The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Pars take the positives after holding high-flying Honest Men to gain a point
East End Park men fired up for next week’s derby clash with Falkirk after hard-fought draw against McCall’s side
DUNFERMLINE ATHLETIC 0 AYR UNITED 0
Under normal circumstances, a goalless draw at home to Ayr United would have been unlikely to be regarded as a positive result for those with Dunfermline connections.
But with the Honest Men having held pole position in the Championship title race for almost the entire season so far, and with the Pars languishing in the lower half of the table, the festive stalemate between the sides has generated a wave of optimism at East End Park.
The Fifers, having dislodged Ayr from the top of the league, now sit in seventh place but they are only six points away from the play-off positions going into next week’s derby fixture at Falkirk, a game which former Bairn Kallum Higginbotham is very much looking forward to.
“We played against a top team today and we more than matched them, I believe we were the better team,” said Higginbotham. “I thought we dominated large parts of the game, especially during the second half when only one team looked like winning it.
“The fact we didn’t wasn’t down to lack of effort as everyone gave 110%, as we have been doing all season, but we just need to be a bit more clinical in front of goal and perhaps do better with that final pass.
“That’s been the story of our season so far but if we play like that every week then I feel that we’ll be fine come the end of the season and we can now look ahead with confidence to the Falkirk game next Saturday.”
Following a poor first half, during which only a superb save by Pars keeper Lee Robinson from former East End favourite Michael Moffat prevented Ayr from taking the lead, Dunfermline came out fighting after the break with visiting keeper Ross Doohan saving well from Higginbotham, Joe Thomson and Aidan Keena during an early second half bombardment.
A mini brawl involving players from both sides erupted midway through the half following a lunge by Ayr substitute Craig Moore on James Craigen which looked to have the potential to be a straight red card. Referee Steven McLean quickly defused the situation, however, booking Moore for his challenge.
The contest was then edging towards its conclusion when Ayr top scorer Lawrence Shankland, who had been largely anonymous up until then, squandered a glorious chance to win the game for the visitors.
Craig McGuffie laid the ball on a plate for the in-form striker, who has scored 28 goals so far this season, but he somehow managed to send his shot wide with only Robinson to beat.
“We were aware that Shankland was going to be their main threat,” said Higginbotham. “He’s probably the best striker in Scotland at the moment.
“We knew we had to keep him quiet and our defenders, particularly Lee Ashcroft and Danny Devine, deserve credit for doing that.”