The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Pars near injury crisis, warns boss
James McPake has said his squad is “one or two injuries away from a crisis” after his side defeated Montrose 1-0 in League 1.
The Pars are two points clear at the top of the division after Nikolay Todorov came off the bench to score a late winner.
He was one of few options available from the bench for McPake after he lost a key player to injury.
Paul Allan has been a regular starter recently and looked to keep his place in the side after last week’s 3-0 win over FC Edinburgh.
However the midfielder injured himself in training and will be out for “four to eight weeks, maybe, possibly 12”, confirmed McPake.
He added: “I’m being deadly serious, we’re one or two away* from a proper crisis. One or two away from playing people I don’t know.”
Among his options from the bench was 16-year-old Taylor Sutherland.
“There was a 16-year-old that I met for the first time this morning on the bench that played last night,” added the Pars boss. “All credit to Craig Wighton, he’s playing with two knees that shouldn’t be playing just now.
“We’re getting Chris (Mochrie) up to fitness, we’re having to play Craig at the minute and it’s disrupting his training. Through the week we can’t put on 11 v 11.
“That’s the point it’s at, training with 10 bodies at times.”
Despite his light squad McPake was able to call on Todorov to win the match from the bench and Kyle MacDonald, who put in the cross for the goal.
“I’m not going to stand here and lie,” continued McPake.
“Games like this you do see how threadbare the squad is.
“It worked today, but on another day I’m standing here frustrated because I can’t make the changes.
“Big Nikolay (Todorov) hasn’t played a lot of football, Kyle (MacDonald) has been in and out the team.
“What a ball, what a header, it’s what they can bring.”
DUNFERMLINE 1 MONTROSE 0
Dunfermline Athletic sit two points clear at the top of League 1 with maximum points after three matches and are yet to concede a goal.
Nikolay Todorov came off the bench to net a late winner in the 1-0 victory over Montrose on Saturday.
Despite it being the third match in a row Stewart Petrie’s side has failed to win or find the net, there were positives to be taken.
Courier Sport looks at the main talking points from the match.
CLEAN SHEETS
Another week, another clean sheet for James McPake’s side.
Kyle Benedictus continues to look like one of the best pieces of business in the lower leagues alongside defensive partner Rhys Breen.
That’s not to mention right-back Aaron Comrie who again tucked in to form a back three to great effect during the second half. As a result Deniz Mehmet continues to deal with that “different type” of fatigue.
Montrose were 12 minutes away from a third consecutive clean sheet when Todorov headed past St Johnstone loanee Ross Sinclair.
MISSED CHANCES
McPake once again put wasting chances towards the top of his first answer in the post-match interview.
Several times already this season Dunfermline have spurned opportunities to kill matches by halftime, sometimes earlier.
Craig Wighton was the biggest culprit this time with his chance in the opening minutes although the Pars manager did explain the forward is not 100% fit.
Petrie’s game plan wasn’t far away from maybe taking the three points when Kerr Waddell headed against the post not long before the winning goal.
Earlier in the match Rory McAllister pounced on a rare Breen error but fired over with just Mehmet to beat.
THREADBARE SQUADS
The two sides were down on numbers for different reasons. Petrie’s side started the match without a fair few regulars and lost Dundee United loanee Adam Hutchison in the first half to injury.
Despite this his side went toe-to-toe with the Pars for spells and were not far away from taking three draws from three full-time teams to start the season.
A lack of goals is clearly the concern but if they continue to perform as they did on Saturday they will be as competitive as ever this season.
The performances of Adam MacKinnon and Blair Lyons were encouraging.
McPake deserves a lot of credit for barely having any options on the bench yet still making three substitutions which made a difference. Two of those linked up for the winner.
After Paul Allan was ruled out ahead of the game for four to eight weeks McPake went as far as to say he is close to a “crisis” if more players drop out.
DIFFERENT WAYS TO WIN
This victory required patience from Dunfermline, as did the opening-day victory over Alloa.
Those came between a comfortable afternoon at Meadowbank Stadium versus FC Edinburgh.
There will be more of the latter as the season progresses but what is more promising is the ability to grind out wins against stubborn opposition. This is something that was sorely lacking last season.
The way Benedictus led from the back yesterday during a potentially difficult afternoon epitomises the changes at East End Park this season.