Jefferies upbeat but failure to win leaves Fifers on the brink

Thursday 3 May 2012

Relief for Terry Butcher and Inverness Caledonian Thistle but a creeping sense of doom for Dunfermline Athletic and Jim Jefferies.

Mark Kerr of Dunfermline and Inverness' Greg Tansey contest a header in a tense game. Picture: SNS

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Returning home from the Highlands with a point might have seemed reasonable reward at the start of the evening but Hibernian's win at Aberdeen suddenly shifted this to an opportunity missed.

Dunfermline's last chance? Not quite. The Fifers simply must win at Easter Road on Monday evening if they are to have any hope of preserving their Clydesdale Bank Premier League status. Five points adrift with two games to play, their predicament is bleak, especially given that Hibs' far better goal difference means that they would have to also lose their final game of the term in Inverness while the East End Park club take the points against Kilmarnock.

"It was important we didn't lose because we had to keep it alive," Jefferies said. "We know what we have to do, we have to go to Easter Road and get a victory and if we do we take it to the last game, they have got to come here."If you're looking for pluses, going three games undefeated, two of them away, the first time we have had clean sheets back to back. It just shows we are making a great effort. Credit to Hibs for getting a result, but it's not over. We know what we have to do, we just have to go for it."Inverness, conversely, can rest assured of their status after this draw. The hosts had the better of the game but missed a number of chances to secure their first home victory in eight games. Billy McKay came close to getting a touch on Aaron Doran's ball across the goalmouth after a good run from the Irishman in the early stages and that pattern was set for much of the contest.Chris Smith produced a good diving save to stop Steve Williams heading in Doran's corner and the Dunfermline goalkeeper then held McKay's 20-yard drive as his side were pinned back. Inverness then claimed for a penalty when Doran went down under the challenge of Austin McCann after the left-back misjudged a long ball. Butcher, still angry over Jonny Hayes' red card and a denied penalty claim at Kilmarnock at the weekend, had advocated the use of professional referees in his programme notes and he got no joy on this occasion from Stevie O'Reilly, who gave a goal kick.Dunfermline had been restricted to a weak David Graham effort from 25 yards but they had a decent chance in the 34th minute when Joe Cardle's cross found Hutton. However, the on-loan Rangers midfielder volleyed straight at Ryan Esson from 12 yards. Inverness had another scare soon after that when Jordan McMillan's powerful cross skimmed off Kenny Gillet's head and not far over his own crossbar.With Hibernian two goals up at half-time, there was need for more urgency from both teams after the interval and the game stepped up a gear but there was scant respite for Dunfermline. Doran passed up a chance to shoot from 12 yards before Graeme Shinnie failed to connect correctly with a volley.Inverness survived a couple of goalmouth scrambles and almost struck on the counter-attack. Greg Tansey's 50-yard pass got McKay round the side and he laid the ball back for Shinnie, but the midfielder scuffed the ball just wide from 18 yards. The pressure did not abate. Doran slid Tansey's driven ball just wide at full stretch after McKay had got in behind again. Jefferies brought Andrew Barrowman, Martin Hardie and Liam Buchanan as the visitors searched for a goal and they almost found one when Alex Keddie met Joe Cardle's inswinging free-kick but his header landed on the roof of the net.The unmarked Hardie had a great chance with 11 minutes left when a defensive header fell for him 18 yards out. The midfielder connected well with a half-volley but the shot was straight at Esson and the goalkeeper clung on to the ball at the second attempt."The objective was to keep a clean sheet and we knew if we did that we would be in the SPL next season," Butcher said. "It wasn't pretty and we had some great chances. We had opportunities we should have buried and almost got punished. The more the game goes on the more nervous you get but we had to make sure we got the point."

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Jefferies upbeat but failure to win leaves Fifers on the brink

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