2019–20 Dunfermline Athletic F.C. season explained

Club:	Dunfermline Athletic
Season:	2019–20
Manager:	Stevie Crawford^[1] ^[2]
Chairman:	Ross McArthur^[3]
Stadium:	East End Park Dunfermline, Scotland (Capacity: 11,480)
League:	Championship
League Result:	Fifth
Cup1:	Challenge Cup
Cup1 Result:	Third round, lost to Alloa Athletic
Cup2:	League Cup
Cup2 Result:	Second round, lost to Celtic
Cup3:	Scottish Cup
Cup3 Result:	Third round, lost to Stranraer
League Topscorer:	Kevin Nisbet (18)^[4]
Season Topscorer:	Kevin Nisbet (23)
Highest Attendance:	League: 6,480^[5] vs. Dundee United (24 August 2019) Cup: 1,693 vs. Albion Rovers (17 July 2019)
Lowest Attendance:	League: 3,397 vs. Inverness CT (25 February 2020) Cup: 1,448 vs. Alloa Athletic (7 September 2019)
Average Attendance:	4,151(864^[6])
Largest Win:	League: (30 November 2019) Cup: (17 July 2019)
Largest Loss:	League: Four matches by 2 goals Cup: (17 August 2019) (7 September 2019)
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Prevseason:	2018–19
Nextseason:	2020–21
Updated:	15 April 2020

The 2019–20 season was Dunfermline Athletic's fourth season in the Scottish Championship, having finished 7th in the 2018–19 season.

On 13 March 2020 all SPFL leagues were indefinitely suspended due to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.^[7] On 8 April, with the pandemic continuing, the SPFL board proposed to curtail the 2019–20 Championship season and use the points per game earned by each team to date as the final standings.^[8] The plan was approved on 15 April, meaning the league was declared over.^[9]

Squad list

No.	Name	Nationality	Position	Date of Birth (Age)	Signed From	Signed in	Signed until	Apps.	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	Ryan Scully		GK	1992 10, df=yes	Greenock Morton	2019	2020	119	0
20	Cammy Gill		GK	1998 4, df=yes	Dunfermline Athletic youth teams	2016	2021	16	0
50	Owain Fôn Williams		GK	1987 3, df=yes	Hamilton Academical (loan)	2020	2020	6	0
Defenders
2	Aaron Comrie		DF	1997 2, df=yes	St Johnstone	2019	2020	34	1
3	Tom Lang		DF	1997 6, df=yes	Clyde	2019	2021	1	0
4	Lewis Martin		DF	1996 4, df=yes	Dunfermline Athletic youth teams	2012	2021	164	5
5	Euan Murray		DF	1996 1, df=yes	Raith Rovers	2019	2021	10	2
6	Lee Ashcroft		DF	1993 8, df=yes	Kilmarnock	2016	2020	163	9
14	Danny Devine		DF	1992 9, df=yes	Partick Thistle	2018	2020	55	3
16	Stuart Morrison		DF	1999 4, df=yes	Fife Elite Football Academy	2016	2020	10	0
24	Josh Edwards		DF	2000 5, df=yes	Airdrieonians	2019	2021	19	0
Midfielders
7	Joe Thomson		MF	1997 1, df=yes	Celtic	2018	2020	44	2
8	Tom Beadling		MF	1996 1, df=yes	Sunderland	2018	2020	61	7
11	Ryan Dow		MF	1991 6, df=yes	Peterhead	2019	2021	28	6
12	Kyle Turner		MF	1997 11, df=yes	Stranraer	2019	2021	33	5
13	Ethan Ross		MF	2001 8, df=yes	Aberdeen (loan)	2020	2020	8	0
21	Paul Paton		MF	1987 4, df=yes	Falkirk	2019	2020	31	0
23	Dom Thomas		MF	1996 2, df=yes	Kilmarnock (loan)	2020	2020	8	1
—	Dylan Duncan		MF	1999 1, df=yes	Queens Park Rangers (loan)	2020	2020	0	0
Forwards
9	Gabby McGill		FW	2000 4, df=yes	Middlesbrough	2019	2021	18	1
10	Jonathan Afolabi		FW	2000 1, df=yes	Celtic (loan)	2020	2020	6	2
15	Kevin Nisbet		FW	1997 3, df=yes	Raith Rovers	2019	2021	32	23
17	Callum Smith		FW	1999 11, df=yes	Fife Elite Football Academy	2016	2020	25	4
—	Andy Ryan		FW	1994 9, df=yes	Airdrieonians	2017	2020	62	16

Results & fixtures

Scottish Championship

See main article: 2019–20 Scottish Championship.

Scottish League Cup

See main article: 2019–20 Scottish League Cup.

Knockout round

Scottish Challenge Cup

See main article: 2019–20 Scottish Challenge Cup.

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

During the 2019–20 season, Dunfermline used twenty-nine different players in competitive matches. The table below shows the number of appearances and goals scored by each player. Defender Aaron Comrie made the most appearances, playing thirty-four out of a possible 35 games. Kevin Nisbet scored the most goals, with twenty-three in all competitions.

|-|colspan="14"|Players away from the club on loan:|-|colspan="14"|Players who appeared for Dunfermline Athletic but left during the season:|}

Goalscorers

During the 2019–20 season, sixteen Dunfermline players scored 57 goals in all competitions.

^[4]

width=60	Place	width=60	Position	width=60	Nation	width=150	Name	width=80	Total	width=80	Scottish Championship	width=80	Scottish Cup	width=80	Scottish League Cup	width=80	Scottish Challenge Cup
1	FW		Kevin Nisbet	23	18		5
2	MF		Ryan Dow	6	5		1
3	MF		Kyle Turner	5	3		2
4	MF		Tom Beadling	3			3
	MF		Greg Kiltie	3	2			1
	FW		Andy Ryan	3	2		1
7	DF		Lee Ashcroft	2	2
	DF		Lewis Martin	2	2
	DF		Euan Murray	2	2
	FW		Jonathan Afolabi	2	2
11	DF		Danny Devine	1	1
	MF		Dom Thomas	1	1
	FW		Gabby McGill	1	1
	DF		Aaron Comrie	1			1
	MF		Harry Cochrane	1			1
	MF		Josh Coley	1			1
Total				57	41	0	15	1

Club statistics

League table

Results summary

Transfers

First team

Players in

Date	Position	No.	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
14 May 2019	MF	11		Ryan Dow	Peterhead	Free	^[10]
15 May 2019	DF	2		Aaron Comrie	St Johnstone	Free	^[11]
28 May 2019	MF	12		Kyle Turner	Stranraer	Development compensation	^[12]
30 May 2019	FW	9		Gabby McGill	Middlesbrough	Development compensation	^[13]
13 June 2019	FW	15		Kevin Nisbet	Raith Rovers	Undisclosed	^[14]
13 June 2019	DF	5		Euan Murray	Raith Rovers	Undisclosed	^[15]
14 June 2019	MF	21		Paul Paton	Falkirk	Free	^[16]
16 July 2019	DF	24		Josh Edwards	Airdrieonians	Undisclosed	^[17]
19 July 2019	DF	3		Tom Lang	Clyde	Undisclosed

Players out

Date	Position	No.	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
31 May 2019	GK	1		Sean Murdoch	Retired		^[18] ^[19]
31 May 2019	DF	2		Ryan Williamson	Partick Thistle^[20]	Free	^[21]
31 May 2019	DF	5		Mark Durnan	Falkirk^[22]	Free
31 May 2019	MF	7		Kallum Higginbotham	Real Kashmir^[23]	Free
31 May 2019	FW	10		Louis Longridge	Falkirk^[24]	Free
31 May 2019	MF	11		Aidan Connolly	Falkirk^[25]	Free
31 May 2019	MF	15		Myles Hippolyte	Yeovil Town^[26]	Free	^[27]
31 May 2019	GK	16		Lee Robinson	Free agent	Released
31 May 2019	MF	21		Brandon Luke	Stenhousemuir^[28]	Free
31 May 2019	MF	28		James Craigen	AFC Fylde^[29]	Free	^[30]
31 May 2019	FW	36		Robbie Muirhead	Greenock Morton^[31]	Free
13 June 2019	DF	3		Jackson Longridge	Bradford City	Undisclosed	^[32]

Loans in

Date	Position	No.	Nationality	Name	From	Duration	Ref.
21 June 2019	MF	22		Josh Coley	Norwich City	End of season (recalled in January)^[33]	^[34]
30 August 2019	MF	23		Harry Cochrane	Heart of Midlothian	End of season (recalled in January)^[35]	^[36]
30 August 2019	MF	37		Anthony McDonald	Heart of Midlothian	End of season (recalled in January)
2 September 2019	MF	38		Greg Kiltie	Kilmarnock	End of season (recalled in January)^[37]	^[38]
3 January 2020	MF	13		Ethan Ross	Aberdeen	End of season	^[39]
10 January 2020	MF	23		Dom Thomas	Kilmarnock	End of season
27 January 2020	FW	10		Jonathan Afolabi	Celtic	End of season	^[40]
31 January 2020	MF	—		Dylan Duncan	Queens Park Rangers	End of season	^[41]
30 January 2020	GK	50		Owain Fôn Williams	Hamilton Academical	End of season	^[42]

Loans out

Date	Position	No.	Nationality	Name	To	Duration	Ref.
16 July 2019	FW	17		Callum Smith	Airdrieonians	End of season
27 September 2019	DF	18		Paul Allan	Brechin City	Initially 4 months, extended until end of season^[43]	^[44]
9 January 2020	FW	—		Andy Ryan	Airdrieonians	End of season	^[45]
14 January 2020	DF	3		Tom Lang	Clyde	End of season	^[46]
31 January 2020	DF	16		Stuart Morrison	Queen's Park	End of season	^[47]

Reserve team

Players in

Date	Position	No.	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
13 May 2019	DF	34		Thomas Bragg	Southampton	Free	^[48]
29 May 2019	DF	19		Matthew Bowman	Scarborough Athletic	Free	^[49]
30 January 2020	MF	38		Scott Cusick	Celtic	Free	^[50]

Loans out

Date	Position	No.	Nationality	Name	To	Duration	Ref.
11 July 2019	DF	31		Kieran Swanson	Camelon Juniors	End of season	^[52] ^[53]
25 July 2019	FW	29		Lewis Crosbie	Crossgates Primrose	End of season
25 July 2019	MF	32		Lewis Sawers	Crossgates Primrose	End of season
26 July 2019	DF	25		Gregor Jordan	Kennoway Star Hearts	End of season
30 July 2019	DF	33		Paul Brown	Kennoway Star Hearts
6 August 2019	DF	28		Josh Robertson	Civil Service Strollers	Five months
16 August 2019	DF	34		Thomas Bragg	Kelty Hearts	Five months
24 September 2019	GK	30		Craig Burt	Crossgates Primrose	Four months	^[54]
31 January 2020	DF	19		Matthew Bowman	Pickering Town	End of season	^[55]

Contract extensions

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	Length	Expiry	Ref.
13 May 2019	GK		Ryan Scully	1 year	2020
13 May 2019	GK		Cammy Gill	2 years	2021
13 May 2019	DF		Lewis Martin	1 year	2020
13 May 2019	DF		Paul Allan	1 year	2020
24 May 2019	DF		Stuart Morrison	1 year	2020	^[56]
30 May 2019	FW		Andy Ryan	1 year	2020	^[57]
10 January 2020	DF		Lewis Martin	1 year	2021	^[58]
10 January 2020	MF		Ryan Dow	1 year	2021
29 January 2020	DF		Paul Allan	2 years	2022	^[59]
29 January 2020	MF		Matthew Todd	2 years	2022
29 January 2020	FW		Lewis McCann	2 years	2022

Notes and References

1. Web site: DAFC Announce Stevie Crawford as head coach . Dunfermline Athletic FC . 10 Jan 2019 . 10 Jan 2019.
2. Web site: Dunfermline: Stevie Crawford appointed head coach . BBC Sport . 10 Jan 2019 . 10 Jan 2019.
3. News: DAFC board changes . Dunfermline Athletic FC . 3 June 2016 . 3 June 2016.
4. Web site: Dunfermline FC player appearances . Soccerbase . 1 March 2020.
5. Web site: 2019–20 Dunfermline Athletic performance . ESPN . 1 March 2020.
6. Web site: 2018–19 Dunfermline Athletic performance . ESPN . 15 August 2018.
7. Web site: Coronavirus joint response group update . Scottish Professional Football League . 15 March 2020.
8. Web site: SPFL: Clubs to vote on lower leagues; Premiership decision on hold . BBC Sport . BBC . 8 April 2020 . 8 April 2020.
9. Web site: Dundee Utd, Raith & Cove win titles & reconstruction talks start after Dundee vote . BBC Sport . BBC . 15 April 2020 . 15 April 2020.
10. Web site: Dow is a Par . Dunfermline Athletic FC . 14 May 2019 . 14 May 2019.
11. Web site: Comrie comes to East End Park . Dunfermline Athletic FC . 15 May 2019 . 19 May 2019.
12. Web site: Kyle Turner joins DAFC . Dunfermline Athletic FC . 28 May 2019 . 30 May 2019.
13. Web site: Gabby McGill joins DAFC . Dunfermline Athletic FC . 30 May 2019 . 30 May 2019.
14. Web site: Kevin Nisbet signs for Dunfermline . Dunfermline Athletic FC . 13 June 2019 . 16 June 2019.
15. Web site: Euan Murray joins DAFC . Dunfermline Athletic FC . 13 June 2019 . 16 June 2019.
16. Web site: Paul Paton is a Par . Dunfermline Athletic FC . 14 June 2019 . 16 June 2019.
17. Web site: Josh Edwards: Dunfermline pay undisclosed fee for Airdrieonians left-back . BBC Sport . BBC . 16 July 2019 . 16 July 2019.
18. Web site: Retiring keeper calls for VAR . Dunfermline Athletic FC . 2 May 2019 . 5 May 2019.
19. Web site: Sean Murdoch: Dunfermline Athletic goalkeeper to retire and become referee . BBC Sport . BBC . 29 April 2019 . 5 May 2019.
20. Web site: Ryan Williamson is a Jag . Partick Thistle FC . 15 May 2019 . 19 May 2019.
21. Web site: Player update . Dunfermline Athletic FC . 6 May 2019 . 6 May 2019.
22. Web site: Bairns seal Durnan deal . Falkirk FC . 21 June 2019 . 28 June 2019.
23. Web site: Former Pars winger Kallum Higginbotham joins Real Kashmir . Ross . Hart . Dunfermline Press . Newsquest . 17 June 2019 . 17 June 2019.
24. Web site: Louis Longridge returns! . Falkirk FC . 6 August 2019 . 10 August 2019.
25. Web site: Connolly becomes a Bairn as McKinnon gets his man . Craig . Turnbull . Falkirk Herald . Johnston Press . 12 June 2019 . 16 June 2019.
26. Web site: Signing: Hip Hip hooray! . Alex . O'Loughlin . Yeovil Town FC . 29 July 2019 . 29 July 2019 . 29 July 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190729193755/https://www.ytfc.net/news/2019/july/signing--hip-hip-hooray/ . dead .
27. Web site: Myles moves on . Dunfermline Athletic FC . 28 May 2019 . 28 May 2019.
28. Web site: New signings . Stenhousemuir FC . 8 July 2019 . 8 July 2019.
29. Web site: Welcome James: Craigen & Montgomery join Coasters . AFC Fylde . 23 July 2019 . 23 July 2019.
30. Web site: Player update 20/05/2019 . Dunfermline Athletic FC . 20 May 2019 . 21 May 2019.
31. Web site: Breaking: Morton sign striker Robbie Muirhead . Jonathan . Mitchell . Greenock Morton FC . 10 June 2019 . 16 June 2019 . 14 June 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190614125311/https://gmfc.net/2019/06/10/breaking-morton-sign-striker-robbie-muirhead/ . dead .
32. Web site: Jackson Longridge . Dunfermline Athletic FC . 13 June 2019 . 16 June 2019.
33. Web site: Josh Coley returns from loan at Dunfermline Athletic . Norwich City FC . 7 January 2020 . 1 March 2020 . 22 February 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200222183021/https://www.canaries.co.uk/News/2020/january/josh-coley-returns-from-loan-at-dunfermline/ . dead .
34. Web site: Canary winger Coley joins the Pars . Dunfermline Athletic FC . 21 June 2019 . 28 June 2019.
35. Web site: Hearts recall Harry Cochrane and Anthony McDonald from Dunfermline . BBC Sport . BBC . 6 January 2020 . 1 March 2020.
36. Web site: Ryotaro Meshino: Hearts sign Manchester City midfielder on loan . Jordan . Elgott . BBC Sport . BBC . 30 August 2019 . 1 March 2020.
37. Web site: Kilmarnock send Dom Thomas to Dunfermline after Greg Kiltie recall . BBC Sport . BBC . 10 January 2020 . 1 March 2020.
38. Web site: Greg Kiltie signs from Killie . Dunfermline Athletic FC . 2 September 2019 . 1 March 2020.
39. Web site: First signing of 2020 . Dunfermline Athletic FC . 3 January 2020 . 1 March 2020.
40. Web site: Jonathan Afolabi signs for Pars . Dunfermline Athletic FC . 27 January 2020 . 1 March 2020.
41. Web site: Dylan Duncan comes to Dunfermline . Dunfermline Athletic FC . 31 January 2020 . 1 March 2020.
42. Web site: Owain Fon Williams: Hamilton exit for Dunfermline a 'surprise' to Wales goalkeeper . BBC Sport . BBC . 31 January 2020 . 1 March 2020.
43. Web site: Paul Allan extends loan . Brechin City FC . 30 January 2020 . 1 March 2020.
44. Web site: Paul Allan signs on loan . Brechin City FC . 27 September 2019 . 1 March 2020.
45. Web site: Andy Ryan leaves Pars to join Airdrieonians on loan . Dunfermline Press . Newsquest . 9 January 2020 . 1 March 2020.
46. Web site: Tom Lang leaves Dunfermline for Clyde loan spell . Dunfermline Press . Newsquest . 14 January 2020 . 1 March 2020.
47. Web site: Loan Signing: Stuart Morrison joins the Spiders . Queen's Park FC . 31 January 2020 . 1 March 2020 .
48. Web site: Playing squad update . Dunfermline Athletic FC . 13 May 2019 . 13 May 2019.
49. Web site: Matthew Bowman joins DAFC . Dunfermline Athletic FC . 29 May 2019 . 25 September 2020.
50. Web site: The push is on for Scott Cusick . Dunfermline Athletic FC . 6 February 2020 . 30 May 2019.
51. Web site: Kieran Swanson - Welcome to FirstPoint USA . FirstPoint USA . 12 November 2019 . 17 August 2020.
52. Web site: Signing News – Kieran Swanson . Camelon Juniors FC . 11 July 2019 . 21 July 2019.
53. Web site: Reserves update . Dunfermline Athletic FC . 10 August 2019 . 10 August 2019.
54. Web site: Signing News. We are delighted to welcome goalkeeper @CraigBurt_ to the club. Craig joins us from @officialdafc on loan until January. Welcome to the Primrose Craig. . Crossgates Primrose FC . Twitter . 24 September 2019 . 1 March 2020.
55. Web site: Breaking News . Pickering Town FC . 31 January 2020 . 1 March 2020.
56. Web site: Morrison pens new deal . Dunfermline Athletic FC . 24 May 2019 . 24 May 2019.
57. Web site: Andy Ryan pens new deal with DAFC . Dunfermline Athletic FC . 30 May 2019 . 30 May 2019.
58. Web site: Contract extensions reaction . Dunfermline Athletic FC . 10 January 2020 . 11 March 2020.
59. Web site: Young players news . Dunfermline Athletic FC . 29 January 2020 . 11 March 2020.