Club History | Season 1996-1997
Paton`s Premier Pars. Dunfermline finishing 5th in the Bells Premier League.
The feel-good factor over the summer holiday had been tremendous. Against exceptional adversity, The Pars had remained on course and in an amazing climax to the season had thoroughly deserved their promotion. They had achieved this by playing attacking football and with a team which Bert had assembled at a low cost. There was only one new signing of note and that was another striker in Gerry Britton, formerly of Celtic, Partick Thistle and Dundee.
Pre-season home matches were against Grimsby Town, Southampton and Stoke City, all finishing in draws. On the opening day of the season, Dunfermline should have been at home to Hearts, but this was postponed to allow the Tynecastle side to deal with their Cup Winners Cup tie. It would have been nice if The Pars had received similar consideration in our European games. It was 14th August before Athletic got their season up and running with a League Cup tie at Stair Park. A close fought 2-1 win was the outcome. The first home League game finished in a heavy defeat, 5-2 for Rangers and the month finished with a 0-0 draw at Easter Road.
It was the League Cup which began September`s quota of matches and a 3-1 home win against St Mirren was a good start. Future Scotland International Chris Iwelumo was on the bench for The Buddies. A trip to Kilmarnock finished well with a 2-2 draw. Andy Tod and Andy Smith both scored as Dunfermline beat Hearts 2-1 at East End Park but Motherwell provided a sterner task taking back a point in a 1-1 draw. Next to visit were Partick Thistle in the League Cup Quarter Final but Dave Bingham and Gerry Britton scored to see The Pars safely into the Semi-Final. Yet another home match saw the month finish satisfactorily with a 3-1 win over Raith Rovers.
It was 12th October before Dunfermline opened their October account with a 3-0 defeat at Pittodrie. They followed this with a 1-1 draw at home to Dundee United courtesy of Andy Tod. Harry Curran, signed last season but unable to play due to injury, was on the bench for his first game but was not called into action. Gerry Farrell left to join Neale Cooper at Ross County. The League Cup Semi Final was at Celtic Park but it was Rangers who provided the opposition, winning easily 6-1. Fortunately the team did not allow this to upset them too much as they won 2-1 at home to Kilmarnock.
The month of November opened for Dunfermline with a 2-0 defeat at Tynecastle. Sad news came through that Gary Thompson had been killed in an accident. Steve Welsh, signed from Peterborough, made his debut at Starks Park as The Pars recorded a 2-1 win. On the last day of the month, Dunfermline returned from Tannadice with a 1-1 draw, courtesy of Andy Tod. Raymond Sharp, signed from Preston, made his second Pars debut in this game and goalkeeper Zoran Lemajic was injured and Ian Westwater came on as substitute, then went on to hold on to the position for the rest of the season.
December was to be a busy month, with six games for The Pars. They started with a home defeat to Aberdeen 2-3. Craig Ireland made his first start of the season. This was quickly made up for by beating Hibs 2-1 at East End. Harry Curran made his long awaited first start. After losing 3-1 at Ibrox, Dunfermline made a midweek visit to Motherwell, where two Andy Smith goals and one from Marc Millar produced a 3-2 win. The month ended on a low note with two defeats 2-3 at home to Hearts and 2-4 at Celtic Park.
January 1st is a day I always approach with trepidation, as so many of them have been ruined by a hangover and even more painful football matches against Fife rivals. This year it was to be Raith Rovers at East End Park but, either I was still drunk and hallucinating or the Pars played well and won 2-0. The record books confirm the win and show that Gerry Britton got both of the goals, so it must have been true. Happy New Year ! The following week Stewart Petrie scored twice to beat Aberdeen 2-0 at Pittodrie. Dundee United proceeded to spoil it all by winning 3-1 at East End Park and Kilmarnock then inflicted a 2-1 defeat at Rugby Park. The Cup was next and The Pars drawn against Ross County, the first time the two had met in competition. A fine display and goals from Harry Curran, Hamish French and two from Andy Smith produced a 4-0 home win and progress to the next round. The month ended with a 2-0 home defeat from Celtic.
February`s matches began at home to Motherwell and a comfortable 3-1 win. Kenny Ward left the club to sign for Falkirk. Rangers had their normal easy 3-0 win at East End Park and the misery continued as Falkirk ended The Pars progress in the Cup, the score at Brockville 1-2. Dunfermline recovered from their Cup exit in style by beating Aberdeen 3-0 at home.
A 2-1 defeat at Tannadice opened the March fixtures and followed this by losing 1-0 at Easter Road. Another Fife Derby was next, at Starks Park, where Andy Smith scored the only goal. This set things up nicely for the home game with Celtic. There were glorious memories of the great years as Dunfermline swept into a 2-0 half time lead, through Harry Curran and Gerry Britton. Sadly Celtic fought back in the second half and secured a 2-2 draw.
As April opened The Pars were not far from safety. They sat in sixth place in the ten team SPL on 39 points. There could be no room for complacency, however, as Rangers put in four goals without reply at Ibrox. One of the teams below Dunfermline was Hibs and they were kept there following a 1-1 draw at East End. Scott Young made a scoring debut as an injury ravaged team held Hearts to a 1-1 draw at Tynecastle. Zoran Lemajic made his only other appearance for the season. The month ended with The Pars in 5th position.
May was going to decide everything. The penultimate game of the season was at home to Kilmarnock and with John Fraser making his debut, Dunfermline coasted to a 3-1 victory. The season finished for The Pars at Fir Park with a draw 2-2. The result was enough to keep Motherwell safe but it did not stop Dunfermline finishing 5th in the Bells Premier League. A feat not beaten until Jimmy Calderwood`s team in 2004. A remarkable performance by Bert Paton and his relatively inexpensively assembled team. They were indeed Paton`s Premier Pars.
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