Watson vows to use play-off experience
PAUL Watson reckons he has endured every emotion as he has succumbed to defeat in the Premiership play-offs – but this time he is desperate to taste success.
The Dunfermline defender goes into tonight’s quarterfinal first-leg against Raith Rovers having lost out twice on promotion with Falkirk and again two years ago with Dundee United.
In 2016, the 30-year-old was in the Bairns side that defeated Hibs in the semi-final and earned a 1-0 lead against Kilmarnock in the final - only to have their promotion dreams dashed by 4-0 hammering in the second-leg.
A year later, Watson played as Falkirk were ousted 4-3 on aggregate in the semi-finals by United.
Then, in 2019 as a United player, he played in all four ties as the Tannadice side swept past Inverness Caley Thistle before losing the final against St Mirren in a dramatic penalty shootout in which the Tangerines incredibly failed to net a single spot-kick.
He said: “I have had some bad experiences and I think I’ve had every experience in the play-offs now – an early exit, and also getting to the final and winning the first-leg before getting battered in the second-leg.
“Then, at Dundee United, we drew and went all the way to penalties - and I’ve never seen a penalty shoot-out like that since.
“It was disappointing, and it’s the toughest way to end the season.
“Mentally, to recover and go again the next season is
very challenging after a short break.
“We’re just looking to get through this tie on Tuesday and Saturday and see where it takes us.”
Dunfermline were embarrassed in their last meeting with rivals Raith Rovers, going down meekly in a 5-1 thrashing at Stark’s Park five weeks ago.
But that encounter came just two months on from a comprehensive 4-1 success for the Pars at East End Park.
With the first meeting of the teams finishing 2-2 after a see-saw 90 minutes in which Raith enjoyed a two-goal lead before Dunfermline scored twice inside a minute, it seems drama and goals are assured.
However, Watson has confessed he would gladly accept a more boring spectacle if it means it is Stevie Crawford’s team who are in the semi-final to face Dundee.
He added: “It’s massive, and
there’s the bragging rights as well. We’re just looking forward to the game now and to doing everything we can to win it.
“I don’t think there’s many boys who have experienced the play-offs in our group, so I’ve been trying to give little bits of advice to them in certain areas.
“We can’t win the game on Tuesday night, it’s two ties, so it’s just about staying in the game and taking it to Saturday.
“To be fair, I would take any way of going through, as long as we go through.
“They’ve been strange games, to be honest. They got the better of us at Stark’s and we battered them at home. So, it’s a really interesting game for the neutral.
“But these big games tend to come down to set-pieces or big moments like that, so hopefully we can get the better of them.”