Dunfermline 0 Arbroath 3

cinch Championship: same again starting eleven for Pars. Rhys Breen (6og) 0-1: Michael McKenna (45) 0-2: Anton Dowds (81) 0-3:

The Boxing Day visitors to East End Park were Dick Campbell’s Arbroath. Having taken 34 points from the first half of the league season, the Red Lichties were proud league leaders at Christmas equal on points but four goals better off than second placed Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

Manager John Hughes named the same starting eleven that played in the abandoned match at Kilmarnock while Arbroath welcomed back Thomas O`Brien, and Michael McKenna who started in place of James Craigen and Bobby Linn. David Gold, Luke Donnelly and second choice keeper Calum Antell all made the bench. Their Assistant Manager Ian Campbell also returned but no Dick Campbell yet.

The match would be played in front of no fans due to Scottish Government Covid restrictions and the stadium was eerily quiet between the end of the warm up and teams emerging from the stands at either end of the ground. Chris Hamilton got the match underway with Arbroath attacking the goal at the McCathie Stand end.

Dunfermline continued their habit of conceding an early goal, this time in the sixth minute. Anton Dowds was sent down the left and his cross was deflected past Owain Fôn Williams by Rhys Breen finding the goal in the bottom right. 0-1

It was the 14th minute when Joel Nouble raced away from Mark Connolly but having been tracked by Graham Dorrans the Arbroath man fell over in the box but there were no appeals for a penalty. Dunfermline were passing the ball about with confidence but were finding the visitors defence hard to penetrate. A 17th minute free kick was launched into the Arbroath box from the right side by Josh Edwards but it was Chris Hamilton who scurried away up the right wing as a result. Matthew Todd covered back but a cross could not be prevented and thankfully no damage resulted from that.

First Pars shot on target came midway through the first half when Edwards cut in from the left and sent a low right footed effort in from 22 yards out that Derek Gaston dropped to his left to hold. Two minutes later Dowds was wide left again but his cross was glanced wide right by Henderson.

Arbroath were content to allow the Fifers to play the ball across the back four but when Connolly, Dorrans and Breen tried to find a pass forward they were continually confronted by two strings of maroon shirted players stretching across the park.

Next Dunfermline shot came in 33 minutes when Dorrans took on his man and made ground to release a left footed shot from 20 yards out that unfortunately cleared the bar. The Angus side looked dangerous on the break and Scott Stewart put Fôn Williams under pressure but he booted away the problem.

Four minutes from the break a ball lifted through by Dorrans created a chance for Todd to shoot from an acute angle from the left. His effort was deflected into the sidenetting and although two corners followed Dunfermline were penalised for pushing at the second and there would be no change to the scoreline.

Instead it was Arbroath who would find the net in the final minute of the half, Dowds laid the ball off to McKENNA some 20 yards out and their top goal scored sent a screamer past Fon Williams to give the visitors a two goal advantage at half time.

For all their possession Dunfermline went in with a lot to do in the second half.

Half time: Dunfermline 0 Arbroath 2

The second half was just in its third minute when a Wighton cross was met by Comrie, Henderson got the block in and McCann followed up but his effort was deflected over and only a corner was the outcome. Dorrans eventually got the opportunity to shoot when the ball was delivered in from the right but his attempt went well wide.

Connolly collected a 57th minute yellow card in stopping Dowds on the right side of his box and when McKenna rifled a low drive into the six yard box Fon Williams pulled off a good save to end the danger. The management gave it five more minutes before introducing two subs - Kevin O’Hara and Kai Kennedy coming on for Craig Wighton and Matty Todd.

Paul Allan flighted a 68th minute free kick in from the left but all too easy for the Lichties defence to head clear. Then Kennedy played the ball through Dow to O’Hara. The former Alloa man tried a shot but it was blocked.

There was a promising move in 76 minutes when Kennedy picked out Comrie on the right and he found Dow who whipped over a cross that was defended out for Allan to launch a shot on target that was blocked. Two more minutes past before a Comrie cross saw McCann glance a header wide left.

Next O’Hara made a good run to get on the end of a Dow pass but could only force a corner on the right. That from Edwards was followed by one from Allan from the left side but the defence mopped up with ease. Then Nouble’s break saw him make ground down the right channel to tee up DOWDS for an 81st minute goal. 0-3

In the end Arbroath had demonstrated why they are top of the cinch Championship. Their win took them three points clear of second placed Inverness Caledonian Thistle who were not in action. As for Dunfermline they remain ninth with another tough game coming up next against Caley Thistle.

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