Michael Tidser Points Out One Major Issue That Made Dunfermline Athletic Lose Against Falkirk

Dunfermline Athletic is in a bad situation as it sits in 9th place that comes with the danger of relegation. With 7 matches to go, the team is in desperate need of positive results. But, that has been a struggle this entire season, especially in recent weeks.

With such awful circumstances, the loss to bitter rival Falkirk, the 1st team on the table, made things even worse. Then manager Michael Tidser pointed out a lack of cutting-edge striking as the main issue in this match.

The Manager’s Post-Match Words and Why the Betting Odds Were Against Them

Athletic lost the March derby to Falkrik with a 1-0 result after a 6th-minute goal by Brad Spencer. Tidser noted that their second half was much better than their first. He thinks his team came out and tried scoring, but they lacked belief in the final third.

By the end of the match, Dunfermline had 7 attempts and only one shot towards goal. The manager was disappointed in how the match went and how his players showed inexperience. He said that the lack of goals frustrates him as he wants his team to score more often.

Tidser pointed out the lack of combinations and movement in the final third by the front four. He said that these players were too straight and didn’t take matters into their own hands.

A lack of effort wasn’t the thing he had in mind, but a lack of belief. The manager commented that the team needed somebody to produce a bit of magic, but they just couldn’t do it.

In the past 8 matches, Dunfermline Athletic managed to score only 2 goals. The team also got a single win against Morton during the featured events.

It’s no wonder that bookmakers keep on giving Athletic lower winning chances than their opponents. Even the betting odds for today sit at 5.00 for the upcoming match against Ayr.

Dunfermline Athletic’s Loss to Raith

The team’s loss to Falkirk wasn’t the last for Dunfermline. This side also suffered a 2-0 defeat in an away match against Raith. Once again, Athletic struggled during the first half and failed to capitalise on its chances in the final third.

Raith scored the goals in the 22nd and 56th minutes of the match. But, they were much worse in the second half. Dunfermline took the initiative and controlled 57% of the possession. It also attempted more shots on and off-target than the opposition team.

But, Raith’s good defending and luck as well as Dunfermline’s lack of scoring ability were decisive in the end. This loss allowed Hamilton to go one additional point above Athletic on the table.

If Dunfermline won the featured match, then they would’ve gone past them and away from the relegation zone. Now, the team is in a very bad situation as it faces Ayr, the 2nd-place club, in the upcoming schedule. Athletic also has 6 more matches to stay in the Championship.

Parting Ways With Michael Tidser

The loss to Raith was Tidser’s final match as team head coach. He had a short journey with Dunfermline Athletic as he joined on January 17th 2025. Tidser led the club in 11 matches winning 3, drawing 2, and losing 6 of them. His win percentage by the end reached 27.27%.

Dunfermline Athletic didn’t wait too long to appoint a new manager. The final decision came to light on March 21st, 2025 when the club announced Neil Lennon as its new head coach.

This news attracted a lot of attention from the media and football fans. Lennon is an A-list manager with a lot of experience as a player and coach. His best years were between 2010 and 2020 when he dominated the Scottish Premiership with Celtic.

With this Glaswegian team, Lennon won 5 Scottish Premierships, 4 Scottish Cups, and one Scottish League Cup. He also won the Scottish Championship with Hibernian in 2016/17.

Most recently, Lennon led Omonia Nicosia to win the 2021/22 Cypriot Cup. All of these achievements show how experienced and successful this manager really is. Let’s see if he can help Dunfermline Athletic avoid relegation to the Scottish League One.

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This post was written by meg