Hearts lose out in Fife

East End Park on a breezy evening with the sun just thinking of going down and we have the Pars welcoming Hearts. Not the most packed ground for the friendly pre-season game and it was a tad chilly sitting in the main stand. However, the game warmed things up a bit and the breeze was soon forgotten.

Friendly at the start

Hearts made the better start and pressed from the off but it was the Pars who brought out the first save of the night. Just eight minutes in and Steven McDougall worked his way in from the right hand corner of the box between two visiting defenders and his stinging shot was pushed round the post by Jamie McDonald for a corner. However, Hearts were not about to let the First Division side have all the fun. Just four minutes later and it was the Hearts fans chance to applaud a good move which ended with Callum Elliot's curling shot aimed for the top corner just drifted a bit high a wide. Perhaps it was a sighting shot. Dunfermline were a bit more direct in their attacks and it was that man McDougall who made the next close call. Colin Woods drove at the Hearts defence which appears to be posted missing before he fed the ball into McDougall about 20 yards out. He moved in for the kill but with two colleagues screaming for the ball to be slid to them McDougall went for the far post. He beat McDonald but the ball beat the post. David Templeton was providing the most entertaining football on display from either side and he was a thorn in the Pars defence's right hand side.

The second half was just a minute old when the home side took the lead. Nick Phinn's shot from around ten yards on the right beat McDonald, hit the left hand post and into the net. Things did not get much better from then on. The goal livened up the home side and they became more direct in their play. The change in tactics paid off shortly after 10 minutes into the half when Pat Cardle popped up to beat McDonald again to make it two nil to the Pars. This was not going according to the Jim Jefferies plan. There always seemed to be too many players in black and white to crowd out and players in blue.

Cardle makes it three

It was not Hearts night really as that man Cardle made it 3-0 with another fine close range effort in the 65th minute. It seemed that whenever he decided to go for goal he got one. The Hearts attacks were inevitable snuffed out by a winning team who confidence allowed things to come off for them but not for the visitors. When the ball is sitting up nicely for a shot there appeared to be a Pars boot directly in front of it as the ball is struck. Typical was in the 78 minutes when Suso Santana beat the offside trap and raced into the box before drawing the keeper to him. He went past him and with an open goal he decided to slip the ball inside to on-rushing colleagues only for the ball to get caught up in a defenders legs and no matter what Hearts did the ball would not go into the net.  

Suso make a poor decision

However, with eight minutes to go Hearts got on the scoresheet. A cross from Templeton on the left found Elliot who managed to get a good header off and into the net. This did not stop Dunfermline from being the more dangerous and finally winning side.

Dunfermline:  Allison, Woods, McCann, Thomson, McGregor, Higgins, Willis, Phinn, McDougall, Clarke, Cardle
Subs: Mason, Dowie, Keddie, Kirk, Smith

Hearts: McDonald, Thomson, Jonsson, Mrowiec, Barr, Zaliukas, Arkivuo, Stevenson, Elliot, Obua. Templeton
Subs: Kello, Kucharski, Santana, Black. McGowan

Attendance: 2195

Referee: John McKendrick