Dunfermline 1 - 1 Inverness CT: Pars still without home win as relegation looms

JOE Cardle has admitted that Dunfermline’s poor home form is becoming “ridiculous”. The Pars winger opened the scoring against Inverness at East End Park on Saturday, only for Nick Ross to claim a draw for the visitors.

That result means Dunfermline have now failed to register a home win in 14 Clydesdale Bank Premier League matches this season.

Cardle is at a loss to explain this barren run and admits time is running out for the Pars, who remain bottom of the SPL table.

He said: “I thought when we got the opening goal that could have been it. You genuinely think you are going to hold on to win, but unfortunately Inverness got the equaliser.

“I know it’s horrible that we are three quarters of the way through the season and we’ve not won at home – it’s ridiculous. But we have to stay positive. We know we are good enough to stay in the league. Hopefully we can turn the home form around as soon as possible.”

Dunfermline had the better of the second-half and should have added to their goal tally through Andy Kirk and Liam Buchanan.

The striking duo’s poor finishing frustrated Pars manager Jim McIntyre but he applauded his players’ courage and desire. He said: “Sometimes when results go against you, people question your commitment. But I will never question the commitment of my squad. They give me everything and that’s all you can ask for.”

Ross grabbed his side’s equaliser 17 minutes from time after great work from Jonny Hayes. But the midfielder revealed captain Richie Foran made a cheeky attempt to steal the goal.

He explained: “Richie’s trying to claim it, but I don’t know why. He was three yards behind me when I scored. I’m a bit of a master of tap-ins. That was my second of the season and that’s double what I got last year.

“We were a bit disappointed at the performance. We didn’t show we should be in the top six after putting in some good displays recently. But we will keep going.”

Inverness manager Terry Butcher knows his players can produce better but admitted a draw was the right result.

He said: “Both managers will feel they should have won, so a draw was probably fair. But we see it as two points dropped as we want to catch the teams above us and make the top six.”