Chris helps Pars breeze past Peterhead

Chris Mochrie:- “That’s the worst wind that I think I have ever played in. I think we dealt well with it especially in the first half.

When Chris Mochrie joined Dunfermline in August on loan from Dundee United his objective was to get as much game time as possible and try to get goals and assists. For the nineteen year old first team experience at a good standard was clearly important but he possibly didn’t quite anticipate the experience he received on Saturday against Peterhead.

“I got a goal out of it but it was different with the weather, I have never experienced anything like that before. That’s the worst wind that I think I have ever played in. I think we dealt well with it especially in the first half.

“We were playing it out and obviously every time we tried to play it long it just came back at you. They were doing that in the second half and that’s probably why it was a bit scrappy. I think we did well first half considering the conditions.”

Playing into a strong and bitter wind in the first half, Dunfermline scored twice within the opening twenty minutes. Matty Todd opened the scoring in tenth minute when Joe Chalmers spotted him in space and available to get in a shot. Matty’s shot took a deflection off a defender and the wind assisted it drop into the Peterhead net.

Chris added a second just nine minutes later after a good crossfield pass from Sam Fisher. Chris praised the on loan Dundee player’s contribution:-

“He was doing that all game, stepping up the pitch and driving up the wing. It was a good ball from him and I just saw the defender coming. I tapped it around him, it was a good strike and luckily it went in.”

Before the first half was out Chris was set up with another good chance but this time his effort escaped wide left in what was a bit of a let off for the home side. Chris agreed:-

“The other chance was easier. It was a good bit of play from Wighton to give me it back. I got into the box again but just put it a bit too wide. I got one and it is obviously something that I need to add to my game and hopefully I can keep doing that.”

Every Pars fan at the Balmoor Stadium had the memory of a two nil lead disappearing in the closing minutes of the first fixture between the teams this season and despite being comfortably ahead at half time with a performance James McPake felt as good as any he had seen from his players this season, the manager had stressed at the break that the same should not be allowed to happen again. He revealed that the manager’s half time instructions were just to keep going and be quite disciplined:-

“We were 2-0 up against them last time and we only got a point out of the game. I thought that we were defensively solid the whole game and the boys did well to see it out in the second half. All the boys were thinking about it. We bounced back the week after and so we went to Peterhead to put up a good performance and to make sure that we got all three points.”

Add to the three points that sets Dunfermline Athletic seven points clear at the top of League One, another shut out - the Pars 12th in 21 matches this season which are indisputably instrumental in the team’s success, Chris closed with justifiable praise for the defence:-

“Another clean sheet, we have been really good defensively so it is something that we are proud about and hopefully we can keep that going.”

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