Campbell toasts a corking show from his players
DELIGHTED Arbroath manager Dick Campbell uncorked a bottle of fine French wine last night to celebrate his side’s stunning win over Dunfermline.
The Angus club made it five games unbeaten as they leapfrogged Queen of the South into eighth spot with a hard-fought 2-0 win over Pars.
Arbroath have now picked up nine points from a possible 15 as they battle their way towards Championship survival.
And Campbell said: “I’m absolutely delighted. We fully deserved that win and my players can be really proud of the way they played.
“I picked the team today, not my brother Ian, that’s for sure!
“I knew it was going to be a tough day and that the wind would make it very hard, but we played it superbly well.
“I told the players to shoot-on-sight in the first half and make the keeper work. I knew the wind would cause him issues and it worked out for us.
“Tam O’Brien scored a superb goal to put us in front. He had a dig from distance and it deflected past their keeper.
“You could say there was a bit of luck involved in it, but Tam was bold enough to have a pop and he defended superbly in the second half.
“Dale also took his goal well. I’ve been on at him to get into the box more often and he was in the right place to pick up the scraps when Bobby Linn’s strike hit the post.
“The second half was always going to be hard for us. Bobby was having an outstanding game, but I was always going to take him off.
“It was a time for my players to be brave and scrap out the result and they did that.
“They defended so well that I don’t think my keeper had a real save to make. We’re now up to eighth and I’ll enjoy a bottle of Chateauneufdu-Pape tonight.”
Campbell shrugged off complaints by Dunfermline manager Stevie Crawford that the game should have been postponed due to the stormy conditions.
He added: “I know Stevie wasn’t too happy the game went on, but it’s always windy at Gayfield.
“We played in the wind against Inverness the other night and I’d argue that – at times – it was stronger then. We didn’t hear complaints then.
“I was at Dunfermline a long time and I know the pressure and expectation on that club.
“They are expected to be up there challenging every year, while our fans are content with survival in the Championship.
“We’ve turned things around.
“We’ve gone from getting just five points in our first nine games to going unbeaten in five – and it’s a good feeling to see us climb another spot in the table.”