Lewis gets off the mark

Tuesday night's cup tie against St Mirren was Lewis Spence's fourteenth appearance for the Pars and he marked it with his debut goal

The midfielder told this website:-
"I was happy with the goal, my first for Dunfermline but it was a defeat. I thought the boys were outstanding, it was just not the result we wanted. We will take all the positives away from it to Stranraer on Saturday.

"Everyone worked really hard, passed the ball about well, dominating possession at times. We maybe lacked that wee bit of creativity but we had loads of chances as well."

The pressure was all on St Mirren given their Premier League status, Lewis continued:-
"We were underdogs going into the game and St Mirren, with the home support, were firm favourites but we dominated the first half. They came back into and then in the last fifteen minutes when we were pushing, we came back into it as well. I thought overall we were the better team."

Lewis' first ever goal at senior level came in ninth minute after a Ross Millen free kick was cleared back out of the St Mirren box:-

"It just came out to me and there was a boy closing me down. To be honest I have a bit of a sore ankle so I didn't strike it. I just placed it with my side foot. I got a good connection. I didn't think that it would go in but I was happy that it did. I don't know what kind of celebration I did."

Lewis' ankle has been tender for some time and he has been getting stick from John Potter. There were several chances in the second half from which Dunfermline might have scored but none that gave Lewis the possibility of a brace.

"It just wasn't our luck with some of the cut backs. The keeper made good saves and we let ourselves down with the final ball but I thought we were outstanding.

"The boys were gutted although happy with their performance. We will take that on to Saturday and turn it on in the league. Obviously the cup games are bonuses and the main objective is to win the league."

There will be a contrast in surroundings and crowd numbers when the Pars take the field at Stranraer, Lewis continued:-
"We need to treat it exactly the same, you cannot just go out saying we played St Mirren and dominated them, and so it will be easy against Stranraer. It will not be like that, it will be a tough game."

The 18 year old was a regular in the under 20s this time last season but after making his first team debut in the final fixture of 2013 (against Rangers), Lewis went on to make his starting debut at Ayr on Easter Saturday. He made seven first team appearances last season and has already matched that number having been an ever present in Jim Jefferies' side this season.

He attributes his success to the support he receives from his fellow midfielders:-
"Josh and Geggs have been outstanding for me, helping me through it. Talking me through the game and then obviously Potts, Neil McCann and the gaffer have helped me and believed in me. I hope to keep my place and play as many first team games as possible this season."

On current form most fans will have Lewis as the first one down when it comes to picking a team. Lewis Spence is certainly a prospect in the making.