Dunfermline Athletic

Pressure important for O'Brien

Monday, 19th Mar 2007

"We know what we have to do, draws are not any good to us.

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"We know what it's like to win but the boys in the dressing room were absolutely buzzing. With our second half performance I think we deserved it. There is a long way to go and we need to make that a foundation to build on. Hopefully we can kick on from here and do it in the next few weeks.

"It is a familiar feeling since I have been at Dunfermline - going behind. The boys showed excellent character; we started the match so good. In the first five, ten minutes we had them on the ropes a bit and had them sweating but they are a good side and their record at home is unbelievable.

"We just tried to keep plugging away. We got to half time 1-0 but we knew that we weren't out of it."

The second half was just over two minutes old when Jim's cross was driven home for the equaliser by Stephen Glass:-

"I cannot take complete credit for that, it was a great throw in from Greg (Ross). We have been playing together for a while now and we responded that way. We are on the same wavelength and I just cut it back and Stevie Glass has caught it as sweet as a nut."

The equaliser early in the second half left plenty time for the Pars to find a way to win the game:-

"We know what we have to do, draws are not any good to us. To keep the pressure on St Mirren we need to win. It showed that last week when they were delighted with a draw and it wasn't good enough for us. We hope to kick on from here now."

Stephen Kenny has relied on the speed and delivery from his wingers Adam Hammill and Jim. The on loan Celtic player appears to be enjoying the taste of regular first team football:-

"The Manager has asked us to add a bit of pace to the team since January but at Inverness it was a total team performance. I thought Adam and I played well, but Jim McIntyre and Tam McManus upfront were brilliant as were Gary Mason and Stephen Glass. The back four, everybody - there wasn't a bad player on the park.

"Maybe the first half; we played OK but not to our full potential. The Manager gave us a wee talk at half time and we knew that we could go back out, enjoy it, just play and get the goals."

Dorus de Vries also had some words of wisdom for Jim at the break:-

"He was telling me to put balls in the box because it would put a bit of pressure on the other goalie. Dorus's handling was superb, he is a great goalkeeper."

What now? Can St Mirren be caught?

"Definitely, it always has been. We are not giving up. From a personal point of view, I am a Celtic player and I don't know when to say die. Nobody in the dressing room is giving up. The support up at Inverness was magnificent; they were great for us and we want to give something back to them.

"It keeps them sweating. We have still to play them again, for spells last week we played really well and looked as though we could break them down. They played for the draw but it was really important to take points on Saturday because they had no game and there are no games next week. They go into their next game without having played, it is good for us - we just need to get momentum going."

That momentum will certainly be assisted if Dunfermline can benefit from the margin decisions like Adam Hammill's penalty award at Inverness:-

"We have been hoping for a wee break all season and that has got us 3-1 up and a breather to get time to take the ball down and knock it about as we can do. It took the pressure off us a bit."

There was a penalty appeal at the other end immediately after that when Scott Morrison took down Barry Wilson on the edge of the box:-

"It might have been inside but to be fair when Scott originally fouled him he was outside the box. Barry Wilson has done so well to break into the box but Scott just kept going. It was a free kick just outside the box. It was a break but that's what we have been asking for. The referee has done well today, that was his first game in the SPL he will do well."

Jim O'Brien will join the Republic of Ireland Under 21 squad for a match against Holland in Venlo on 27th March.



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