John Potter post Ayr United

07/03/15:- The win over Ayr United was important and the manager had stressed that all week to his players.

- - Listen to this John Potter Interview

"It was a must win game for us. The performance was great, I was happy for 85 minutes. In the first half we looked a threat, played some good stuff but same again - we just couldn't score that goal.

"We started the second half and there were opportunities all over the place. We got the goal and we thought it would come from David Hopkirk the way he was playing. I was delighted with the goals but just disappointed with the last five or six minutes. We gave a sloppy goal away and that left us hanging on a wee bit. To their credit they did it and we managed to get the win."

Potter agreed that when you get performances and chances like those against Ayr then it is a puzzle why Dunfermline are in the position of chasing a play off place. he continued:-

"I made the point at half time that we were good again but we weren't winning. There have been so many opportunities this year; we have played well, created chances but not scored. The most important thing in football is to score goals. We showed that bit today that we had to go and win so credit to my players today."

Despite the win and going to 40 points the Pars are respectively eight and seven points behind the team's above them in third and fourth spot, Forfar Athletic and Brechin City. Both these teams also have a game in hand on the Fifers but possibly more important Dunfermline have to play them both again as well in the run in. Potter continued:-

"We need to keep winning week after week. We have eight games left and we probably need to win the majority of them to get in amongst it. Winning games of football is all that is important. If we keep performing like we did today with the same attitude and the same desire to win games, we will do okay."

The manager knew that Ayr had a great chance to grab an equaliser in added time but he paid credit to his defence:-

"I don't even know who it was. They defended with their lives and we had to have that because Ayr threw everything at us. The game should have been out of sight. That is the disappointing thing; it should have been over and done with but we cannot keep saying that. We need to start doing that and do it next week."

The decision to play both David Hopkirk and Paul George as wide men added excitement to the match. John Potter felt that George was possibly short of match fitness:-

"Paul has been off most of the week unwell. I had planned to play him today and he only trained a little yesterday. He showed good signs with two great balls in the first half. That is what a winger has to do but he tired in the second half so I took him off.

"David (Hopkirk) was fantastic all game. I gave him a licence to go and be positive. I thought he was brilliant and caused them problems all day and I am just delighted that he had a hand in both the goals."

Michael Moffat had a very fine match without adding to his season tally of five goals. John Potter described his out of luck striker's contribution:-

"He was great, he is shooting and getting shots on goal. I asked him to be greedy around about goal because he is too unselfish sometimes. He had efforts on goal today when he has not been doing that in the last two weeks. There is still time for him to score goals this season but his general play and link up play was much more like himself."

- - Listen to these Ian McCall comments

Ayr United manager Ian McCall was a man of few words when it came to post match comments. He said:-

"First half was pretty even; they had a good fifteen minute spell when they could have scored, we had a couple of good ones. In the second half especially the first fifteen minutes we had one hit the inside of the post. I don't know how it didn't go in. Then we missed an absolute sitter that would have put us 1-0 up.

"In this league the teams are so evenly matched that the first goal is important. I was very very disappointed not to take it.

"Even at the end we had a chance to get a draw with the last kick of the ball but we have to put that in the net. Dunfermline are trying to get up near the top of the league but there wasn't a lot between the teams. I certainly felt that we merited something today."

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