JIM Duffy reckons Morton left Tannadice on Saturday with a ‘tinge of disappointment’ after they failed to hold onto their 1-0 lead with just seven minutes to go.

Lee Kilday’s header in the first half had given Ton hope of ending a 39 year wait for a league win over United at Tannadice, but a Mark Durnan reply prevented Ton from leaving Tayside with a momentous three points.

While Duffy was gutted at losing the lead to a fluke Durnan goal, he was still pleased with his team’s showing - particularly in the first half.

He said: “We’re a wee bit disappointed, I think that’s the feeling in the dressing room. There’s a tinge of disappointment, but you can’t be too harsh coming to Tannadice and coming away with a point.

“I thought we were outstanding in the first half. 

“Really on the front foot, we pressed really well and didn’t allow United any space to play at all.

“Again it was another terrific goal from our point of view, a great delivery and great thumping header from Lee.

“In the second half we thought Dundee United would come at us a bit but, to be honest, up until about 10/15 minutes to go I thought we were in control of the game.

“I thought the two centre-backs were outstanding. Lee and Tam [O’Ware] were brilliant. Gats [Derek Gaston] had just one save to make after a slip from Lee, but other than that he didn’t have too much to do.

“It’s harsh because the goal was a complete bit of bad luck. It was fortuitous because it ricocheted off someone, the boy [Durnan] didn’t know it was there and the next minute it’s in the back of the net.

“If they carve you open with a good bit of play you think, ‘well that’s good play from the opposition’. But a bit of bad luck makes it a wee bit more painful.

“But over the 90 minutes I think people can see again that we’re not a bad side and we’ll make it difficult for anyone we play, and I think we did that to Dundee United.”

Things remain as tight as they were pre-match at the top of the Ladbrokes Championship with Falkirk also dropping points against Dumbarton after a 2-2 draw on Saturday.

And Duffy insists there’s very little to choose between any of the three evenly matched outfits chasing league leaders Hibernian coming to the most difficult part of the season.

He concluded: “There’s nothing between us at this moment in time on the pitch and on points tally. Coming into March I think we can be pleased about that. But the hard part is still to come.

“The last quarter is where things are decided no matter what end of the league you’re looking at. If we can keep that type of form and determination, we’ll take enough points to make sure we have a good season.”