We must Coll the shots in play-offs
AN embarrassed Coll Donaldson has branded Dunfermline’s last-day collapse as ‘inexcusable’ and warned there will be no ‘hiding place’ in the club’s bid for Championship survival. the Pars let an early one-goal lead turn into a 2-1 defeat against already-doomed Queen of the South last Friday. In the end, the scoreline did not matter as Ayr United got the win over Partick thistle that ensured they would have kept their noses in front anyway. But it was a hugely worrying display for the Fifers, who now face Queen’s Park at Firhill on Wednesday in the first-leg of their Championship play-off semi-final. Donaldson, a stand-out performer for the Fifers since joining on loan from Ross County in January, has urged his team-mates to come to terms with the seriousness of the challenge that now awaits them. the ex-Dundee United and Inverness defender said: ‘I can’t explain our second-half performance. It’s inexcusable, given the position we are in. ‘to come out in the second half and give a performance like that in front of such a big crowd is embarrassing. It hurts, it was dreadful. ‘We need to tackle this head on. there’s no hiding place. We had 5,500 here to see us try to secure a place in the Championship. ‘that (situation) is not right for a club like Dunfermline. However, we are where we are and it’s because of performances like Friday. ‘that is why we were on the last day of the season needing to beat an already-relegated Queen of the South to have any chance of staying in the league automatically. that’s miles off it. ‘If we’ve not realised by now the position we are in then Friday had to be the night — the final straw for boys to realise this is where we’re at. these play-off games are absolutely massive. ‘We have to leave it all out there because there’s nothing else. ‘For the past few months we’ve maybe been thinking: “Oh, there’s another home game where we can pick up points” or whatever. Well, that’s done. It’s time to go out and deal with this.’