Where current season ranks as Dunfermline Athletic continue to struggle for goals in attack

Dunfermline Athletic are on course to endure their worst season in front of goal in nearly two decades.

The Pars succumbed to a 1-0 defeat to bitter rivals Falkirk at the weekend to stay rooted to ninth place in the Championship.

It was a fifth time in seven league games the East End Park men have failed to find the net since Michael Tidser was appointed head coach in January.

And it was a remarkable 15th time in 28 Championship outings that the Fifers have finished without scoring this term.

Tidser confessed his side had appeared low on confidence in the final third and short of ideas and understanding against the Bairns.

However, it is not a new problem for the present team, who also failed to net in nine of 18 matches when James McPake was manager earlier in a troubled campaign.

Courier Sport has taken a look back at previous league seasons to see how the current one compares in attack.

And, on present form, with eight games remaining, it seems likely the Pars will register more blanks than the 16 they suffered in 2018/19.

Dunfermline’s lack of goals

You then need to go back to 2006/07 for a season that mirrors the current one for a lack of scoring prowess.

On that occasion, the Fifers proved unable to find the net in 21 of 38 games as they succumbed to relegation from the Premier League with a ‘goals for’ tally of just 26.

That is the same number of goals the current team have to their name in the Championship this term.

But, whilst failing to score against the likes of Aberdeen, Celtic, Hearts, Hibernian and Rangers might be understandable, supporters are questioning why their favourites are so shot-shy against Airdrie, Hamilton Accies, Morton and Partick Thistle.

Since the turn of the millennium, Dunfermline have failed to score in an average of 10.5 matches per season, making this one much worse than the norm.

Most of the more prolific campaigns naturally came when the team was playing in League One.

They registered their best under McPake when enduring only four blanks two seasons ago.

But an inability to score is undoubtedly a growing concern for Dunfermline in the Championship as they battle to avoid automatic relegation and the play-off place they currently occupy in ninth.