Pars strikers can dazzle Diamonds
Friday, 26th Aug 2022JE:- “I have no doubt in my mind that the boys upfront will start to put them in the goal.”
Pars defender Josh Edwards made 39 appearances for Airdrieonians before joining Dunfermline in the summer of 2019. This Saturday will be the first time that he has played against his former club and the 22 year old is looking forward to the match:-
“Obviously that is where I came through and they gave me the platform to go and become a professional footballer. I am grateful to the club but I have a job to do for Dunfermline and that’s what I plan to do on Saturday.”
Manager James McPake expects the top of the table North Lanarkshire side to provide a different type of opponent and Josh agreed:-
“They will definitely come here with hopes of winning. They won’t maybe come here to frustrate us in the way other teams have. Airdrie are a very good team, they have been in the play off finals two years running so they know what they are doing and we know what they are capable of. If we are not at it they definitely have a chance of beating us.
“Going forward it might open some more opportunities for me but at the same time it might leave myself more chance of getting done on the flip side of them going forward if I’m caught out of position. I’m going to have to be smart about it at the weekend.”
Josh has played every minute of every Dunfermline match this season and recalling his Airdrie experience predicted that the top of the table clash would attract a sizeable travelling support that will create a good atmosphere in the ground:
“It is really early in the season and we cannot look too far ahead but at the minute they are the closest team to us and it would be good to get one over on them and beat them.
“I remember when at Airdrie we drew Celtic in the cup and we took a huge following to Celtic Park. I’d imagine there will be more of the same at the weekend. I assume they view this as a big game for them and I’m sure that they will be out in their numbers to come and support Airdrie.
“We have a job to do to hopefully silence them and win the game in front of our own fans.”
Josh could be up against two opposition forwards that were team mates when he moved from Airdrie to Dunfermline - Callum Smith and Gabby McGill. That only strengthened the Pars left back’s belief that Saturday’s match will be a tough test:-
“We are under no illusion that we are going to walk all over them. We know that it is going to be one of our hardest games yet this season, so we are going to be ready come Saturday.”
Clean sheets have been a success for the defence but with chances going a begging Josh is convinced that it’s only a matter of time before the goals start going in at the other end. He reflected on the goalless draw at New Central Park last time out:-
“We weren’t at our best but at the end of the day it was a clean sheet away from home. You would take that but we just didn’t take our chances and it cost us in the end.
“Overall it has still been a fairly good start, if you had told me as a defender that you would get four clean sheets in your first four league games I would obviously take that at the start of the season.
“We have four strikers and eventually we are going to score goals. I don’t think that is going to be a problem, the goals will come. I was putting in crosses and so was Kyle Macdonald from the other side and I have no doubt in my mind that the boys upfront will start to put them in the goal.”
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