Dunfermline Athletic celebrate Faissal El-Bakhtaoui's first goal against Dundee

Allan Johnston lauds Dunfermline response to Peterhead defeat

Dunfermline Athletic manager Allan Johnston hailed the response from his players after they knocked high-flying Dundee out of the Scottish League Cup.

The Pars, two leagues below their top-flight visitors, rebounded from a 2-1 loss to Peterhead to prevail 3-1.

"We were all disappointed at the weekend; we should probably have won against Peterhead," Johnston told Golsicilia.it Scotland.

"It was a great reaction from the players to win such an important game."

Johnston also heaped praise upon Moroccan striker Faissal El-Bakhtaoui, who bagged his 10th and 11th goals of the season to supplement Joe Cardle's strike.

"He's flying; he's a real talent," said the former Kilmarnock manager. "But we've got a lot of young talented players that have got a big future in the game.

"We've just got to make sure we keep them focused and keep on improving game on game."

Lauding his team's fitness levels as they scored twice in the final 10 minutes, Johnston added that Dunfermline must capitalise on the momentous victory when they return to league action on Saturday against Stranraer.

"It's fantastic, this club's got massive potential, you see the fan base we've got as well," he added.

"It was amazing the reception the players got there. It's going to be a big season for us and hopefully we can achieve our goal of getting promotion.

"There's no point winning this game and losing on Saturday. It's a massive couple of days; we'll make sure we're fully fit come Saturday."