Manager Post Cowdenbeath

20/04/13: JJ - "This has been a big ask for these young boys for these young boys since administration.

Jim Jefferies was unsure how his young side would deliver with such a hugely important game against Cowdenbeath but after the match he was able to praise them for going out, giving it their all and their best shot:-

"I thought Callum Morris was unbelievable at the back after missing the game last week. Allan Smith ran himself into the ground and was struggling to breath at the end because he had put so much into it.

"He didn't get off lightly just when he thought that he would come in and get a pat on the back. You could see the naivety well inside the last minute when he went into the corner. He tried to play Husband in but he was offside"

His Manager had been tying to get Blair Henderson on for him for three or four minutes but had failed to get the opportunity.

"When Smithy went down we just changed it because we felt that we would keep the midfield boys together and take Smithy off because he had run himself into the ground. We couldn't get the referee or linesman's attention at all, they were just ignoring us because they thought we were just wasting time. We weren't doing that, the boy was out on his feet.

"You can see that they are buzzing just now. This has been a big ask for these young boys since administration. They have played four matches, drawn away to Livingston, away to Morton and won, lost because they got done by set plays when they didn't do their job right against Hamilton and now they have come out and won a game against a far more experienced team than we have at the moment.

"The boys deserve a lot of credit but the crowd were fantastic again today. They created an atmosphere that was a bit of a twelfth man for us.

"I have told them that this is all going to be positive here from now to the end of the season, go out relax, give it your best shot and give them something to be pleased about. They are not going to criticise you; they are going to support you all the way down the line. They did it again today."

The result puts Dunfermline in the driving seat now and a win over the newly crowned First Division champions at Firhill next week followed by a win over relegated Airdrie United at home in the final league fixture would guarantee the Pars First Division football next season. Jefferies had made that clear to his players before the game:-

"I said if we can win and get it in our own hands we have the better goal difference but it is not done and dusted. They have got two games left as well so it will be the team that picks up most from these two games.

"We will be trying to win them both and if we do that it is in our hands and there is nothing Cowdenbeath can do because the goal difference gap is quite big. We go into a tough game next week but we went to a tough place last week and got a result. Maybe we can produce a shock next week as well."

The outcome of the match might have been slightly easier to achieve had the referee not found something to rule out what looked like a perfectly legitimate 'goal' from Ryan Thomson in fifth minute of the match. The Manager could not believe how an offside decision came from a set play and is looking forward to seeing it replayed on the video recording:-

"There were so many bodies in the box, how can you tell if there was anybody offside? It was just like a bagatelle wasn't it. Thomson said he got the final touch, there was a boy on the line and Thommo said the goalkeeper was behind him.

"It looked harsh and it would have got us off to the start that we wanted. You know things are going against you and then you get a decision like that.

"I don't know about our penalty. Smith seemed just to be caught by the boy (Kyle Miller) but whether or not he caught him enough to deserve a penalty I will have to reserve judgement on. It maybe made up for the 'goal' that we didn't get.

"On the balance of play, Michal Hrivnak our goalie had more to deal with from our boys with headers back than any of their boys.

"Alex Whittle is a young left winger trying to make his name and is suddenly thrust in at left back and he is getting better and better at left back. He is sometimes a little bit ungainly but he is strong and reads it well. He has defended really well for us at left back since he was put in there, He is enjoying the challenge and he still found room this afternoon to take the ball forward and take people on. He got to the byeline a couple of times. Who knows, you sometimes find out things like that about players when you are struggling in a position. He certainly has never ever let us down and he has been a bit of a find there to be frank."