Dunfermline Athletic 1
Dundee 1
League (Division One)

Match Report

After Dundee's encouraging performance against Rangers on the Tuesday night Jocky Scott went with the same players and formation at East End Park; Griffiths and Harkins playing wide, with Forsyth tucking back into a three man midfield.

However, for most of the first half Dundee were outfought and dominated by an eager Pars side who refused to allow Dundee time to settle on the ball and dictate play.

Two incidents in the first five minutes set the tone for the first half. First, Gibson cut inside from the right wing and hit a fierce shot that looked net- bound but somehow drifted wide of the post. Two minutes later Gibson skinned Malone neatly and hit a dreadful cross straight out of play.

Throughout the first half Dunfermline repeatedly let themselves down with poor deliveries and decision making. When they did get their game together they couldn't get their shots on target or were denied by good Dundee defending.

After quarter of an hour Kirk and Cardle got in each others' way when either might have scored, allowing Jim Lauchlan just enough time to hurl his body in the way of Kirk's shot to send the ball out for a corner. When the ball came over it was half cleared and quickly played back in for Graham to send a header narrowly wide when he should have at least forced a save from Bullock.

Dundee gradually settled down in defence, but offered hardly anything coming forward. On the half hour mark Griffiths just failed to get on the end of a Higgins knock down, and that was the only moment in the first half when the Dees looked remotely dangerous.

When the half time whistle went the home crowd were clearly disappointed and frustrated that they'd been unable to tum their dominance into goals.

Not surprisingly Dundee reverted to a straight 4-4-2 at the start of the second half and immediately looked more balanced and composed. Within a minute of the restart Forsyth caused panic in the home defence when he hammered a fierce low cross into the goalmouth. The Pars were happy to scramble the ball out for a corner. When the ball came over the defence couldn't clear, and Griffiths seized the ball, drifted wide and forced a good save from Fleming.

Dundee were starting to play the ball around more comfortably in midfield now, with McHale and Kerr dealing better with the "in your face" eagerness of the Pars. At last Higgins and Griffiths were getting good service and looking dangerous. On the hour Griffiths hit a rocket from 22 yards that skipped off a defender's head and just over the bar. Higgins struck a firm inswinging corner to the near post where Harkins glanced the ball into the net with a neat header.

The goal gave Dundee a big lift and they nearly made it two a few minutes later. Higgins turned his man and his shot beat Fleming but was hacked clear by a covering defender.

Twenty minutes from time Leigh Griffiths raced into the area and was stopped by a last ditch combined tackle by Dowie and Fleming. It didn't look like a penalty, but it certainly wasn't the dive that Fleming was claiming in his aggressive gestures to Griffiths, who was harshly booked for objecting to the keeper's provocation.

Dunfermline were desperately chasing the game by this stage, and Dundee looked more dangerous than they had done at any time in the match as the space opened up in midfield.

However, it was the Pars who grabbed a goal following a spell of pressure in which Bullock saved well from Gibson following a scramble in the box. Dunfermline won a free kick wide on the right, level with the 18 yard line, after 77 minutes. Gibson fired in a good cross and substitute Graham Bayne, who had only just arrived on the pitch buried his header from 10 yards. It was a good finish and fine delivery, but Dundee should be furious about leaving Bayne unmarked and losing such a simple goal from a set piece.

The Pars could have won it on 83 minutes when Bell sent Graham clear. The Dunfermline forward struck his shot well and it looked a certain goal but Tony Bullock pulled off a fantastic reflex save to tip the ball wide.

When the final whistle went both sets of fans were disappointed. The Pars supporters will feel that their dominance in the first half should have given them a winning lead, and the Dees will feel that having sorted themselves out at half time and taken the lead they should have been able to see the game out. However, a draw was a fair result.

Dundee's best players were in defence, with the central defenders solid, and my man of the match Tony Bullock turning in another faultless performance. In midfield Harkins was only sporadically effective, Forsyth struggled in central midfield till he was released to his normal wide left position. Kerr and McHale in central midfield were overrun in the first half but tidy and composed in the second. Griffiths kept trying in the face of the usual tough defending, and looked much more dangerous once the midfield behind him was sorted out. Higgins had a decent game, but he and Griffiths didn't seem to be gelling as a partnership.

If Dundee are to win this league they will have to leam to keep playing football in the face of enthusiastic opponents who are determined to raise their game against the Dees. Dunfermline were well worth their point, but a title winning team should have been able to deal better with opponents who offered far more eagerness than composure.

Match report written by James Christie - Official Dundee website