Manager Post Cowdenbeath

02/01/16: AJ - "The results went our way but there are a lot of hard games still to come."

Manager Allan Johnston was delighted to see his team's points advantage at the top of the league extend to nine points going into the Scottish Cup break:-

"There were times where we passed the ball really really well and the first goal was probably a contender for goal of the season; five or six really quick passes then obviously Moff finishes it off really well. There was a lot of good play but we let Cowden back into the game with a long ball. We never defended it right and they got a lift from that. Overall we thoroughly deserved the win to be honest. It was a really good performance and big numbers turned out so it was good to get the win."

The Cowdenbeath manager and players felt aggrieved that they were not awarded a penalty kick in 28 minutes but the Pars manager said that he had seen re-run of it on video and in his opinion "it was not a penalty" a decision debated by Cowdenbeath manager Colin Nish and causing him to be sent to the stand. AJ continued:-

"It was a wee bit harsh getting sent off to be fair, I thought he could maybe have given him a warning but I suppose, he that's the rules. We have just got to focus on us. The results went our way but there are a lot of hard games still to come."

The nine point lead is the best that all Pars fans and players could have wished for and the manager claimed that gave them a massive lift going into the Scottish Cup tie against Jim McIntyre's Ross County next Saturday:-

"You can see in the players that played and the substitutes that came on that we have really good players in every position. We are looking strong at this moment but we will have to wait and see how Marc McAusland is because defence is one of the positions where we are a wee bit light if there is going to be an injury it seems to be a defender these days."

Asked his opinion of the one penalty that was awarded just before the midway point in the second half and one that created the opportunity for Dunfermline to score the winner, Allan Johnston said:-

"It was a definite penalty, it was a shove but on another day we could quite easily have scored six or seven because we had that many chances. There were all sorts of blocks and the positive is the amount of chances that we created. We could probably have been a wee bit more clinical but I suppose that is possibly asking for too much.

"There were shots from all over the park. Cowden defended well and threw themselves in front of everything. We got a bit of luck at times but it was a good positive performance."

Michael Moffat collected the Man of the Match award but keeper Sean Murdoch was a hero at the other end as well:-

"It is important when you are that much on top, when they get a couple of chances on the break that your keeper is focused and his concentration levels are high. He has done that again, he has been fantastic for us all year and he is a massive player for us."