Dunfermline will seek to overcome a familiar failing when they face Queen of the South on Saturday.
The Pars have conceded the first goal in 14 of their 22 Championship matches this term, a pattern which continued in their 1-1 draw against Inverness last weekend.
A further four matches involving the Fifers have ended 0-0, meaning the East End Park outfit have only taken the lead four times in the league all season.
It is a fact acknowledged by manager John Hughes, who concedes that Dunfermline are ‘slow starters’.
The Pars are aware of the issue and seeking to remedy the ‘mental’ issue, Hughes contends.
For all they may stumble out of the blocks, Dunfermline should be commended for their heart.
Of those fourteen matches, they have managed to battle back to claim at least a point on six occasions.
Only Ayr United have conceded the opening goal with more regularity in the Championship — in a staggering 16 of their 21 games.
“That’s something we are working on,” explained Hughes. “We seem to be slow starters. I don’t know the reason for that but it’s something we need to address.
“We have spoken about it — which is all well and good — but we need to implement the solutions and put the right things in to practice.
“I’ve played in many teams that have been slow starters, just like I’ve played in teams that would fly out of the traps. It’s about concentration. I believe it is a mental thing.
“As a player, I always wanted an early touch of the ball; get that first pass away. I’m sure these boys are no different.
“We all talk about managing the game towards the end. But you need to manage the game right at the start, too. We need to stamp our authority on things.”
Hughes added: “If we are slow starters and we’ve been doing not too bad over the last couple of games, then if we start flying out the traps, other teams better watch out!”
‘We cannot feel sorry for ourselves’
By contrast, rock-bottom Queen of the South have only conceded the first goal on just nine occasions — fewer than Ayr, Dunfermline, Morton and Hamilton.
Maintaining a lead is the issue for Allan Johnston’s charges, who are one point behind the ninth-placed Pars.
They have failed to claim all three points after breaking the deadlock in five of their 21 games; almost a quarter.
“Queen of the South are not a bad side at all,” added Hughes. “ I can only judge based on what I saw when we played at East End Park [3-3 draw]. They caused us a lot of problems and we’ll need to be at our best.
“But I’ve told the boys that: we don’t want it easy. We want the challenge. We cannot feel sorry for ourselves or duck away from the pressure.”
