It is perhaps twisting the knife to state that a group of players denied part of their salaries last week were then made to pay in full for a catastrophic error. However, that’s the sad truth of yet another home defeat for Dunfermline on Saturday.
The beleaguered Pars players received a text message from manager Jim McIntyre last Tuesday to tell them that they would only be receiving 60% of their February wages. The squad was then assured on Thursday that it was only a temporary situation and that the rest of their money would be paid soon.
So it is to their great credit that they managed to put everything that is happening off the pitch to the back of their minds as they took the field against a Motherwell side looking to cement their third spot in the SPL and with second-placed Rangers and a Champions League spot firmly in their sights.
Dunfermline had a couple of early chances through Martin Hardie and Ryan Thomson, while a lacklustre Motherwell side struggled to impose themselves.
The game followed a similar pattern until the 63rd minute when calamity keeper Chris Smith, who has been responsible for a series of blunders this season, committed another howler.
The livewire Henrik Ojamaa played in Michael Higdon inside the Pars box and Smith looked to have his tame shot covered but instead allowed the ball to squirm in at his near post.
Dunfermline were still reeling from that body blow when substitute Chris Humphrey produced a great piece of skill to outsmart Hardie and Davie Graham before cutting the ball back to Ojamaa who thumped it high past Smith from just inside the Pars box.
The result leaves Dunfermline rooted to the bottom of the table while their nearest rivals Hibs have inched four points ahead following their draw against St Mirren.
Hardie, who was deployed as a makeshift second striker alongside Liam Buchanan because of a lengthy injury list, was left lamenting that once again, all the players’ hard work had been fatally undermined by one lapse.
He said: ”I think up until the goal went in, we were well in the game. We were compact and making ourselves hard to beat. We restricted Motherwell to a couple of chances but we had a couple of our own.
”Then the goal went in and unfortunately, that’s the way our season has been going. It has been mistakes and soft goals that have let us down.
”We had worked really hard to get ourselves into the game and then to see a soft goal going in like that is a really hard one to take.”
He added: ”You have to remember as well that Motherwell are chasing second place. They are a good side and we matched them right up to the point when we lost that goal.
”We will keep battling on until we start gathering points ourselves and we will see how it goes when the split comes. There is still everything to play for.”
Hardie was asked if Smith had apologised to his team-mates but he replied: ”No, we just have to deal with it as a team. Look, I make mistakes, everyone makes mistakes and we are in it as a team together.
”Soft goals have let us down this season and we certainly aren’t getting any at the other end. It’s something we have to deal with.
”We have a two-week break now and we will look to work to reproduce the same level of performance in the next game.”
Hardie also insisted that the wages problem hadn’t been a distraction.
He said: ”No, we came in and had a meeting. The people who had to say something did so and then we went out to training as normal.
”We came back in on the Friday and had a football meeting and then we went and played our game. Obviously, there are things going on outwith the football department but we are just concentrating on playing as well as we can.”
Pars boss McIntyre was left to lament familiar failings costing his side dear.
He said: ”First and foremost I was delighted with the way we started the game. I thought the players were excellent and we took the game to Motherwell.
”We had a succession of corners, which tells you we were on the front foot for a lot of the game. Unfortunately, the goal we conceded was a hammer blow to us.
”Our Achilles heel has been putting the ball away and stopping the individual errors, and another one has cost us on Saturday.”