Dunfermline- 24h On
Last updated : 27 December 2006 By Firparkcorner
It is generally accepted in football that you need to be tight at the back and take your chances to be successful. After a close call defensively at Killie we produced a tremendous hit and run display at Dunfermline to take a huge step towards securing our league status for next season. It should be remembered that while we did enough it could easily have gone the other way. While there is no point in bemoaning bad fortune which didn't actually come our way it was a great game to put the debacle against Dundee United into perspective.
Even the most ardent Malpas backer would concede that we should have done more against the ten men from Tannadice. Howeve,r it should also be remembered that in that game we had the vast majority of the chances, could have been home and dry before United scored and only lost due to some comical defending. The reaction to the loss was close to hysterical even if we were still a few points clear of the drop. Now against Dunfermline we survived many scares and through a combination of desperate defending and bad finishing we kept a clean sheet. At the other end we took a couple of our own opportunities and left with a great three points.
Perhaps when we have games like we did against United, rather than going overboard, we should accept that these things simply happen. We are a poor side so it is natural that we will frequently have days where we are weak at both ends. However that is a common affliction throughout the league – even Hibs, despite their great football, frequently lose games they should win because they miss chances and their goalie has an off day. We are poorer than them but in the defensive/attacking stakes we are currently showing that we are not the worst in the league. It would be wise to hope that we continue in our current form, usually avoiding defeat against other lower teams, and winning occasionally.
We know through experience that it is the end result that matters. Our victory against Dunfermline, even if slightly undeserved, is because of the score not the performance. The fact that in the last two games we have shown organisation and determination will stand us in much better stead for the future than some flowery passing with no end product.
The next two games are against the Old Firm and these are matches where we look for a good performance. We do that because we know that points are likely to be beyond us and we want some scrap of positive consolation. Given our currently safe position in the table the coming games can be enjoyed and we can hope that we have something more than the performance to celebrate. But if that doesn't happen don't worry too much. The bitter reality of struggling to dig out a result by any way possible will be back much sooner than we'd all like.