Joe Cardle insists Dunfermline have to take the form from their last four games into Saturday’s first division opener against Falkirk.
Cardle was key in the Pars overcoming a tough Arbroath side in the first-round Co-operative Insurance Cup tie at East End Park.
He reckons he grabbed the Fifers’ fifth goal even though the ball clearly took a deflection off Lichties defender Stuart Malcolm.
The Pars ran out 5-2 winners, but the scoreline flattered them, as the winger admitted.
It took them until the 73rd minute to break the deadlock, with the game tied 1-1.
Cardle said, “Fortunately, Paul Willis came through and got the goal for us and we just pushed on from there.
“It’s always going to be tight against teams like that.”Claiming goalAs for the goal, he added, “I’m claiming it. It was just one of those ones where the boy’s got a nick on it and it’s gone in.
“It’s up to the referee but, fingers crossed, hopefully I’ll get it.”
On the league campaign, Cardle said, “We’ve got a big game next week. We were never in the top two all season last year.
“We’ve just got to get our heads down and work as hard as we can in training.”
He said, “The performances against Aberdeen and Hearts and even today, we’ve shown what we can do. We’ve just got to keep on doing it.”
For the second week in a row Arbroath made it tough for them and but for Willis capitalising on a mistake by Darren Hill the Pars were starting to look frustrated.
Arbroath took the lead when player-manager Paul Sheerin headed home a Gavin Swankie corner in the 12th minute.
Their joy was short-lived as, a minute later, Cardle chipped the ball across the face of the visitors’ goal for Andy Kirk to head Dunfermline level.Hill’s howlerThat was the way it stayed until the 73rd minute, when Hill’s blunder opened the floodgates.
He failed to hold a shot from Kirk and Willis nipped in to nick the ball and slide it home from a tight angle.
Kirk pounced on a rebound from a Cardle shot to grab the Pars’ third two minutes later, by easing the ball under Hill.
Sub Steve McDougall curled the ball inside Hill’s left-hand post to make it 4-1 in the 82nd minute.
Arbroath pulled one back two minutes from time when Swankie drifted across the edge of the Pars’ box and rifled the ball low past Chris Smith.
Stuart Malcolm then turned a fierce shot from Cardle past his own keeper to cap a miserable day for the Lichties.
Pars boss Jim McIntyre said, “It was a really difficult game. I thought there was nothing between the teams in the first half.
“I felt the second half we started to pass it a lot quicker and moved it from side to side better and created one-on-ones with our wide players.”
Sheerin said, “I was hoping maybe we could have weathered it, but I expected them to come and have a go.
“To be fair, up to the second goal they were having a good spell.”
He added, “Darren’s made a couple of unbelievable saves to keep us in it, but once they got their nose in front they were excellent.”
Photos used courtesy of David Wardle.