the goalie. The rest should have upped their game.

Josh Falkingham

"It wasn't sticking to us, we were too soft, we gave it away and never got anything flowing. They did everything great in the second half and that's why we completely dominated the second half. Let's be honest we could have won by four or five in the finish.

"It is great that you get a response but you are not doing it for anything personal, you are here to be professional and win a football match. You cannot sit and think that just because you are a young side that people will make that an excuse.

"We will not make that an excuse, we are good enough to go and do it. Okay, you will make mistakes but you have to do the basics right. The basics are simple, you need to go and compete, mark tight, give more resistance to keep the ball and get your passing game going.

"You cannot pass the ball if you do not have the ball but we were not making any effort to do any of these things. We were making it too easy for them. I thought Cowdenbeath had other great chances to score in the first half just through slackness by ourselves but I don't think that they had a chance in the second half.  We can thank Scully for a great save in the first half but so did their goalie in the second half. He had two or three good stops.

"If you had given me 3-1 at the start of what was a difficult game for us and a local derby (I would have taken it). We do have a young side but they need to waken up and show that they can step up to the plate.

"Pre season has gone great against tough, top sides. That stood us in good stead and I think the fitness showed in the second half because we just kept going and created chances. I am delighted with the result and delighted with the second half performance."

Stressing that first and foremost it was all about being in the next round of the Ramsden Cup, JJ clearly felt that the performance that his team showed in the second half  was missing in the first.

"Fortunately we went in 1-1 at half time and then we started to play. It was virtually a one sided game in the second half."

The Manager felt that the result was important given the important week ahead for Dunfermline Athletic Football Club and where the administrators hope that a CVA will be agreed on Tuesday.

"It was brilliant to come here and show, that with everything that has happened, that we showed strength on the football side. We were hard done to last year and we were fantastic. This is a new season and we have prepared better than we did last year because the boys were new last year.

"We had this uncertainty over being in the Premier League or the First Division. We know where we are now, most of us have been together and there are only two or three new faces so we are looking to go on from here and have a good season. That was a great start for us today."

Match Report: Cowdenbeath 1 Dunfermline 3