3 Dunfermline talking points: Better display, injuries and a lack of goals

Dunfermline Athletic were dealt a cruel blow in Saturday’s Fife derby when Sam Stanton won the game for Raith Rovers in injury time.

The Pars had the better of the chances but found Rovers keeper Kevin Dabrowski in excellent form from the opening minutes.

It was Dunfermline’s third defeat on the bounce but manager James McPake took some positives, mainly that they put in a better display than in the previous two losses.

Courier Sport looks at the talking points from Saturday’s 1-0 Fife derby defeat.

Performance good for the Pars but not the result

It was a sickener for Dunfermline.

After being the better side over the 90 minutes, Sam Stanton’s late strike meant zero points when one could have been seen as harsh.

Kevin Dabrowski, who was named man of the match, denied Sam Fisher in the opening minutes and later made a double save to keep out Owen Moffat and Aaron Comrie.

Deniz Mehmet had a relatively quiet afternoon but was left helpless when Stanton arrowed his shot into the bottom corner in injury time.

The main positive is that this third defeat in a row brought a better performance.

Injuries haven’t helped DAFC

A number of key players have been missing at various points this season, Matty Todd and Kane Ritchie-Hosler have barely kicked a ball between them in the league.

Mehmet has only recently made his way back from long-term injury and Ben Summers became the latest to drop out altogether.

Kyle Benedictus made his return on Saturday, his first appearance since September, and was taken off at half-time but should be fine, according to his manager.

Things don’t look as good for Rhys Breen, though, who will have to have a scan to assess the damage of his hamstring injury.

It’s far from the only reason, but the number of long-term injuries going into the season has certainly had an impact.

Lack of goals for Dunfermline Athletic FC

That said, McPake said after Saturday’s defeat that Dunfermline have a good squad now.

Their bench looked much healthier than Raith’s going into the Fife derby but the main issue at the moment is the lack of goals.

Lewis McCann has scored his fair share but Alex Jakubiak has yet to get off the mark – though he hadn’t played much football before his arrival – and Craig Wighton was benched as one of five changes on Saturday.

Three defeats, no goals in any of them.

With Morton winning at the weekend, Friday’s match becomes a fairly big one for the Pars.