Tuesday night’s win over Falkirk gave Dunfermline a commanding eight-point lead at the top of League One.
It completed an unbeaten quarter of league matches for James McPake’s side.
The only blemishes were back-to-back defeats in the Scottish Cup and SPFL Trust Trophy – though both featured valiant performances against Championship opposition.
The league title is firmly within the Pars’ grasp and they have a chance to extend their lead even further when they take on Peterhead this weekend.
Courier Sport reviews the most recent quarter of Dunfermline’s season.
Signings
There were again some grumbles when the transfer window closed with little to no business done – in this case, there were no January signings.
In the same seven-day period, Falkirk narrowed the gap and Rhys Breen was taken off injured in the win over Montrose.
But, as Pars boss McPake has continually stressed, he’s not going to add bodies for the sake of it and, in Ewan Otoo and Paul McGowan – though we’ve still to see much of them – he appears to have added well to his squad once more.
Grade: A
Star man
Call it recency bias but there is a good argument now that Matty Todd is Dunfermline’s – and League One’s – player of the year.
For most of the season it seemed like no one was going to get near captain Kyle Benedictus, who was curiously awarded February’s player of the month gong after his only dip in form this season.
Now Todd is in also the conversation for the end-of-year award.
He’s tireless, he’s everywhere, he’s consistent and he pops up with important goals at big moments – and they’re often spectacular.
By no means did he win the match versus Falkirk single-handedly, but he was undoubtedly the match-winner in what was a huge step towards the league title.
Grade: A+
Form
The Pars are unbeaten over the quarter, including most recently a key win over their closest rivals – a match they managed ‘to win’ on corners as well!
But what has been most impressive is their clean sheet record. Dunfermline have recorded 19 in all competitions, 16 of them in the league.
That means that Deniz Mehmet is one shutout away from equalling the record set by a Dunfermline goalkeeper in a single season, when Ian Westwater managed 20 in 1985/86.
Not only have they stayed unbeaten in League One, the Pars pulled off the comeback of the season when they came back from 3-0 down to take all three points against Airdrie.
Grade: A+
Manager
To take the club from a low ebb and turn things around so quickly – as Courier Sport has pointed out a number of times – is a great achievement.
They still need to close out the league, though it would now take some collapse not to.
You may argue that the Pars’ League Cup form could have been slightly better, but getting back to the Championship has always been the priority – and they remain well on course to do so.
Grade: A+
Conclusion
Dunfermline fans don’t have much to complain about at all, especially after watching their side stretch their lead at the top of the table to eight points.
James McPake on sticking with Dunfermline ‘tombola’ and why he might need to start fining his vice-captain https://t.co/nqDbJgmc2E pic.twitter.com/qOCfwjYMJJ
— The Courier Sport (@thecouriersport) March 9, 2023
Not only has there been a superb level of consistency from James McPake’s men, they have responded positively to every minor setback so far.
Conversation