Manager Post Raith

17/11/12: JJ - "It is a derby match where passions are high, you could say that there is a bit of a case for it but if it goes too far you get yourself in trouble ...

Jim Jefferies was pleased that his team were "right up for it" and dominated the first half:-

"I thought that we were superb. Raith Rovers scored against the run of play, they took their chance. While we were playing well but in the last third we didn't deliver the balls that we should have. We controlled and dominated and that led to a bit of frustration, we were so much on top.

"We heard at half time that something happened and they were already down to ten men, so that was down to nine and we had a couple of extra men. It was about making sure that we passed the ball around. They were going to set up to try and keep it at 1-1 and hope to score from a free kick or corner. That is why we were mindful of not getting involved and make sure that we didn't give away daft free kicks because they would see that as their only chance. You cannot blame them because they would want to keep us out and keep the score down. To their credit they worked extremely hard to do that.

"We were probably guilty of hitting balls in when we didn't need to. We should just have been passing it around because of that two man advantage. When it was eleven each, we were definitely the better team. The second half was a bit of a mis-match because we had so much of the ball. Fortunately we went 2-1 up early, so there was no pressure on us because they were never going to score from attacking play. We had very little to do.

"They will complain about the two players sent off but we never got involved in it. I made the point that when you are in a situation like that, if we have any rash, daft challenges ion their players then we might face the consequences because the referee might try and balance it up a little bit. Credit to our players, we never got involved in anything. We just kept passing it around hoping to get ourselves into a winning position which we did."

There was a good opportunity for Raith Rovers immediately before Dunfermline scored their third goal in 88 minutes.

"At one end we gave away a daft free kick. Gallacher made a very brave attempt on a difficult delivery and it could easily have been 2-2 but we went up the park and made it 3-1."

The Manager warned his players at half time that it would be easy for the referee to consider evening things up a little:-

"There was a dangerous tackle that Ryan Wallace half reacted to. Fortunately he did not retaliate, he just had words with the boy. Allan Walker did not make great contact, he make a challenge with his foot off the ground. The intent was there and probably that is what the referee deemed to be a daft challenge.

"They only players that were sent off were Raith Rovers players. When your team is already down to ten men you do not want to lose another one. You are letting your team mates badly down.

"We were up for it from the start and learned a lesson from last week. They are a young team just put together. You could see the desire in them to win most of the second balls, we were passing it well and it was just the final third that let us down. It is an area that lets most teams down when they dominate like that. I was really pleased that they didn't feel sorry for themselves after last week."

The gaffer was pleased with his sides response but knows that more work is required in defending at set pieces:-

"It was the only chance they had and they took it. It was definitely against the run of play and we dominated the first half when we both had the same number of players on the pitch."

The referee was forced into disciplinary measures after former Pars midfielder and Raith Assistant Manager Paul Smith tussled with Jordan McMillan as the teams left the park at the end of the first half. Jefferies continued:-

"I think it was a policeman who got involved and from what I am hearing if the referee didn't take any action, the police would have taken it out of his hands.

"You shouldn't get involved in that, it is something that has put them another man down. It is a derby match where passions are high, you could say that there is a bit of a case for it but if it goes too far, you get yourself in trouble. Overall it wasn't a dirty match. Probably losing the two men at half time meant that after that there weren't any tackles as they had their work cut out just closing us down and getting the ball back because we were just passing it around.

"We were playing four men up at one time to keep them under pressure. You know that they will fight and harray but the Raith players did as best as they could under the circumstances. They were hoping for a free kick around the box because they have some decent players in there like Mensing and Clarke. You have to be careful not to give anything away and they had nothing to lose so they were always going to throw it in there.

"That one free kick from Smith was a real good ball and it had to be defended. Even though there was a defender there, Gallacher did extremely well to block it and then we broke up the park and scored. It is three points and that is what we came for and that will give us a lift."

Jim Jefferies was more pleased by the way his team played in the first half but he did add some words of praise for the second goalscorer, Joe Cardle:-

"It was a fantastic goal after I gave him a row for his first half. That one was a genuine effort with pace on it but Joe has so much ability to beat a player but he needs to do it in the right areas. When it is up near the penalty box and in the last twenty yards I will never criticise him for taking players on but when he is forty yards deep and tries to take people on when he doesn't need to. We might have two extra men so just pass it. That's where it gets my blood boiling. He is a match winner and has a lot of ability. It was a terrific goal from him today but I felt we should have had one or two more if we had been a wee bit more clinical around the box."