WELCOME to the real world of management seemed to be the message for Jim McIntyre yesterday as he suffered his first defeat in his new role at East End Park.
ST JOHNSTONE 1 Jackson 44
DUNFERMLINE 0
Until now the Dunfermline manager has had the rather surreal experience of coaching an unbeaten side in seven games since the beginning of December.
And yesterday they started as if they meant to cont
inue this rich reign of form as Jim Hamilton almost opened the scoring in the second minute when he tried to lob Saints goalkeeper Alan Main from 25 yards out but his effort drifted just wide. However, it was his striking partner Mark Burchill who had the clearest opportunity when he won a penalty after Gary Irvine clipped him in the box. Burchill lined up for what would have been his 13th goal of the season but he leaned back and skied his left-foot shot high and wide over the bar.
Meanwhile, St Johnstone had begun to settle in and, just on half-time, they took the lead with a classic breakaway as a long ball from Kevin Rutkiewicz was flicked on by Steven Milne into the path of Andrew Jackson. The striker placed the ball past Gallacher as he came off his line, tucking it inside the post.
In the second half, Hamilton nearly equalised when he smacked a header against the bar. That was as close as Dunfermline were to come, however, and a tame affair descended into a bit of farce at the end when
Danny Murphy of Dunfermline and St Johnstone substitute Dyron Daal both received red cards for a stramash after the final whistle.
The full article contains 285 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
