What is going wrong for Dunfermline as Fife derby defeat angers supporters?

Any hopes Dunfermline had of turning the tables on Raith Rovers this season were dashed with a Fife derby defeat in Kirkcaldy on Saturday.

The Pars endured a winless run against their rivals last term and succumbed to five straight defeats for the first time in the history of the fixture.

That record was brought to a halt with a determined 2-0 victory over their near neighbours back in September at East End Park.

But their away-day blues continued with Saturday’s reversal of that scoreline. This time, Raith have the bragging rights courtesy of goals from Dylan Easton and Cody David.

Courier Sport was at Stark’s Park to take in a hard-fought 90 minutes.

Quality control

After the final whistle, Dunfermline boss James McPake bemoaned his side’s lack of quality in the final third in the loss.

In truth, the whole match lacked finesse for the vast majority of the time.

There were too many stoppages, too many misplaced passes and too many wrong decisions for either side to build up any momentum.

The Pars did get some joy down the left in the first-half. But Kieran Ngwenya and Lewis McCann failed to find a team-mate with crosses.

When McCann instead cut inside onto his right foot in the 20th minute, his curling shot was destined for the bottom corner of the net before Kevin Dabrowski brilliantly palmed it away.

The Rovers keeper sprang to his feet and then denied Matty Todd from the rebound.

After Easton’s fine free-kick gave Raith the lead, the second-half was devoid of any real goalmouth incident until David fired in the second.

Even then, it came from a mis-hit Paul Hanlon shot that bounced into the striker’s path.

From being the UK’s joint-lowest scorers earlier in the campaign, Dunfermline have only drawn a blank four times in their last 14 matches.

Against Raith, they still enjoyed more shots on target (four) than their hosts (three).

But the defeat backed up the sense that the Fifers require more opportunities than any of their opponents to find the back of the net.

Some will argue that is down to tactics and others personnel, but McPake needs to find answers.

Breakthrough act

It is a remarkable statistic, but Dunfermline have never been beaten during McPake’s reign when scoring first.

That goes back 112 games.

The opening goal in any match, but in the Championship in particular, is always key.

But the numbers prove that it is even more vital for the Pars.

There certainly appears a confidence issue at present.

Goals, and particularly opening ones, instil belief – but the opposite was true on Saturday.

Going behind seemed to send Dunfermline into their shell.

It was not the manager’s tactics for goalkeeper Tobi Oluwayemi to fire as many long balls forward, albeit it is useful weapon.

But there was no-one willing to show enough bravery amidst the maelstrom to dictate attacks through midfield.

Only in the final stages, when Raith had the comfort of sitting on a two-goal lead, did the visitors string some passes together in the final third.

Consequently, they created three half-chances and one gilt-edged one for David Wotherspoon, but it was all too late.

They need to find that attacking intent from the word go when the breakthrough goal is so important.

See-saw Pars

Just when Dunfermline appear to be building up a head of steam they are halted in their tracks.

It is one step forward and one back for the Pars this season.

They headed for Stark’s Park with just one defeat in their previous five games.

Two of those outings were in the cup against lower-league opposition, but it was still encouraging.

But on too many occasions this term a good performance has been followed up by defeat.

It happened in September when the 2-0 victory over Raith was followed by losses to Partick Thistle and Queen’s Park.

When they swept Livingston aside 3-0 with a fantastic display the following month, defeats to the same opponents cut short the optimism.

This time, having moved into sixth in the table with the 3-2 win over Hamilton Accies, fans were left exasperated again by a derby bodyblow.

They were right to voice their anger.

The Fifers are back to square one in the table, sitting second-bottom and in the relegation play-off spot.

Without any consistency or momentum, the aspirations of moving away from trouble will prove wishful thinking.