Malachi Fagan-Walcott has played only three games for Dunfermline but his short time at the club neatly sums up the frustrations of a troubled season for the Pars.
The on-loan Cardiff City defender made the move north last month but was initially made to wait for his debut due to two postponements.
When he did finally make his bow against Dundee United at Tannadice, the Fifers held firm in a resolute display to stifle the league leaders in a goalless stalemate.
Just a week later, however, the 21-year-old was part of a Dunfermline defence ripped apart by Morton in a 5-0 rout.
The injury curse that has ravaged James McPake’s squad this season then affected the former Spurs youngster as a hamstring issue kept him out of the defeat to Queen’s Park.
But he returned with a bang as he bagged his first senior goal in the crucial bottom-of-the-table clash with Arbroath on Saturday – only for that high to be tempered by Tam O’Brien’s leveller.
“It was a very proud moment for myself and my family,” said Fagan-Walcott. “Obviously the result didn’t go our way so it’s a high but it’s a low at the same time.
“At the time, I was buzzing at 1-0 up, everyone was happy. It was the first goal in quite a while for us [since January 5] so there were good spirits.
“But then we conceded.
‘Happy moment’
“We just have to look back and go over it. It’s another set-piece, we are not happy about that, but we will go back to the training ground and sort that out.”
He aded: “I can’t really remember what happened at my goal. I just remember the ball bouncing and me waiting for it to go in. It was a happy moment for myself, my family and everyone.
“They were watching on ParsTV so they will have seen it. I will give my mum a call and we will have a little laugh.
“It’s the first senior goal of my career so I’m happy with that. Hopefully [there’s] many more, starting on Friday [against Partick Thistle].”
Schooled in the academies of Spurs and Cardiff City, and a loan stint at Dundee in 2021 cut short by injury, Fagan-Walcott is clearly a defender who is comfortable in possession.
He showed he has an eye for goal when he expertly looped in his 18th-minute header from a Josh Edwards free-kick that bounced awkwardly in front of him inside the box.
Twice late on he came close with headers as the Pars sought a winner.
However, as one of the defenders who failed to stop Tam O’Brien nodding in Arbroath’s equaliser early in the second-half, there are other aspects of his game he believes his stint at Dunfermline will improve in the longer term.
“It’s a tough league,” he said of the Championship. “It is different for me because I’m used to playing with the ball but sometimes you have to adapt.
“Sometimes you have to go long and it’s aggressive, it’s a fight, but I like it and I enjoy it so it’s good.
‘Aggression and fight’
“I’m young so I have to get that side into my game. Stuff like this will be good for me, to get that aggression and fight in me going forward. This is a great opportunity for me.
“Every game, I’m learning new things. I’m learning how the game is played in the Scottish Championship.
“From my first game against Dundee United to now, we had the high of a clean sheet there, a low with Morton, I didn’t play last week and then we had a 50-50 against Arbroath.
“I’m just learning every day, I’m just taking it as it comes and then hopefully I will get the best out of me going forward.”
