Jim Jefferies Post Stranraer

10/05/14: JJ "- You could single out quite a few individual performances but for me the whole tea

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The Pars gaffer was pleased with his team's performance and the compliment paid to them by the Stranraer captain Frank McKeown:-

"The captain who was out today came across and said 'thoroughly deserved, you were by far the better team'. I think that summed it up. In the first half we played as good as we have played all season. We passed the ball well, worked them so much and how we never scored in the first half was just through sheer bad luck.

"The bar and then the goalkeeper not knowing anything about Geggan's header from the corner - we were a threat all day. We had a number of chances and you could see when we got the first goal early in the second half that gave us the confidence to go and keep at it.

"Stranraer battled hard, we knew they would - they had something to hang on to but I think that they can admit today that they were beaten by a really good performance from Dunfermline today.

"We made a number of changes and that is the good thing about having the squad and playing a lot of those younger players over the last few weeks. We took a chance to freshen it up because it is hard for a team like Stranraer with small resources to go, if they get through to the final, and play four games with the same bunches of boys. We managed to change three or four positions, bring people in and get a freshness about us. It keeps one or two on their toes.

"It was a really good performance and I said to them at half time 'that's the best we have played this year or for a long time and we just need to do the same in the second half'. They tried to do that and they got their rewards and they thoroughly deserved it."

Andy Geggan was the hero scoring two goals and leading his team to victory. JJ stressed how remarkable his skipper's recovery had been from a knock in the kidney on Wednesday night:-

"To think that he was in the hospital on Wednesday night with a bang on his kidney. We took up there as a precaution but fortunately there was no bleeding or any damage. They said he might recover and that was great news. He was groggy, he didn't do anything Thursday, he didn't do anything on Friday but he was always going to be on the team sheet if he was fit. To go through what he did on Wednesday and come back and play like that was excellent.

"I wouldn't single out anybody today, they were all excellent. You could single out quite a few individual performances but for me the whole team were excellent.

"We changed the system differently from what we did on Wednesday night and it paid off for us again. I am really pleased with them but it has only taken us to the next phase which is the play off final and two cracking games - a Fife Derby. The fixture has got to be reversed because of their problems with the pitch (stock car racing) so we will play there on Wednesday and if it is a close game then East End Park may have twice as many here next Sunday.

"We are just delighted to be there and these boys will give it their best shot." 

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