Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

4 Dunfermline talking points: Bloodied, bandaged, brilliant Benedictus and bright Summers

Courier Sport analyses the Pars talking points from a thriller at Tannadice.

Kyle Benedictus sports a bandage after the Dunfermline skipper was involved in a head knock vs Dundee United.
James McPake could have Dunfermline skipper Kyle Benedictus available for Saturday. Image: SNS

Dunfermline endured a galling finale at Tannadice but still departed Tayside with a fine 1-1 draw following a dramatic showdown with Dundee United.

An excellent Craig Wighton header looked to have secured all three points for the visitors, with the ex-Dundee man converting a sublime Josh Edwards delivery.

However, Mathew Cudjoe finally broke the Pars resistance with 95 minutes on the clock, curling home a simply sensational leveller.

Courier Sport was in place to analyse the action.

Bloodied, bandaged, brilliant Benedictus

Kyle Benedictus, formerly of Dundee, was terrific on his return to the City of Discovery.

The Dunfermline captain was imperious in the air, made a host of key interceptions and, perhaps most impressively of all, marshalled his troops throughout the contest as the pressure built.

Kyle Benedictus takes to the field for Dunfermline against Dundee United
Benedictus returned to Dundee and performed superbly. Image: SNS

In the centre of a back-three, he was flanked by Ewan Otoo (aged 20, with 32 senior appearances) and Sam Fisher (aged 22, with 59 senior appearances) and the trio were solid throughout.

Benedictus’ influence on his inexperienced teammates cannot be overstated.

In Otoo, the Pars also have an impressive attacking outlet, with the former Celtic kid bursting forward with abandon — and illustrated for Craig Wighton’s opening goal (below).

Benedictus could do little about Cudjoe’s magical leveller and can reflect on a superb showing; one that belied a ferocious head-knock with Declan Gallagher in the first period that left him bloodied and bandaged.

26 Not Out

When the agony of the finale fades, the Pars will rightly be content with a superb point against the title favourites.

It continues Dunfermline’s remarkable unbeaten run in league football which, dating back to their title winning campaign last term, now stands at 26 matches.

James McPake celebrates a Dunfermline goal against Dundee United
McPake celebrates Wighton’s opener. Image: SNS

And just as losing football matches can become a habit, not losing football matches can become a habit. That appears to be the case at East End Park and, should this run continue, few will relish facing James McPake’s men.

The Pars are organised, diligent and packed with youthful exuberance; their showing all the more impressive given the absence of regular starters Deniz Mehmet, Matty Todd, Kane Ritchie-Hosler, Lewis McCann and Rhys Breen.

Once they get a few more bodies back in contention — or make further signings — then Jim Goodwin’s prediction that they will be promotion contenders may just come to fruition.

A bright Summers ahead

McPake was earnestly excited about the signing of Ben Summers, Celtic’s 2023 academy player of the year.

After handing the young midfielder a debut from the bench — less than 24 hours after his loan arrival was rubber-stamped — he raved about the youngster’s potential and noted that Ange Postecoglou “didn’t just hand out debuts”.

Summers has made two senior appearances for the Hoops and penned a new deal prior to heading for Fife.

Dunfermline loanee Ben Summers ahead of his debut against Dundee United
Ben Summers warming up for the Pars. Image: SNS

And this was a bright cameo.

He was desperate to take possession, sought to commit United defenders and grafted when the Pars were defending their lead.

After the success of Otoo and Ritchie-Hosler last term, McPake looks to have secured another fine prospect from one of the Glasgow giants and, once he has settled, seems like a player who will get fans off their seats.

Break coming at a decent time

While Dunfermline did not welcome their exit from the Viaplay Cup, the resulting week without a fixture may just be ideal for McPake.

Summers will get another couple of weeks of training under his belt, as will Michael O’Halloran, who made his first start for the club on Saturday.

Lewis McCann will be afforded time to shake off the throat infection that ruled him out for Tannadice and young goalkeeper Harry Sharp — thrown straight into the side for the last two matches through necessity — can bed in further.

Conversation