Kyle Benedictus could hardly have given any more in the final home league match of the 2023-2024 season. The club captain scored the goal that gave Dunfermline the half time lead over Inverness Caley Thistle and then marshalled the defence to keep the Highlanders out as they tried to find a winner on the final quarter of an hour. He was disappointed not to win and send the fans home happy but everyone at KDM Group East End Park was relieved to earn the point that ensures Championship football next season:-
“We obviously wanted three points as it’s the last home game of the season in front of our fans. They’ve come out in numbers and backed us again and, on reflection, I think a draw was probably a fair result.
“Both teams took a wee while to get started, I think we took control first half but second half they were probably the better team. They’ve nothing to lose, they’re trying to get a winner and it’s a point at the end which keeps us in the league so we need to be happy in that respect.”
Unhappy that injury has restricted his performances this season to less than half his side’s matches, Kyle has now played all but 13 minutes of Dunfermline’s last eight games. He claimed that it was just good to be back. “Considering how many games of football I’ve missed this season, so I’m delighted and happy to get a goal too. They don’t come around very often so it’s nice to do that.”
The 32 year old defender was under pressure after picking up a yellow card in just the second minute of Saturday’s game.
“It’s one of those. I actually thought ‘I’ve got Billy McKay here’. I’m not the quickest but I thought I’ve got him here but he just got a toe on it. I knew it was a yellow card. There was a wee mix-up. That’s just the way I get, I just get angry on the pitch! They know I don’t mean it personally. It happens in football. I just need to be careful for the rest of the game.”
Kyle scored six goals last season but in his 18th appearance of the season, his 41st minute header was the first of this term. He recalled:-
“I’m sure it was Cammy Kerr that was marking me and I thought ‘I’ve got a bit of height on him’. The ball went back to Paul Allan, I just saw him and thought ‘He’s going to swing this. So I thought I’d run and see what happens’. It was a nice connection and it was good to get my first goal of the season. Nice just to keep us in the league and get a nice goal to top it off. Now we can all rest and just relax and next week we’ll be fine.”
The draw with Caley Thistle was made possible after Deniz Mehmet had made another penalty save early in the second half. It was his second save from Caley Thistle’s captain Billy McKay this season. Kyle praised his keeper:-
“Someone said that’s four in a row. I don’t think there’s many goalkeepers round the world who can say they’ve done that. Four penalties in a row he’s saved so congratulations to the big man. He’s been different class since he came to the club. He’s pulled off important saves so I’m delighted for him. He’ll be a happy man.”
Looking back on the season Kyle admits that it might have been a much happier season had the squad not been decimated by a thoroughly disruptive number of injuries:-
“There was a chance there to make the play-offs but, considering all that’s happened this season in terms of all the injuries, I just think the timing of the injuries has been terrible. Boys have been out for months, there have been games where we’ve had, maybe, fourteen players for nine games in a row or whatever it was. So you take all that into consideration. It’s nice to obviously confirm our status for next season but we always strive to be better.
“The manager’s work will never stop, that’ll be him preparing for next season now and he’ll want to bring bodies in who help by giving us that extra bit of quality to go and progress. So wherever we finish this season, we have to go and improve on that next season.”
With just the one match outstanding away to Ayr United next Friday night Kyle agreed that in some ways he is pleased to see the end of this season:-
“I think that’s the overriding emotion. It’s been a tough, tough season. The boys give everything, every week, but probably that quality has just not been there in certain games. The most important thing now, after we couldn’t get in the play-offs up the way, was to just stay in the league and that’s what we’ve done with a week to go. We just need to accept it.”
Match Report: 27/04/24 – Dunfermline 1 Inverness Caley Thistle 1
