James McPake said a draw over 90 minutes was a fair reflection of Saturday’s televised Fife derby.
The Pars won 4-2 on penalties – taking the bonus point – after the match ended in a 1-1 draw through goals from Lewis McCann and Dylan Easton.
Matty Todd then scored the decisive penalty in the shootout to give the Pars the bonus point.
‘We looked dangerous’
“We’re delighted because, last season, it was a penalty shoot-out that put us out this cup, so we knew how important that was,” said McPake.
“I don’t think either team deserved to win that game if I’m honest.
“They had spells, we had spells on transition where we looked dangerous.
“But I think if it was a league game, then walking away with a draw, I probably would’ve been happy, because there were certain things that we didn’t do to the level that we’ve shown.”
Despite seeing areas to work on, the Dunfermline manager was pleased with how his side matched up against Championship opposition ahead of the coming season.
“We’re going to face that week in, week out in our league, but it was a cup tie,” added McPake.
“We should’ve been more free, more confident on the ball and, for me, it was the simple things that let us down – the five-yard pass, second balls, winning our headers.”
‘A very hard game’
Ian Murray was not too downbeat after his side lost the “lottery” of penalties but was disappointed his side didn’t test Dunfermline more.
Rovers dominated the second half, with the Pars a threat on the break, but were unable to force a winner.
“It was a very hard game for both teams, it was played at a very frantic pace – as you would expect,” said Murray.
“I thought we started the game exceedingly well in the first stages and then they grew into it and had their wee spell also.
“I thought we deserved to be level at half-time. I thought the second half, we dominated it. But we dominated it without testing their backline enough. We didn’t stretch them enough.
“At the other end, Kevin has not had much to do other than a few dangerous crosses into the box.”
