Listen to this James McPake interview
“I’m really proud of that group of players. First half we weren’t at the levels we would expect to be. We have got high expectations when the group is strong and the players probably agreed with that. We asked them to go out and just give everything in the second half. Regardless of the result we wanted to go out and perform better, we did that.
“I would need to watch the game back but I think we deserved all three points in the end after that second half performance and I’m bemoaning those posts again. I have stood here a couple of times this season saying I don’t like the posts out there at all, they are stopping us scoring so many goals.
“To show the character to come back into the game and get the point, the feeling is of pride in that group because again they came back from a bit of adversity off the back of a poor second half last week as well. They took a knock with the goal going in but then they came back and showed that they are a right good side.”
Your team defended well in the first half to keep you in it. There was a couple cleared off the line?
“Yes absolutely and some excellent defending from Partick as well in the first half. I heard Brian Graham say there that he thought that it could be 3-3 or 4-4. I think it could have been that in the first half with two teams really going at each other.
“I think we started the game really well and had a couple of good chances early on. Then Partick troubled us like they do. Any time a team has Brian Graham in it, they are always a threat. I said it through the week, so it is not because he was here, he has scored in every game against us in the league this season. He has done it for years actually.
“I played with him when I was on loan at Morton when he was just a kid and I’ve followed his career. He is a proper striker and he got his goal today again. I don’t know if it went in from him or if it was deflected but he is just a handful. You know that there is always a threat. Any team that has a Brian Graham in it have always got a chance, you are going to have to defend. To limit him to only one goal is great but I think in the second half the difference was the goalposts.”
You have your own good striker in Chris Kane?
“I can’t talk highly enough of Chris Kane either. I said it last week but you can see why he has played in the Premier League for so long. You can see why he was such an important part of that really successful St Johnstone team. They did something that is really unthinkable in this country outwith Celtic and Rangers and won the domestic cup double. I watched it all and I know different people scored goals but for me Chris Kane was so important to that team.
“We are delighted that we could get him in here and he didn’t disappoint today again. He is a proper striker again. His all round game is fantastic and he is great to work with. For someone at that age as well he wants to be coached and still wants to get better. He feels that he has missed out and I can understand that because I missed a fair chunk of my career with injury.
“He missed a long spell with injury and now wants to catch up on those games that he has missed. He is the same everyday in training and when you put him on the pitch you know what you are going to get from him. The one thing that does annoy me a wee bit is when people say that he doesn’t score enough goals. It is not always about that but he has certainly shown he is scoring enough goals for us. He hit the post last week and scored a goal. He hit the post this week and still scores a goal. Some day it will all come good for him and I just hope it’s at Dunfermline.”
Asked if Chris Kane was the nominated penalty taker, James confirmed he was down to take them.
Match Report: 06/04/24 – Dunfermline 1 Partick Thistle 1
Winning 50/50 Number: Ticket 53660, winning a total of £568
