Managers Post Aberdeen

26/11/11: JM - "We are giving free headers, a mistimed jump for the second Aberdeen goal and then a throw in for the third goal.

MATCH PICTURES
Dunfermline manager Jim McIntyre was left gutted after his side let Aberdeen come back from 3-1 to draw 3-3. He said:

"We had the game in the grasp of our hands and we've contrived to throw it away. That's exactly what we have done. We showed magnificent application and attitude to get ourselves into a commanding 3-1 lead and should have made it four. Sixty seconds later they get a goal back through our own inept defending.

"Our concentration levels today in terms of defending setpieces were poor and we've been done again. There is no way that we should have to be scoring three goals at home to get one point.

"Football at this level is ruthless, but I'm like a broken record: we're not doing the basics well. We are giving free headers, a mistimed jump for the second Aberdeen goal and then a throw in for the third goal. This is all basic stuff and until we do the basics then we will struggle to win games.

"It is nothing to do with coaching, it is concentration and doing your job. You are assigned a man before the game; you do your job, pick him up and don't let him get a free header. If you don't do that then you are going to struggle. Giving people free headers from four yards you are going to lose goals.

"I can't fault their commitment or effort but what we need to do is concentrate far far more than we are doing at these situation because it has been our undoing. That comes from the individual."

Maybe they missed out on their first home win of the season but on the positive side his team did score three goals. The gaffer claimed that his side would always score goals:-

"I am confident that we will always score going forward. There are a lot of teams who maybe struggle with that side of it but that's one thing that we don't. The positive is how we reacted right on the stroke of half time. I cannot praise them enough because for 35 minutes we were magnificent in the second half but for ten minutes we collapsed. That's the story of the game.

"The game should have been dead and buried at 4-1. Even missing that but at 3-1 we need to show a lot more nous in seeing the game out. I am saying nous because it is basics and concentration levels that let us down today. That happened on three occasions and good teams will punish you."

The miss by Barrowman that could have made it 4-1 was in the Manager's opinion a good save by David Gonzalez:-

"It was a good save from the keeper but he should have scored. When you are five yards out you have got to put the ball away. He knows that but he was excellent for us today. Andrew Barrowman did really well, I was pleased with his performance and you know - we all miss chances."

Macca was delighted that Martin Hardie and Nick Phinn were both available and back in the squad:-

"You can see that they are both short of match time. Nicky was out on his feet there and he was only on twenty minutes which is generally the way it is when you have not played any bounce games or whatever. We just felt that he looked sharp in training and it would be good to have him back."

Paul Willis left the field to a standing ovation and his Manager praised his contribution:-

"He has fabulous deliveries as you saw at the goal and he is a boy with great potential. he has got to keep working hard but I just felt that he was getting a bit overrun on the left hand side and that's why we made the change there as well. It was just a wee bit of tiredness and you have got to remember that's the third game in a week for him as well.

"It was a fantastic ball to David Graham and a great finish from him; a great strike from the edge of the box."

Aberdeen boss Craig Brown credited Dunfermline for their goals but felt that they should never have been conceded:-