METALURH 1 DUNFERMLINE 0 Date: 06/07/08
Match abandoned after 7 minutes of the second half.
Fixture: Pre Season Friendly in Rif, Austria

Kick Off: 4.00pm Referee: Simon Skowronski (Poland)

Link to Match Web Album

On what started, a hot Sunday afternoon in the shadow of the Austrian Alps, Dunfermline gave debuts to new boys Austin McCann, Graeme Holmes and Graham Bayne. Their opponents were Ukranian Premier League side, Metalurh. Their season starts on 19^th July and they are hoping to better their seventh place of last term.

Dunfermline were the more attacking side in the opening ten minutes with Kevin Harper and Nick Phinn firing over inviting balls that first Bezotsniy held and then narrowly failing to dip enough for Alex Burke at the far post.

The Ukranians won the first corner of the game in 13 minutes but Dragan Perischitsch headed over the cross bar from six yards.Evgeniy Pisozkiy kept up the assault receiving a nice pass on the edge of the box to test Paul Gallacher who took the ball cleanly diving to his right.

Greg Shields worked a route up the right to set up Graham Bayne in 19^th minute but he directed his free header narrowly wide of the left post.Seven minutes later Burke fired over the Pars first corner, Harper returned the ball as it sailed too far but the keeper was fast out to grab off the head of the attacking Bayne.

Another Burke corner this time from the night has then headed over the bar by Scott Thomson.Next Harper evaded two tackles as he cut in from the left and narrowly failed with a neat flick back to Scott Muirhead on the edge of the box.

In 34^th minute Bayne was presented with the best chance of the game so far after great perseverance from Austin McCann created the opportunity for a cross from the left byeline but the ball just didn`t sit up well enough and the former Caley Thistle man drove the ball into the sidenetting.

Michael Alozie kept Gallacher awake with a header that held with ease before a Harper cross let Phinn in to head wide right.It was against the run of play when Maxim Krivoy broke down the right and netted in 38^th minute. Appropriately the sky darkened, lightning flashed to the north and west as the wind was whipped up.At half time it was one against.

Half Time: Metalurh 1 Dunfermline 0

The storm that had been threatening for most of the first half arrived duly during the half time interval.The wind swirled and the few supporters in the stand scrambled to the rear for shelter as the rain drove in. The teams lined up however and resumed.

It was all one way as the opponents were pushed forward by the wind. It was impossible to counter and the wind blew the ball away at a free kick. After seven minutes in which the temperature had plummeted 10C, the Polish referee gestured to the armbands and after the captains consulted their coaches the game was abandoned.

The conditions were unreal and it was disappointing having travelled all this way that the team only got just under an hours worth of action. Jim McIntyre was happy nevertheless and now he can look forward to more match practice on Wednesday.

DUNFERMLINE: Paul Gallacher; Greg Shields, Scott Wilson, Scott Thomson, Austin McCann; Graeme Holmes (Paul Willis HT); Kevin Harper, Nick Phinn, Scott Muirhead, Alex Burke; Graham Bayne.
SUBS: Calum Reidford, Scott McBride, Jim McIntyre

METALURH: Dimitri Bezotsniy (Vladimir Zhuk HT); Andrei Nesterov, Kirill Lobanov, Evgeniy Pisozkiy, Denis Smirnov, Dragan Perischitsch, Michael Alozie, Evgeniy Opanasenko, Maxim Krivoy, Artem Semenenko, Sergey Rudika
SUBS: Vladimir Polevoy, Alexiy Godin, Yuri Markin, Roman Luzenko
SCORER: Krivoy (38)

WEATHER: Hot, overcast 32C, lightning in distance

NEXT MATCH: Wednesday 9th July v FC Timisoara at Bischofshen. Kick off 5.00pm