Dunfermline prepare to play Kilmarnock in Betfred Cup

The Pars boss is set to take his team to Rugby Park tomorrow (Tuesday) evening for their third match in the competition and looking to build on victories over Dumbarton and Falkirk.

Captain Euan Murray's second half double gave Dunfermline a deserved victory over the Bairns in their televised clash on Friday, lifting them to the top of Group E in the process.

Their League One rivals had been awarded a 3-0 victory for their opener with Killie, who forfeited the tie after their first team squad had been placed in self-isolation for 14 days after the club returned six positive Coronavirus test results.

That isolation period is due to end this Friday but, although there has been no official confirmation as yet from the clubs or the SPFL, it is believed the Ayrshire side may have up to six senior players available, supplemented with members of their youth team.

Victory against the Premiership outfit would put Dunfermline on the cusp of reaching the last 16 for a fourth successive season and, speaking after the Falkirk match, Crawford commented: "The game's on as far as we're concerned. It's something we can't control.

"Whatever team Alex (Dyer, Killie manager) manages to put out we'll fully focus on the job in hand. It's brilliant we've managed two clean sheets and two victories, but it's not getting ahead of ourselves.

"I said after (last) Tuesday's game (at Dumbarton) that Kilmarnock have been back for months now. It's not an ideal situation they find themselves in but they will have to win the game against us to give themselves an opportunity. It's going to be a big ask for us, and again, we'll see with the medical staff where we are in terms of injuries.

"I don't really want to speak for Kilmarnock because I only think my responsibility is to look after Dunfermline. I do sympathise with them though because I think we'll face it at some point. I genuinely do.

"With mypassion for Scottish football, I want Scottish football to survive. I don't want to see Kilmarnock or whoever it is next that has to face this. I think we've got to stick together and be respectful that they're facing something that they probably don't want to as a club themselves.

"We've got to focus on our stuff."

His team were focused against their rivals from across the Kincardine Bridge as a dominant second half display secured three points.

Crawford's team began brightly too but, as the opening period wore on, the Bairns had opportunities themselves and had strong claims for a penalty waved away minutes before half-time.

Ben Hall's header from a corner appeared to strike Declan McManus' arm but, by and large, the Pars were solid defensively.

"I'm thankful that the board and chairman backed us to bring in what we brought in over the summer, but for as much as it's early days, I think you can with see Paul Watson and Euan Murray - I hate the word comfortable when you're talking about defenders - there's a connection there with them," Crawford continued.

"There's the potential there for a good partnership.

"The pleasing thing for me was the 15 minutes leading up to half-time when Falkirk got into the game. We actually found a way of not conceding a goal and that's the pleasing thing as a manager - if you don't concede a goal, you've always got a chance of winning it, and that 15 minutes was the important one for me.

"We addressed a couple of wee things at half-time. We asked Declan to sit and play off the boy (Gary) Miller, and that allowed Steven Whittaker and Fraser Murray then to go man for man with their other two midfield players in the middle, and I thought Declan's link-up, awareness and managing to allow us to play on the front foot was exceptional.

"I thought we looked a threat all night from set plays and created a number of chances that we possibly could've scored more.

"We'll enjoy it. I think I was speaking to Euan Murray earlier in the week and I probably didn't enjoy the Dumbarton result the way that I should, and didn't allow the players to enjoy it, because we were in the next day, you're already talking about the Falkirk game, and you forget when you're on the coaching side that you've actually won a game of football, and it's our first game since March.

"Tonight, we're going to enjoy it, we're going to let them enjoy it, they'll be off tomorrow and I know what it means to the fans.

"I was lucky enough to play for the club and we had good days against Falkirk and we had bad days. It's a great way for the players to connect with the fans; they'll have seen it on telly tonight, but it's not getting carried away with ourselves.

"We'll enjoy it because sometimes it takes a while to play in games like this and you end up losing games, so it's very pleasing."

Falkirk co-manager, Lee Miller, felt his team performed well in the opening 45 minutes but rued the lack of a penalty being given their way.

"There were loads of positives," he said.

"I thought we were probably the better side in the first half, albeit we never scored when on top of the game, and that cost us.

"The (penalty) decision, I've not seen it back yet, but I've been told it's a clear penalty in the laws of the game. I thought it was a stonewall penalty from where I was standing. I was quite a distance away from it, but I think the linesman could've helped the referee out. Maybe he was blocked, I don't know, but it's one of those things that sometimes you get them, sometimes you don't.

"I think we created enough chances first half and I was pleased with the way we played; a lot of the patterns we've been working on in training, I thought we dominated large spells of the first half.

"Second half, a different story. We never quite dealt with set plays at all today. The boys know that, they're disappointed in there, as we are as a whole.

"We're disappointed with the result but at the end of the day it's our first competitive game and we need to shake it off and get on with it."