Manager Post Kelty Hearts
Saturday, 20th Aug 202220/08/22: Link to audio of James McPake’s post match comments
- - Listen to this James McPake interview
Dunfermline manager James McPake felt that his side only got out of the match away to Kelty what they deserved. Speaking after the goalless draw and yet another shut out he told the media:-
“I think we started the game pretty poorly. We had a couple of clear cut chances with balls across the box, incredible balls from Josh Edwards. Getting into good areas and he`s working them in - we have to be finding ways to get on to the end of it.
“We always knew this was going to be a very tricky game, and that`s not an excuse, far from it. Taking away the derby side of it, we`ve watched a lot of their games and that`s what we had focussed on. A lot of the goals they were conceding were poor but they were creating a lot of chances and just not taking them. They`re a dangerous side who are going to get better over the season, since they`ve come up a league. I think they deserved a point. I think we got out of the game what we deserved.”
Just five minutes into the second half the Pars gaffer made three substitutions replacing Joe Chalmers, Craig Wighton and Lewis McCann with Chris Mochrie, Nikolay Todorov and Kyle Macdonald. Macdonald in particular got in a number of good crosses:-
"I think when they went on we got that little bit of a response and we had a couple that, again, real clear-cut chances where the ball is going in the box but they`ve got to make them count.
“It hurts right now, it really does hurt. We want to win every game, we want to have the feeling that we`ve had the last few weeks but you`ve got to earn it as well. Today is probably a fair result. We`ll dust ourselves down, we`ll look over it... as I always do I analyse my team selection, my substitutions along with my coaching staff and we`ll look ahead to next week`s game now.
"It was a game that created a lot of clear cut chances in from cross balls. We had to be more ruthless. To be fair, I think Kelty were decent in the game as well, so credit goes to them. Wherever you go, it doesn`t matter whether you`re playing Kelty, who are a part-time team that have come up a division, or you`re playing Ross County in the Premier Sports Cup, who are a Premiership team that finished in the top six, you`ve got to give everything.
“The work rate was there. I can`t question the work rate, we just couldn`t find a way to put the ball in the net. The real bonus today is we`re still undefeated but the big bonus is another clean sheet for Deniz.
"It`s hard to come out straight after a game and be positive when you`re desperately (disappointed) … and when you weight it up, you`re top of the league, or you were before the game, against a team that hadn`t won a game. That`s not a true reflection after three or four games of a league season, for what`s going to happen. If you look at it that way you get your fingers burnt. So that`s not the way we looked at it. The defensive record is still good but we always ask more going forward, we always ask for more of that desire to put the ball in the net.
“Maybe desire is the wrong word, that quality to put the ball in the net when we get into the final third because there were some great balls going in there. It`s football, you don`t win every game.”
Nikolay Todorov came on off the bench but this week couldn’t pull out a winner:-
"It`s fine margins. On another day the big man comes on and he has another winner. That`s the way football works and we`re all in there very happy. You need to be clinical, I said it from day one. It`s something we`re working really hard on. It`s the one thing I`ve come out after every game and said, we`ve not been clinical enough and it`s my job to make sure that we are.
“The defensive record is good, Deniz (Mehmet) again, I thought was excellent in what he had to do, which I don`t believe was much. Kelty were well in the game as well, so they were worthy of their point."
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