Dunfermline 24 hours on

Well, remarkably we are now further clear in sixth place than we were before. That is something that most ‘Well fans would have been happy with at the start of the evening and everyone would have been delighted with that offer fifteen minutes in the matches! Kilmarnock weren’t expected to stroll it at Almondvale but only the most optimistic of ‘Well fans could have seen them getting horsed 3-1. Hearts lost to a late penalty (boo hoo, what a shame etc) and Hibs were well and truly cuffed in the Highlands. The only downside to results elsewhere was Aberdeen picking up a win – and maybe we should be looking nervously at ICT as well now!

However, we can only concentrate on our performances and whilst last night was not spectacular by any means, we played a solid game which won us a good point. It sounds churlish to blame our performance on the pitch but – Jim Paterson and Stevie Hammell excepted – the players looked decidedly uncomfortable. Whilst our passing does not resemble Brazil 1970 at the best of times, last night it was appalling. The players also took a long time to adjust to the pace and height the ball would come to them and this meant several first touches were given away.

But we knew in advance that it was going to be hard. Dunfermline, for their part, were utterly mediocre but the pitch was a good leveller. They had the bulk of the play but they rarely threatened Gordon Marshall – they only managed two or three shots on target the entire game and our ‘keeper could have saved them in his sleep.

It was disappointing to see the fans giving stick to Jim Hamilton so easily. The big man has played well for us so far and last night was his first real bad game. This happens to everyone and credit should also go to Andy Todd who marked him superbly. Let’s try to be a bit more supportive of the team, eh?

So, the trek home was undertaken with the quiet satisfaction of a tricky job well done. We have taken two draws from the plastic this season and defeated the Pars on grass – a pleasing record. We are now three points clear in sixth place and have a home game coming up on Saturday. Last night was a dull match but we grinded out a good result – the sort of game which is vital in successful seasons.