The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Pars loan star already showing his influence
Co m b a t i v e , composed, positive and probing, Kerr McInroy epitomised ever ything good about Dunfermline as they claimed a significant win over Hearts on Friday night.
Once they got their noses in front, the Pars never looked like losing their lead as they ran out 2-1 winners at East End Park to go top of the Championship table and earn their first league victory over the title favourites for 16 years.
Celtic loanee McInroy was at the heart of everything the Fifers did on the night, dominating the m idd le o f the park alongside Ste ven Whittaker.
The 20-year-old, making only the sixth first-team appearance of his career, b att l e d hard and was extremely physical with more experienced direct opponents Andy Halliday, Steven Naismith and Olly Lee.
Just seconds into the contest, in fact, the Pa r k h e a d youngster launched into a thunderous challenge on Lee to set the tone for the occasion.
McInroy won 75% of his duels and made five interceptions on Friday evening, leading his team in both categories, an important contribution in a game where Dunfermline surrendered 67% possession to the Jambos.
Cruc ia l l y, he a lso recovered the ball well for his team, winning it back 14 times – six of those in the Hearts half to keep the pressure on.
The Pars youngster is among the top 20 midfielders in the league for defensive due ls won and recoveries , demonstrating his abilities as a box-to-box player.
Mc In r o y ’s heat ma p shows he was all over the pitch for Stevie Crawford’s men and he has been that way all season as the Pars have made an unbeaten start in the second tier.
On the other side of the coin, the Scotland U21 star showed maturity belying his tender years to dictate the tempo and threaten
Craig Gordon in the away net.
The left-footer laid on the assist for Dom Thomas’ deflected opener with a highly- imaginative flick and fired in three shots of his own.
Albeit all of them flew wide, two very narrowly, he showed great intent to effect the game positively for his side, being the Pars third-biggest goal threat on the night with 0.12 xG (expected goals).
For the campaign to date, McInroy has taken the ninth-most shots of any midfielder in the league, averaging over two per game and showing he’s not afraid to have a pop at goal.
He showed the way in successful actions, too, with 55% of everything he did coming off only bettered by young defender
Lewis Mayo for the hosts.
That he was not afraid to try things made the Hoops kid stand out and, although he wasn’t the most accurate passer at 68%, he made positive balls forward.
McInroy played only two passes backwards out of 22 attempted, completing 15 in total, of which most were positive, long or forward.
It seems McInroy has a bright future ahead of him and is already benefiting hugely from getting senior minutes on loan in the Championship.
That can only be a good thing for Dunfermline and his parent club Celtic.
It’s no secret that Hoops captain Scott Brown, albeit still very influential in the East End of Glasgow, is on his way out.
If he continues to perform the way he is,
there’s no reason why McInroy can’t go back to Parkhead and stake a claim to be filling his boots one day as he looks of a very similar ilk.
This is a player with huge potential and, already, great talent at first-team level. He drew praise post match from manager C r awf o r d and mentor Wh i t taker for h is contribution so far.
Crawford said: “Kerr was a player I saw a good few years ago in a reserve game and I think he’s got a cultured left foot and, physica l l y, he ’s not frightened of the game at this level as well.
“He’s very good on the ball in terms of his weight of pass and vision.”
Experienced former Hibs, Rangers and Scotland man Whittaker was also
impressed by the young prospect, adding: “Kerr was fantastic on Friday night. I’ve known about him for a while and I’m just glad he’s getting the platform to show his abilities.
“It’s just the usual – we expect that from him because we know he’s a good player so I’m sure he’ ll continue to get his chance to impress.”
Those s ta ts and comments should buoy a young man hoping to one day make an impression in green and white, even if it is still too soon.
It seems he’ll continue to get chances to shine in the black and white of Dunfermline this term, however, and, going by Friday night’s performance, the Pars need him as much as he needs them.