Manager Post Cowdenbeath

11/08/12: JJ - "We got ourselves in front having not played well.

MATCH PICTURES
Jim Jefferies felt that his team did not play particularly well in the first half but went in at the break in the lead:-

"I thought we started looking alright and then the last five minutes of the first half were alright because we scored and we threatened to do a wee bit more but in between wasn't good enough. The players on both sides found the pitch long and sticky; finding it difficult to pass the ball. 

"Whether that was on purpose or whether it was just because of the time of year I do not know.  I have done that before ahead of games where you leave it a bit longer. We spend a lot of time passing in training and the boys were finding it difficult.

"Having said that Cowdenbeath played it forward early, but they didn't control it better than we did. We had a lot of opportunities to break but gave the ball away rather than getting the ball down and passing it. There were a lot of times when our second touch was a tackle when we lost control of it.  They were maybe uptight a wee bit.

"We got ourselves in front having not played well and we said at half time that we had not played well. 'Lets get into the second half and take the game to them.' The breeze was a wee bit more in our favour and then we got a great ball in from a corner and punished them.

"Then I think we just relaxed and started to boss it a wee bit more.  We were a lot more clinical than Cowdenbeath and I have seen that coming in the two or three pre season games that we have had.  We have made chances and not taken them so I told them before the game today that maybe we had been saving them up.

"It was a good start for us result wise and a good second half performance but what is really encouraging for me is that I think that they can do a lot better - they will have to do a lot better because with no disrespect to Cowdenbeath, we will meet teams which will be much tougher opponents where we will have to do the right things.

"After a result like that there are a lot of positives and the good news for everybody is that this team will get better. They can play better and will probably play better and not win 4-0, that is the nature of football.  Right now given a difficult place to go to on the first day of the season, with the unfurling of the flag, the challenge and a new team being bedded in - if you had given me a 4-0 result I would have taken your hand off.  The players have done great with two fantastic goals - third and fourth - to finish off a better second half display than we managed in the first half."