Dunfermline v Khimki FC

Under 20s take on Second Division outfit from Russia

DUNFERMLINE ATHLETIC U20s 0 KHIMKI FC 2

The Pars U20s took on this Second Division Russian League team in Cyprus on Sunday 20th January while on their two week warm weather training programme through the Leonardo da Vinci Project.

It was an early start against Khimki FC`s first team . The match kicked off at 10.00am in the morning sunshine.  Stephen Wright reported:-

We played a 3-5-2 formation for the first time this season and the players adapted to this very well.  Khimki had 22 players to choose from so we knew this would be a stiff test for our young players, also the fact they were a Russian first team in the Second division.

Similar to the CSKA match two days previously we started the game very strongly and played the majority of the first 45 mins in their half and had numerous chances through Blair Henderson and Allan Smith up front.

Half Time: Dunfermline 0 Khimki 0

After the break Khimki changed their full team and looked more lively. Our formation once again worked very well with the changes we made at half time. We knew the players would tire and unfortunately we conceded two late goals in the last 5 minutes to lose the game.

John Potter said " Being away on this trip has given us the ideal opportunity to try out different formations and considering the quality of opposition and heat this morning the players were fantastic for the full 90 minutes. Losing two late goals was solely down to fatigue. First half we created many chances and were unlucky not to be ahead at the break, however overall it was a great test for our young players and once again we finished the match with four 16 year olds on the pitch playing against men".

After the morning game v Khimki the young Pars were guests at the highly charged game between Onorthosis Famagusta v Larnaca. It was a closely contested game finishing 0-0 with two red cards and plenty of goalmouth action. It was a unique cultural experience for the players as during the game it was fascinating to watch both sets of fanatical fans exchanging songs, fireworks and flares!   WEB ALBUM