Dunfermline 1 Clyde 1

Caretaker boss Jim McIntyre makes three changes but Pars lose early goal and two points in a determined effort against the Bully Wee

Caretaker gaffer Jim McIntyre put himself on the bench and brought in Scott Thomson, Scott Morrison and Scott Wilson in place of Jamie Harris and the injured duo of Souleymane Bamba and Darren Young. Clyde Manager Colin Hendry made two changes David McGowan and Neil McGregor coming in instead of Kevin Bradley and Roddy MacLennan.

It was a dark December afternoon with the rain pelting down in the cold easterly wind. After the teams changed ends it was Mark Burchill and Jim Hamilton that got the match underway with Dunfermline attacking the goal at the McCathie Stand end. After two and a half minutes however it was the visitors who were celebrating the opening goal as they couldn`t believe their hosts generosity with an early Christmas present.

Under pressure from a long ball into the left side of defence Scott Wilson passed the ball back for Paul Gallacher but the keeper had come out expecting a shorter pass and he had to scurry back to clear the ball off his line. Unluckily for the keeper his clearance went directly to Dougie Imrie nipping in front of Callum Woods to clip it back in for David McGOWAN  to slip the ball home from eight yards.

The Pars came storming forward forcing two corners both on the right side. There were appeals for handball at the first as the Clyde defence cleared but the next again taken by Stephen Glass was flicked on by Jim Hamilton and Mark BURCHILL headed the ball in at the far post.. Clyde`s lead thankfully had only lasted seven minutes.

Dunfermline were trying hard in the difficult conditions. Crawford fought hard to retain the ball but his final pass was intercepted and Scott Morrison was pushing forward from his left midfield position.

The home side then came perilously close to snatching the lead in 21 minutes when a clearance was chipped back into the right side of the Clyde penalty box and Burchill beat the advancing keeper only to see his effort come back off the base of the left goalpost.

Two Clyde corners switched play to the east end and from the second Craig McKeown shot on target but Gallacher held, fully outstretched to his right. Clyde kept up the pressure hitting the outside of Gallacher`s left hand post from distance.

When Dougie Imrie broke through on goal in 28 minutes it was fortunate that under pressure from the pursuing Pars captain the Clyde man lost control and Gallacher collected. Had the referee seen this differently DA could have been down to ten men.

In 31st minute Burchill was dumped by Danny Kirkup just 20 yards out. There was a number of Pars men wanting to take the free kick but Glass won the privilege and he drove his effort over the five man wall on to the crossbar. Hamilton was really out of luck as he chased in but there were more chances to come.

A Glass corner was headed back across the box by Hamilton and Morrison and Crawford left it for Glass but his shot was deflected away. At the other end the Bully Wee remained threatening with Michael McGowan narrowly failing to take advantage of a Danny Murphy slip that allowed him to pull the trigger on a shot from 15 yards but Wilson, sliding in beat away the on-target effort.

Just before Steven O`Reilly`s half time whistle, Hamilton headed down a cross for Simmons but the tall midfielder just failed to connect. Going a goal down so early was a worry given the past record of coming back after losing the first goal but the Pars rallied and went in at half time very wet but much in the game.

Half time: Dunfermline 1 Clyde 1

Five minutes into the second half Stephen Simmons stretched out in a tackle to win the ball. He required to leave the park to receive treatment as Burchill forced David Hutton to first clutch a cross from him and then deny him as he attempted to latch on to a long ball through the middle.

When he returned Simmons was just out of touch when Crawford produced a good cross through the Clyde box but in 57th minute Morrison broke clear as a Clyde free kick was defended only for Dougie Imrie to crudely demolish the Aberdonian was he reached half way. That was Imrie`s last act of the game as Referee O`Reilly reached for his yellow card. Back in 34th minute the Clyde no.10 had been the only yellow card of the first half and so he was off.

With more than half an hour to go this should have been a great advantage to the East End Park side. Hamilton came close again and Thomson, Crawford and Murphy all pumped balls into the opposition box. Crawford drove in from the right and released a tricky shot at the angle that Hutton held.

In 66th minute Burchill sprinted on to a long ball and with a low shot, looked more likely to net but the keeper again came out on top, albeit at the second take. Scot McBride was Jim McIntyre`s first substitution when he replaced Morrison and the Pars sub was quickly involved. First he set up Hamilton with a header he despatched wide right then from a Glass free kick, he hit a shot from the edge of the box that Hutton held.

Tam McManus returned as a 78th minute replacement for the injured Stevie Crawford, his first action since 10th November and was desperately unlucky immediately when Burchill`s cross from the left was headed on in the direction of the sub but a timely interception by Chris Higgins denied him of glory.

As the minutes ran out opportunities came the Pars way the best being from a McManus cross headed from Burchill to Simmons but his diving header hit the right woodwork. Then Burchill was yellow carded for going down in the box to a Neil McGregor tackle. It could so easily have been a penalty instead.

Jim Hamilton had time to compose himself for a shot just eight yards out, when picked out by Glass, but his attempt across goal was again taken by the keeper.

With just the ten men Clyde were always looking to hit on the break and they almost achieved that at the death. The game was into added time when Arbuckle broke into the left side of the Pars box and squared the ball tantalisingly along the six yard line but Kevin Bradley could not get near enough to finish. In 93rd minute McManus pumped another ball in that won a corner but Hutton held that and it was just one point in the end.