Dunfermline 0 - 0 Inverness CT

League - Championship
Saturday, September 18th, 2021, 3:00 PM at East End Park, Dunfermline
Attendance: 3,158
Referee: David Munro
Dunfermline Inverness CT

Goalscorers
None. None.

Team Managers
Peter Grant Billy Dodds

Starting Eleven
Owain Fon Williams
Aaron Comrie
Paul Watson
Vytas Gaspuitis
Josh Edwards
Ryan Dow
Dan Pybus
Graham Dorrans
Kai Kennedy
Nikolay Todorov
Kevin O'Hara
Mark Ridgers
Kirk Broadfoot
Robbie Deas
Daniel Devine
Tom Walsh
Scott Allardice
Roddy MacGregor
David Carson
Aaron Doran
Manny Duku
Shane Sutherland

Bench
Kyle Macdonald
Craig Wighton
Paul Allan
Leon Jones
Dom Thomas
Reece Cole
Deniz Mehmet
Cameron Mackay
Wallace Duffy
Cameron Harper
Sean Welsh
Reece McAlear
Lewis Jamieson
Billy Mckay

Substitutions
Craig Wighton -> Kevin O'Hara (46)
Dom Thomas -> Dan Pybus (68)
Reece Cole -> Nikolay Todorov (81)
Billy Mckay for Shane Sutherland (36)
Cameron Harper for Aaron Doran (46)
Sean Welsh for Manny Duku (70)

Bookings
Dan Pybus (37)
Nikolay Todorov (43)
Paul Watson (48)
Reece Cole (85)
Robbie Deas (27)

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Mark Ridgers (GK) 165 apps -
Daniel Devine 121 apps4 goals
Kirk Broadfoot 10 apps1 goal
Robbie Deas 43 apps1 goal
Tom Walsh 79 apps13 goals
Aaron Doran 300 apps50 goals
Scott Allardice 43 apps3 goals
Roddy MacGregor 67 apps4 goals
David Carson 63 apps1 goal
Shane Sutherland 130 apps12 goals
Manny Duku 10 apps2 goals
Cameron Harper (sub) 46 apps1 goal
Sean Welsh (sub) 74 apps9 goals
Billy Mckay (sub) 162 apps68 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Roddy MacGregor (19 years 276 days)
Oldest Player:Kirk Broadfoot (37 years 50 days)
Average Player Age:27 years 212 days
Domestic Players:7 (63.64 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Lewis Jamieson (19 years 190 days)
Oldest Player:Kirk Broadfoot (37 years 50 days)
Average Player Age:26 years 63 days
Domestic Players:13 (72.22 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones
Aaron Doran made his 300th competitive appearance for the Club.

Stalemate

It was top versus bottom on the Halbeath Road as Inverness visited Dunfermline Athletic. Unfortunately it was a rather turgid affair that ended goalless and that was down to keeper Mark Ridgers who made two fantastic late saves to deny Nikolay Todorov and Craig Wighton who could have taken the points as the Pars looked to get their season up and running. As it was, it ended all square with Inverness remaining top and Dunfermline staying bottom.

Michael Gardyne missed out again as Aaron Doran made his 300th appearance for the Caley Jags. Unfortunately his day was terminated at the interval as The Pars dished out some strong arm tactics, especially in the first half which saw Doran replaced by Harper and Shane Sutherland replaced by Billy Mckay ten minutes before the break. Dunfermline had Fon Williams, Kai Kennedy and Nikolay Todorov on from the start as they went searching for their first win of the season.

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From BBC Sport:

Dunfermline Athletic manager Peter Grant: "We've had a tough few weeks with Covid and the results and it's not easy to keep going and keep fighting and they showed the spirit that I know they have."

Inverness CT manager Billy Dodds: "It was going to be a battle, I knew they would work hard, I thought we were decent first half and they had the best chance second half. There weren't a lot of great chances in the game, I think a draw was a fair result but we had to battle for it."

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Shane Sutherland saw an effort saved by Fon Williams fifteen minutes in as Inverness made the better start to the game and Mark Ridgers thwarted Nikolay Todorov as the hosts responded.

Clear cut chances were at a premium in a dour first half with neither side really catching the eye.

The most disappointing aspect of a poor first half was injuries to Sutherland and Doran.

Half Time 0-0

After the interval with neither side able to capitalise on some promising build up play the hosts gradually began to assert themselves on the ball and chances were being created.

Inverness were looking more vulnerable as the game opened out and offered little clear threat in front of goal, snatching at shots and heading wide without forcing Fon Williams to make a meaningful save.

The same could not be said of Mark Ridgers who defied the odds to palm away a fierce diving header from Todorov from point blank range and pounced on the loose ball to deny a certain goal. He then beat away another shot from Craig Wighton as the game entered time added on, these two saves earning him his fifth clean sheet of the Championship.

Dunfermline looked a much better side than their recent form had indicated and could easily have taken all three points at the end but for MotM Mark Ridgers who denied them access to his goal.

Unfortunately Inverness also looked like they were in a false position at the top of the league as they struggled to impose themselves on the game. Maybe the two first half injuries hindered us somewhat, but in truth, we were not convincing from the start and will feel it's a point gained, and not two points lost.

Still top of the league by one point despite Killie closing the gap after beating Partick Thistle and the Smokies still breezing along nicely in third only three points behind the leaders.

Queen of the South come North next week with Hamilton Accies to follow. Bring it on.

Match report written by tm4tj



Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Inverness CT 6 5 1 0 7 1 6 16
2. Kilmarnock 6 5 0 1 8 1 7 15
3. Arbroath 6 4 1 1 14 4 10 13
4. Partick Thistle 6 3 0 3 11 10 1 9
5. Raith Rovers 5 2 1 2 7 6 1 7
6. Ayr United 6 2 1 3 7 8 -1 7
7. Queen of the South 6 2 0 4 7 10 -3 6
8. Morton 6 1 1 4 5 10 -5 4
9. Hamilton Academical 6 1 1 4 6 14 -8 4
10. Dunfermline 5 0 2 3 3 11 -8 2