| Goran Stanic, Jody Morris and Andy Jackson were back in the starting line-up for today’s match against Dunfermline with Saints attempting to bounce back from the disappointment of their first home defeat of the season against Clyde on Tuesday.
It was raining heavily at the start of this game – a fixture that, at the start of the season, looked as if it might prove to be a vital promotion battle but sadly has proved not to be the case.
Saints opened the brighter of the two sides and by the time two minutes were on the clock they had carved out two chances – Kevin Rutkiewicz failing to get a clean contact on a header from a Liam Craig cross and Andy Jackson firing in a twenty yard effort just wide of Gallacher’s right hand post.
Kevin Harper had the first chance for The Pars, firing wide from eight yards.
The eighth minute brought a move and scoring chance which, had it finished in a goal, would have been one of the finest seen at the stadium for some time. Paul Sheerin created the chance with a lovely ball into the box to Liam Craig and his first-time lay-off was met on the volley by Steven Milne whose acrobatic scissor kick resulted in the ball flying just inches wide of the post.
If Milne’s effort was excellent there, the same couldn’t be said of him twelve minutes later when he missed a great chance to break the deadlock. A Paul Sheerin mis-hit landed at his feet just seven yards from goal but with just Gallacher to beat he pulled his effort wide of the post.
Saints had the upper hand at the half-way stage of the first half with Liam Craig and Paul Sheerin prominent and they were playing some nice passing football which at times stretched the visiting defence.
Alan Main was called into action for the first time in 28 minutes when he produced a great tip over the bar to prevent a Kevin Harper drive from just outside the box from entering the net as the afternoon got greyer and the rain heavier.
Saints gained two free kicks in quick succession wide on the right and the second of those brought the opening goal. Jody Morris delivered a great ball to the far post and Allan McManus forced his way in ahead of Stephen Simmons to head home from two yards – only his second goal for the club.
Five minutes before the break Peter MacDonald came within inches of making it 2-0 when he met a Liam Craig corner with his head – Gallacher was beaten had it been on target.
Kevin Harper was proving to be the main danger man for the visitors and a curling cross from the left eluded everyone and could only have been a foot or so wide of the far post.
A deserved half-time lead for a Saints team who played some really nice football in the first forty five minutes.
It may have been the weekend that the clocks go forward for the summer time but the players came out to the sight of the floodlights on to combat the increasing overhead gloom.
Steven Milne’s afternoon of frustration continued just a couple of minutes into the second half when he saw Paul Gallacher get a touch to his parting effort after he had been put through one-on-one with the keeper by a Sheerin pass and the ball went for a corner.
The Pars’ Greg Shields and Scott Wilson were both yellow carded early in the second half as the rain got heavier and started to have a marked effect on the underfoot conditions.
As they had done in the first half Saints continued to enjoy by far the bulk of the ball but despite the possession a second goal remained elusive and that made Dunfermline’s equaliser fourteen minutes from the end all the more unexpected and frustrating. Kevin Moon – only on the field for a matter of minutes as a replacement for Goran Stanic - gave away possession in the middle of the park and that allowed Stevie Crawford to advance down the inside right channel, hold off a challenge and slip the ball under the advancing Alan Main to make it 1-1.
That goal gave the visitors a lift and with Saints starting to tire the visitors then enjoyed their best period of play of the entire match although Alan Main was not called into action further.
After that, the game petered out to a draw with just one significant moment of note before the end – Kevin Moon and the Barry Wilson both coming close for Saints within the same move, the former’s shot being blocked and latter’s going just inches wide of the post.
A real frustration this one for Saints who had the possession and chances to put the game beyond the visitors only to be punished for a moment of sloppiness.
Website Man of the Match: He may not have had the best of luck in front of goal but the work rate, first touch and creative play of STEVEN MILNE was a stand out for most of the afternoon.
SAINTS: Main, Irvine, Stanic (Moon), Morris, Rutkiewicz, McManus, MacDonald (Weatherston), Milne, Jackson (Wilson), Craig, Sheerin.
Subs not used: Anderson, Cuthbert
DUNFERMLINE: Gallacher, Shields, Wilson, Simmons (Burke), Thomson, Young, Harper, Glass, Crawford, McIntyre, Muirhead.
Subs not used: Morrison, Williamson, Willis, Murdoch
Ref: Mike McCurry
Att: 2, 372
Steven Milne sees his early second half chance pushed wide by Paul Gallacher |
Kevin Moon's late chance is blocked by Scott Wilson |
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