The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Petrie parks Pars past to target East End win
Stewart Petrie will always be a Dunfermline legend. The former Pars attacker scored the vital goal against title rivals Dundee United on the penultimate day of the season in 1996, before the Fifers clinched the First Division in dramatic fashion the following week.
He made a total of 296 appearances for the East End Park side over 10 years.
The Dunfermline hall of famer said of his induction in 2019: “I had 10 great years here and I was very privileged to play for this magnificent club.
“Once you have been there for that length of time it is my club.”
There’s no doubt the 52-year-old will always have a soft spot for his former team.
But today will be a bit different. Petrie will take his Montrose team to face James McPake’s side in, arguably, the game of the weekend in League One.
It is the first time in his managerial career that he has taken charge of a side at Dunfermline.
For a few hours, all loyalties are being cast aside as he looks to bag the Gable Endies’ first win of the season.
Petrie said: “It’s great every time I go back, it’s fabulous when you walk through those doors.
“It’s a special place for me but we’re going back there to try and win the game. Whether it’s Dunfermline or anyone else, the full focus will be on Montrose.
“They have started really well, which you’d expect.
“No doubt they’ll be favourites now to win the league with Falkirk not having so good a start and Queen of the South only picking up one point.”
Petrie is expecting a big crowd at East End Park and believes his men can feed off the atmosphere – especially if they can frustrate their opponents.
He added: “We’ll get the boys ready for that.
“It will be good for them, they won’t have to lift themselves.
“There will be a right few thousand in there. When they are going well they will get a good crowd.
“It’s a great place to play but we’ll go there, try and frustrate them and see if we can get something out of the game.”
While Montrose have looked fairly solid at the back with two shutouts in their opening matches, they have yet to find a route to goal.
The Links Park boss remains patient, though, and is confident his players will produce the results once they have had time to fully gel.
Petrie said: “We are kind of finding our feet a little bit now with the boys and with the four new ones coming in.
“It will take a bit of time to bed in.
“I’m fortunate we’ll get that time and not be as under pressure as some clubs. We will get it right.”
Pars shot-stopper Deniz Mehmet, meanwhile, is enjoying finally getting a run between the sticks.
The 29-year-old signed for the Pars after leaving Dundee United in the summer of 2021 and has found game time difficult to come by.
It can be the nature of the position, with many keepers having to make do with long spells – or entire careers – as back-up.
Since the reset button was pressed with McPake’s arrival at East End Park, the new boss has put faith in Mehmet in goals. And that has been repaid so far.
The Londoner has only conceded twice in six matches, including backto-back clean sheets to kick off the League One campaign.
Competition has been added to Mehmet’s position in the form of Max Little, who only became a goalkeeper a few years ago.
The former QPR youth is eager to get into the side but, at the end of matches, has been the first to congratulate the man he is trying to usurp.
Mehmet said: “We get on great. He’s a good guy and a good keeper.
“If I can help him in any way and he can push me, it’s always good to have that addition.
“There’s always that bit of rivalry, but not in a bad way.
“He supports me, he comes up to me after games and he’s happier than I am sometimes if we get the clean sheet.
“Getting that support from him makes a big difference.”