Dunfermline: James McPake aims to build on Dundee United win

The Pars produced an excellent show on Friday to night to bounce back from two successive defeats with a 3-1 victory over the league leaders, thanks to a Matty Todd strike and Kane Ritchie-Hosler's brace.

After the weekend's fixtures, Athletic are sixth in the Championship table, four points clear of second bottom Inverness Caledonian Thistle, and the same number behind fourth-placed Airdrieonians, albeit having played a game more.

The Diamonds jumped into the final Premiership promotion play-off spot at the weekend with a 5-2 win over bottom side Arbroath, above Greenock Morton, who the Pars visit next Saturday, after their 2-1 defeat at Partick Thistle.

Dunfermline were winners on their last visit to Cappielow in November, having won the first encounter between the teams this season at KDM Group East End Park, but suffered a 5-0 hammering at home to the 'Ton last month.

When asked post-match if his team can build on their United success, McPake replied: "If we keep those performances up.

"That was the message before the game. If the performance level is what it was at Stark's Park (in Dunfermline's 2-0 loss), and we just tidy up in our own box, and we actually take more shots on, we be more adventurous at the top end of the pitch, and we'll win the game. That was the message.

"We believe that level of performance, having played Dundee United before, if we had reached that level that we reached last week, but tidied up the things we spoke about, then we would've won the game.

Pars stars celebrate their third goal on Friday. (Image: Craig Brown.)

"It's all about the level of performance and the consistency of performance. If we keep doing that then, yeah, we can keep it going, but we know what this game's like.

READ MORE: On song Pars produce 'one of the best' season displays to dump leaders United

"You can be high one week, and then the next week you can have eight injuries and lose a game.

"We'll enjoy it tonight and we'll not think about next Saturday until tomorrow morning probably. That's what it does to you.

"We'll enjoy it tonight and then prepare for Morton next week."

Ahead of the game, McPake said he was enthusiastic about what his team could achieve when injuries to the squad began to clear up.

Todd and Ritchie-Hosler have returned in recent weeks, whilst skipper, Kyle Benedictus, returned against Rovers before playing again against United.

Sam Fisher also returned from injury as a substitute on Friday and, when it was put to him that the win was a great example of what the Pars squad are capable of, McPake replied: "I said straight after in the press to the BBC, and I don't like doing that, because I normally talk more nonsense than I usually do, but it's maybe only now I'll believe that the injuries have affected us more than they have.

"You say you never use it as an excuse, and I don't want to go down the route of using it as an excuse, but what you see in training every day, and I'll go back to the performance at Stark's last week as well - I thought it was decent.

"Raith were just more clinical than us in their box and that was the difference on the day. We had a lot of good play up there as well so, performance-wise, it's been good. In training, when you just see the levels of training, I think now, and watching that tonight, and you can see the ones that came on, and you're never worried.

"Making the change with Chris Hamilton at half-time, and I thought Hammy was outstanding in the first half, but I was just wary that he was one tackle away, or one bad decision away from a referee - and I'm not saying the decisions were bad - but something could've happened that we would've lost Hammy.

"Go back six weeks ago, we couldn't have done that. We would've just had to have hoped that Hammy got through the game. It takes a lot away from Chris' game as well. He was excellent first half, Paul was excellent second half.

"You can take Josh Edwards off and it's only now I'm a bit annoyed at that, but I'm happy because he's not injured. He'd just run himself into the ground, but he played every minute of every game, and I think he was desperate to continue that. But we've got protect him.

"The one I really feel for is Kane Ritchie-Hosler. You're taking the kid off on a hat-trick, but the important thing is we've got him now. He's back, he's playing well, and I thought he was excellent last week as well.

"Watching that game back, he was really effective last week. We saw how effective he was tonight. Again, just getting him off, not risking anything, and getting Matthew off in his 100th appearance for the club as well, which is a massive milestone for a young kid like Matthew, for your boyhood club.

"Going around all this is the fact I can now do that. I've got a squad that can do it. Yeah, the injuries now, looking at that and going through all that in my bit of a fried head at the minute, it's maybe an excuse I used more."