‘WE NEVER GIVE UP’ SAYS SKIPPER KYLE
Captain spot-on to keep Pars top
CAPTAIN Kyle Benedictus insists that Athletic need to stay grounded after continuing their unbeaten start – but should take belief from it.
The centre back, who has been handed the armband by manager James McPake after arriving from Raith Rovers in the summer, netted his first goal for the Pars against Falkirk on Saturday.
His early second-half penalty, given after Nikolay Todorov had been fouled by Liam Henderson, cancelled out Callumn Morrison’s opener for the Bairns and ensured the spoils were shared after a pulsating encounter.
Dunfermline also struck the woodwork three times in a match that saw chances at both ends, with the draw ensuring that Benedictus and his team-mates remain top of League One with four wins and three draws from their opening seven games.
“It’s a tight league; every game’s difficult. We just need to keep our feet on the ground,” the 30-year-old told Press Sport.
“Even before the game, I said it’s three points – this game only means three points. Come later on in the season, we’ll see where we are.
“It should give you confidence and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t give you confidence, being unbeaten in seven games. It’s a hard thing to do.
“We know how difficult the league is. All the leagues in Scotland are; you can see that teams take points off each other all the time.
“It’s nice to be unbeaten just now but it’s only seven games in, and we’ve got a long way to go.”
Nevertheless, Benedictus was pleased with the reaction his Pars pals showed after the interval, having gone in trailing after a flat display that saw the visitors have the upper hand in the first half.
He declared that 45 minutes as “probably the worst” Athletic have been “in terms of not getting up against people”, but a tactical change from McPake allowed them to gain more impetus.
That was crowned with Benedictus firing home from the spot, his first goal since netting a brace for Raith in a 3-2 win over Partick Thistle almost a year ago.
“I was the penalty-taker last year at Raith for a bit. I scored one against Partick and then I missed one against Kilmarnock in the semi-final (of the SPFL Trust Trophy) but one of the young boys put the rebound in,” he continued.
“I’ve done not bad with them; I think I’ve only missed one. That was last year. I’ve done alright – I think I’ve scored four or five.
“Obviously, Lewis (McCann) missed against Edinburgh and I think it was the Montrose game, the gaffer was saying does anybody want to take penalties? I was like, well, I’ll take it then.
“I’m confident just to go and strike the ball, so it was a good game to get the first penalty in. It was nice to see it getting tucked away and getting my first goal for the club. It’s another special moment, in a derby as well, but we’re obviously disappointed.
“We want to win every game we go into. We’ll still take the positives, look at things we could’ve done better in the first half, and we’re still unbeaten.
“It was nice to celebrate in front of the fans for the first time. I probably don’t score as much as I’d like to, and I probably don’t get a lot of goals, but it was nice to put that one away.
“It’s the first time we’ve been behind this season and, as you can see in the second half, it didn’t affect the boys. That’s a credit to all of them.
“They’re putting their hearts on their sleeves and they’re giving everything they can.
“That’s one thing you can guarantee with this group and squad, the spirit we’ve got – they’ll not give up on anything.”
That effort has been appreciated by the fans – more than 6,600 attended at the weekend – and Benedictus added: “We want the numbers of the fans to come out, and we obviously appreciate their support all the time.
“It just shows you, if the boys are putting the work in, the fans will turn up.
“I’m loving it here. I’ve been welcomed from everybody since I’ve came in here. The manager’s given me the captaincy, trusts me, and it was an honour to be made captain of the team.
“I just want to do my best for this club. I said when I came here I didn’t want to set any goals, I just want to get this club back to winning games, and I think we’ve done that at the start of the season with the record we’ve got so far.
“Let’s see where it takes us.”
They’re putting their hearts on their sleeves