Dunfermline 2 Hibernian 2

Dunfermline continued their poor defensive record at home this season but managed to come from two goals behind to salvage a point. It was a case of poor defending, as opposed to devastating attacking play, which brought about the four goals in this match.

Dunfermline made one change to the side that lost 3-2 away to Kilmarnock last week, replacing the injured Craig Easton with youth academy product Ryan Thomson. For the first time this season, Jim McIntyre chose to go with 4-1-4-1 at home – his preferred formation away from home – abandoning his usual 4-4-2.

Colin Calderwood welcomed former-Hearts assistant Billy Brown to his dugout for the first time and stuck with the 4-4-2 used in recent weeks. Callum Booth returned at left-back in place of the injured Ian Murray and Leigh Griffiths was given his first start at the expense of Junior Agogo.

The only difference in terms of shape was to move Ivan Sproule over to the left and Martin Scott to the right. With only one natural winger, this gave the Hibernian midfield a lopsided shape similar to that used by Neil Lennon’s Celtic.

The initial strategies of the sides were in stark contrast to one another. Whereas the home side looked to build from the back and work the ball through midfield, where they had a man advantage, Hibernian looked to hit the forwards quickly with long balls.

With the pace of Griffiths and Sproule up against the slow back four of Dunfermline, a better strategy would surely have been to retain possession, tempt their opponents out and then exploit the space in behind. However, when Hibernian’s play did eventually settle and they attempted to play the ball from the back themselves, they looked short of options and would eventually revert back to long, direct passes.

Hibernian’s left-hand side

Readers of this blog will be aware that Hibernian have been particularly vulnerable down their left side this season and today was no different. The Dunfermline manager obviously identified this as a potential weakness but rather than double up on the off-form Booth, his strategy was to instruct Danny Graham to drift into central areas, both with and without the ball, luring Booth out of position and using Jason Thomson on the overlap.

Even though none of the Dunfermline goals came directly from this side, they created a number of chances from this area that should have led to goals. To mention just two, Jason Thomson hit the side netting midway through the first half when he should have cut the ball back for a tap-in and Graham should have taken a shot at goal rather than cut it back, when he found himself in-behind Booth.

Again, I do not wish to single out Booth, he wasn’t helped much by Sproule - who failed to track back on a few occasions - but it was another poor performance from the young left-back.

Graham drifting into the centre of the pitch was a key feature of Dunfermline’s attacking play, which overloaded the centre of the pitch to the home side’s advantage. He weaved in and out of the Hibernian midfield consistently which should have earned him the man-of-the-match award – strangely, it was awarded to Ryan Thomson, who played well but was nowhere near the best player on the pitch.

Hibernian took the lead late-on in an even first half – both sides had their spells of possession and dominance – when Sproule finished off a quick move after a Richie Towell throw-in. The goal was very well taken but was indicative of the poor defending Dunfermline have displayed this season.

Second half

Hibernian emerged from the break in a 4-3-3 formation with Scott now in central midfield, rather than tucked in on the right side, and Griffiths moving over to the right of an attacking trident.

The switch appeared to suit the away side as they now matched Dunfermline man-for-man in the centre of the pitch and, further, it led to Garry O’Connor and Griffiths combining for the first time in the match.

The pair linked up minutes after the restart to force Paul Gallacher into a smart save and they combined once more to give Hibernian a two-goal lead after fifty-one minutes. Griffiths flicked a long punt from Graham Stack on to O’Connor and the former-Birmingham striker was afforded too much space to turn and unleash a deflected strike towards goal.

Hibernian’s two-goal advantage lasted all of fourteen seconds, however, as Graham was again allowed to drift inside, collect the ball and drive towards goal. His through ball was collected by Ryan Thomson, after Paul Hanlon lamely allowed the ball to simply bounce off him, and he knocked the ball past the advancing Stack.


Calderwood’s substitutions

After a brief feeling of comfort, the match was now Hibernian’s to throw away.

This was not helped by Calderwood’s strange choice of substitutions on the hour mark. It was not so much the players that were withdrawn but the players that were introduced and the resultant switch back to a 4-4-2 that was their downfall. O’Connor, possibly due to a knock sustained when challenged by Gallacher, and Griffiths, who is short of match-fitness, were taken off and replaced by Agogo and Akpo Sodje.

From then on Hibernian, again, found themselves a man short in the centre of the pitch and, as well as this, were now impotent in attack. Alex Keddie and Andy Dowie dealt far more comfortably with the two stocky strikers than they had with Griffiths and O’Connor.

Thus, it was no surprise when Dunfermline equalised through a Paul Hanlon own goal. Joe Cardle cut in from the left and saw his shot saved by Stack, but the ball fell to Jason Thomson in the box and his cross/miscued shot was knocked into his own net by the hapless defender.

Dunfermline continued to pile on the pressure but were unable to find a winner.

Conclusion

Today was a case of previous trends continuing to occur, for both sides.

The left side of Hibernian continues to be an issue, as does their manager’s apparent lack of a coherent strategy. His move to a 4-3-3 at the beginning of the second half looked to have won the game for his side but the introduction of Sodje and Agogo and subsequent move back to a 4-4-2 contributed to their capitulation.

Dunfermline have now conceded nine goals in four home matches, which goes a long way to explaining why their only victories have come away from home. Nonetheless, McIntyre deserves some credit for the way his side have applied themselves at the other end of the pitch. Two goals today takes their total goals at home to seven and, furthermore, their industrious midfield allows Cardle and Graham to join in attacks. On this form the pair will cause problems for most SPL defences they face.

However, as McIntyre himself has pointed out, he cannot expect his forwards to score four goals every encounter in order to win matches.

Dunfermline 0 St. Mirren 0

Dunfermline marked their return to the SPL with a 0-0 draw at home to St. Mirren.  Jim McIntyre lined up his side in a 4-4-2 formation with David Graham and Joe Cardle flanking Martin Hardie and Gary Mason in midfield.  Jason Thomson made his debut at right-back after a loan move from Hearts and John Potter and Paul Gallacher both made their second debuts for the club against their most recent previous employers.  Steven McDougall was preferred to Andy Barrowman in attack.

Danny Lennon gave debuts to Steven Thompson, Gary Teale, Jeroen Tesselaar and Nigel Hasselbaink.  Their formation was somewhere between a 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 depending on the position of Paul McGowan.  Teale and Hasselbaink began on the wings and switched regularly throughout the match.  Jim Goodwin patrolled the area in front of the back four, allowing the St. Mirren full-backs the licence to push on.

St. Mirren dominate

St. Mirren completely dominated the first half, doing everything right except find the net.  In an interview before the match, Lennon expressed his willingness to instil a passing approach, pointing out that he had signed players who are comfortable in possession.  This approach was evident throughout the match as St. Mirren routinely passed it out form the back and kept possession well.  Hasselbaink, McGowan and Teale were all finding space between the lines and the away side really should have done better with a few early opportunities, especially given how shaky Gallacher was looking in the Dunfermline goal.

To add to their frustration, Thompson passed up the opportunity to open his account with his new club when Gallacher denied him from the spot but despite their inability to score, St. Mirren can be pleased with their overall performance.  David van Zanten and Tesselaar got forward to support attacks and the movement of the front four was superb: Thompson would often pull deep and wide, Hasselbaink would cut in from whatever wing he found himself on, Teale would look to drop deep to collect the ball and McGowan was given something of a free role.

St. Mirren not only dominated possession, they worked so hard off the ball that they stopped Dunfermline from building any momentum.   Hasselbaink and Teale were quick to close down the Dunfermline full-backs, who were rushed into direct passes down the channels, almost all of which were inaccurate.  Other than this, the home side’s only strategy was for the goalkeeper to hit Hardie with long balls.

It was perhaps surprising that Dunfermline manager Jim McIntyre decided to set up in a 4-4-2 formation.  He too articulated his intention to retain a passing approach in an interview during the close season.  However, the fact that he chose to go with two banks of four and two strikers, therefore conceding the midfield battle, suggests that his strategy, initially at least, was to soak up pressure and hopefully catch their opponents on the break.

Their set up in opposition to St. Mirren’s meant that they were met with the classic problem of the 4-4-2 versus a three men central midfield: a man disadvantage in the centre of the pitch.  The fact that neither of Dunfermline’s strikers looked to drop deep and help out only perpetuated the problem.  Further, the presence of Hasselbaink and Teale pushed high up the pitch meant that the Dunfermline full-backs could not advance and help out the midfield as much as they’d like to.

As the half progressed Dunfermline became deeper and deeper as a unit and whenever they regained possession they struggled to find any sort of out-ball.  This, again, was partly due to how hard St. Mirren worked off the ball.

Dunfermline’s second half changes

The second half continued in much the same vein as the first, St. Mirren dominating possession but struggling to find the net.  They came close through efforts from Teale and Thomson early in the second half but struggled to create anything clear-cut after that.

As the half wore on it seemed that St. Mirren were beginning to run out of steam and McIntyre responded by making a few substitutions.  The first change was to bring on Barrowman for the ineffective McDougall, a straight swap which did little to change their set-up.

With around twenty-five minutes remaining, McIntyre then introduced Paul Burns for Graham, which at first seemed like it may have been another straight swap but in actual fact, Burns positioned himself closer to the centre circle than Graham had, and with Jason Thomson now pushing on from right-back, this meant Dunfermline were now effectively matching up 3v3 in the centre of midfield.

McIntyre now sensed that his side could potentially snatch the victory and made his final change, withdrawing Andy Kirk in favour of Ryan Thomson, another holding midfielder.  This meant that Dunfermline were now lined up 4-2-3-1 and this coupled with St. Mirren’s growing lethargy (it was surprising that Lennon made no substitutions at all) meant that Dunfermline enjoyed their best spell of the match.

Conclusion

Dunfermline were completely outplayed in this match until McIntyre switched their formation and matched St. Mirren man-for-man in the centre of the pitch.  It is surprising that this wasn’t noticed and responded to earlier but, as alluded to earlier, perhaps the strategy was to hold a deep defensive line, remain compact and then go for the victory late on.

If so then it is a very risky strategy to say the least.  St. Mirren carved out many opportunities and should have had the lead through Thompson’s penalty kick.

St. Mirren were very unlucky not to win and if last night’s performance is anything to go by then they will likely achieve their highest finish since their return to the SPL.  Lennon has brought some exciting attacking talent to the club.  Thompson looks an excellent signing despite his penalty miss and his height, strength and first touch looks like it will be complimented nicely by the pace (with the exception of Teale) and trickery of the three just behind him.  The real test for St. Mirren will be how their defence and goalkeeper cope against better opposition.

Season Preview: How will newly-promoted Dunfermline fare in the SPL?

The upcoming SPL campaign will see Dunfermline Athletic make their return after a four year absence.  The Pars deservedly won promotion after spending the vast majority of the season in the top two positions of the First Division, before hitting a rich vein of form in the closing months.  In the end they finished ten points clear, only lost one home match all season and accumulated more points away from home than anyone else.

As we have seen in the most recent SPL campaign, the promoted side can often catch the other teams unaware and string together an impressive run of results, which, given that there is only one relegation spot, can all but ensure SPL survival going into the second half of the season, even when the side inevitably hits a poor run of form.

The team referred to are of course Inverness Caledonian Thistle who, under Terry Butcher, continued their impressive unbeaten away record, stretching it over an entire calendar year which included coming from two goals behind to draw at Celtic Park.  When this type of scenario unfolds, it is usually down to the side carrying on the form and confidence, harbouring that winning mentality, that got them promoted in the first place.  If Dunfermline can maintain their form from the tail end of last season and carry it into the new season in the same way Inverness managed to, they will be certain to avoid the drop.

Relatedly, something may also be said for sticking to the same system and strategy that brought about promotion.  In recent English Premier League seasons, newly-promoted Burnley, and latterly Blackpool, have shown that sticking to the same enterprising football that earned promotion, as opposed to reverting to a more solid, defensive strategy, can reap rewards.  Both sides were eventually relegated in their maiden season in the Premiership, however, both enjoyed a terrific first half to their respective seasons and did not learn their fate until the final day.  Furthermore, even though both were relegated it should be noted that they had three relegation spots to avoid to the SPL’s one.

The converse, also apparent in recent SPL campaigns, is for a side to struggle initially but then slowly find their feet, hit a decent run of form at a certain point in the season and avoid relegation relatively comfortably.  Despite winning three of their first five matches on their return to the SPL, a run of only one win in thirteen saw Hamilton rooted to the bottom of the table by the end of November in the 2008/09 season.  The Lanarkshire side then embarked on a string of results which saw them win six of their next eight matches which ultimately saved them from the drop.  A similar example can be found with Derek McIness’s St. Johnstone who, in the 2009/10 season, managed only one win in their first nine before hitting a run which saw them lose only three matches between December and March.

Not since Gretna in the 2007/08 season have a side won promotion and then instantly been relegated again.  Since then Hamilton, St. Johnstone and Inverness have all survived their first year in Scotland’s top flight.

So it remains to be seen whether Dunfermline will be able to carry their momentum from last season or whether they will struggle initially, heaping on the pressure to start finding results from somewhere.  One thing is for sure, they already have a huge amount of SPL experience amongst their ranks.  Of last season’s contingent, Andy Kirk, Chris Smith, Austin McCann, Kevin Rutkiewicz, Calum Woods, David Graham and Martin Hardie have all had spells in the top flight, while summer recruits Paul Gallacher and John Potter have a wealth of SPL experience between them.

Tactics

I would love to be able explain theformations and strategies employed by Dunfermline manager Jim McIntyre last season but unfortunately I didn’t get to see them play.  Instead I will extrapolate what I can from the reports from John Maxwell’s wonderful Ross County Tactics website.  

Dunfermline 3 Ross County 2 16.10.10

In this match, Dunfermline lined up 4-4-2 with one winger, Willy Gibson - who has since been sold to Crawley Town – higher up the pitch that the other, Joe Cardle.  The home side were allowed to build from the back but lacked anyone from midfield to drop deep and aid the transitions to attack.  This was due to the two central midfield players, Steven Bell and Gary Mason, pushing on simultaneously which meant that, when out of possession, Ross County’s Michael Gardyne was able to exploit the space left between the lines. 

Dunfermline will not get away with this in the SPL.  All the top sides, and most of the others, have players that play in this area and capitalise on any space found there.  You only have to look at the scoring records of the likes of Steven Naismith, Kris Commons and Rudi Skacel over the past season, as well as the performances of Alexi Eremenko and Danny Swanson for this to become apparent.

Another interesting feature of this match was Andy Kirk’s tendency to drift left during counter attacks, to receive the ball and cross towards the back post, which brought about two goals.  Dunfermline will likely play on the counter attack when away from home, something Inverness Caley Thistle managed to great effect last season, and clever off-the-ball movement will be key to capitalising on these.

Ross County 0 Dunfermline 0 22.02.11
 
Here, Dunfermline did switch to a central-midfield-three with two wingers pushed high against the Ross 
County full-backs, making them rush their passes while in possession.  This approach is certainly effective when executed well although carries major risks.  If the team fails to remain compact, that is, if there is too much of a distance between the defence and attack then this will inevitably leave space, either between defence and midfield or midfield and attack, that can be taken advantage of by the opponents.  However, even if a side is to remain compact, meaning they now are holding a high defensive line, then they will become vulnerable to the pace of some SPL attacks.  Throughout these three reports, John Maxwell refers to the Dunfermline defence as “immobile”.  If this is the case, then they will without doubt be punished by the more pacey attacks in the SPL.

Mason was, for the most part, the spare man in midfield and was afforded time on the ball and allowed to dictate the play.  He and his teammates would form triangles around the County midfield, which allowed the Pars to bypass the home side’s midfield easily.  Gardyne found himself higher up the pitch than the last meeting between the sides, which is strange since playing in his usual central attacking midfield role would have meant he could have kept tabs on Mason and thus negate Dunfermline’s man advantage in the centre of the pitch.

Most sides in the SPL now play with at least three central midfielders, usually in the form of one central attacking midfielder along with two holders, meaning that Mason will likely not be afforded this amount of time on the ball, or else will have his own direct opponent to track.

Ross County 0 Dunfermline 1 29.03.11

For the final meeting between the sides last season, McIntyre again changed his formation, this time to a 4-2-3-1 with two holding midfielders that allowed the attacking four of Liam Buchanan, Martin Hardie, Joe Cardle and Steven McDougall licence to attack.

Of the two holders, one was always spare which was likely due to the presence of Hardie just off Buchanan in attack.  Yet again, the positioning of the two wingers high up the pitch pinned the Ross County full-backs back and caused them to rush when in possession.

Towards the end of the match, with the score still 0-0, McIntyre decided to move to a 4-2-4 and was eventually rewarded when Hardie nodded in the winner in the last minute.  A similar attacking move was made towards the end of the 0-0 draw between the sides earlier in the season, only this time it failed as it negated their man advantage in midfield and, as a result, they struggled to create any more chances.  Make of that what you will: Is McIntyre brave or tactically naïve?

Conclusion

This is obviously a very small sample but it allows us to draw at least some provisional conclusions.  Firstly, of the three matches reported, Dunfermline have employed a different system each time even though Ross County have stuck with more-or-less the same 4-4-1-1 formation in each of the matches.  This suggests tactical flexibility and a willingness to chop and change things.  It is also notable that of the three matches mentioned above, Dunfermline drew once and were victorious in the other two, meaning that, overall, the changes were effective.

One of the few constants that can be identified is that McIntyre likes to play with a winger on each side.  As well as this, the Dunfermline manager admitted that “Passing the ball is the one thing Dunfermline have been renowned for”, adding that “we’ll always try to pass the ball, we don’t bang it long…that won’t change.”  Even if a passing approach is retained, it will be interesting to see whether they stick to having two out-and-out wingers in their side.

It would also appear that the apparent weakness from these matches is the lack of pace at the back.  Maxwell refers to the Dunfermline defence as “immobile” on a few occasions which, coupled with the willingness to press opponents high up the pitch, means that they may face the dilemma of pressing high and being vulnerable to attacks with pace, or else keep a deeper defensive line and leave space between the lines.

All this depends on what approach McIntyre decides to adopt.  He has stressed his willingness to retain a passing approach but this does not necessarily imply an attacking approach.  A deeper defensive line and a counter attacking strategy could potentially serve them well.  Whatever initial approach the SPL new boys adopt, their manager has shown a tactical flexibility that could serve him well in his inaugural season as an SPL manager.