REPORT: Dunfermline 1 Morton 2

Ton went into this proverbial six-pointer in the pursuit of two objectives neither of which any other League One side had managed to achieve at Dunfermline this term: to score and to win.

They had already proven more than capable of outplaying the Pars, claiming a comfortable 2-1 win on home turf last month.

But for a team that have not travelled at all well this term, losing four of their five away fixtures, bucking that trend by winning in Fife was a big ask before the match had even kicked off.

And that challenge reached something approaching epic proportions when Faissal El Bakhtaoui scored to push the Pars ahead seven minutes into the second half.

So it was testament to the character of this young Ton side that they rose to the occasion by firing back to win 2-1 when Declan McManus netted with what was the last meaningful kick of the ball.

Before Thomas O’Ware levelled things up 11 minutes from the end, Jim Duffy’s men were staring a not insignificant eight-point differential in the face.

Despite the fact the match was taking place at the end of October, still early in the campaign relatively speaking, it would have left them facing a steep uphill struggle.

This late turnaround changed all that. When the full-time whistle blew, Morton had narrowed the gap on second-placed Dunfermline to two points and got the away-day monkey off their back.

While the ecstatic visitors savoured the victory, the Pars players trudged off with their impenetrable home bubble burst and nursing new-found doubts after a second loss to the Greenock men.

It was all such a long way from the opening 10 minutes of the afternoon that it felt like it was occurring on a different day.

Jim Jefferies’ men made a blistering start and came within a foot of taking the lead after 33 seconds when Ross Millen’s swerving drive flashed just wide.

They forced a corner one minute later which Sean Crighton, who was restored to the starting line-up after a two-week injury lay-off, headed clear.

The ball broke to Josh Falkingham stationed on the edge of the box. The fiery Pars midfielder took a touch and lashed a powerful rising drive against the top of the crossbar and over the top.

Dunfermline were relentless and only a last-ditch Lee Kilday block prevented Andy Geggan from converting after stealing in round the back.

After coming through that whirlwind of intense early pressure intact, Morton began to threaten on the counter, albeit fleetingly.

On nine minutes, McManus charged after an Andy Barrowman flick on into the area down by the right corner flag from a Kilday thrown in.

McManus’s original cross was blocked and this afforded skipper Barrowman that split second of additional time needed to get up in support of play.

On take two, the Aberdeen loanee picked out his strike partner with a fierce low cross. Barrowman failed to adjust his feet, however, and skewed well wide from seven yards.

With Dunfermline playing a narrow midfield diamond, much like Ton had in recent weeks, McKee and Thomas O’Ware were outnumbered in the engine room at times.

But they were competing fiercely, with McKee putting himself about in a physical fashion that he has spoken of in interviews with the Tele, and which would later earn him a caution.

Ton had largely taken the sting out of the Pars’ pressure by the midway point, although slack defending at a set-piece almost let them in on 36 minutes.

Centre-half Lewis Martin fired a raking free-kick into the Ton area and Geggan again ghosted in around the back as the ball dropped in behind Stefan Milojevic, who appeared to misjudge its flight.

Much like Steven Naismith did when he netted for Scotland in Poland a fortnight ago, Geggan attempted to guide the ball into the bottom right-corner with a slight touch with his shin.

Unlike Polish stopper Wojciech Szczesny, Gaston managed to prevent the ball from nestling in his net by dropping to his left to parry.

Ton offered cause for optimism in the second 45 by ending the first half on the front foot, with Mark Russell at the root of their late charge.

With Ricki Lamie restored to left-back after missing out against Ayr, Russell was pushed on one to play wide on the left of a midfield four.

On 43 minutes he picked up possession on the edge of the box and bent the ball toward the top left corner, forcing Ryan Scully to scramble across and catch at full stretch.

He then fed McManus with an intelligent pass, opening up play for the hitman to unleash a powerful shot that was deflected over the top.

The young Pars defence – Millen, 20, Gregor Buchanan, 24, Martin, 18, Alex Whittle, 21 – looked nervy and there to be got at should the visitors get up a head of steam and pile on the pressure.

But Ton’s own youthful backline, average age 22 and a half, were breached first when they failed to deal with Moffat.

The former Ayr forward outfoxed Kilday on the right before standing up a cross to the far post. Although Russell managed to beat Geggan in the air, the ball dropped dangerously inside the box.

El Bakhtaoui reacted quicker than Lamie and swept in a low half-volley that crept in at the far post to net his third goal in four appearances since returning from injury.

Speaking of injuries, it was at this juncture that Conor Pepper was withdrawn. The Irishman had suffered a jarring knee injury after a full-blooded 50-50 challenge just before the break.

He was determined to continue but manager Duffy decided to take him out of the firing line 10 minutes into the second half, bringing on Robbie Crawford in his place.

Despite falling behind, Duffy’s men did not allow the hosts to seize the initiative and instead took the game by the scruff of the neck themselves.

Ton were well on top now, however, and only Pars goalkeeper Scully prevented them netting a leveller with a series of impressive stops.

On 63 minutes, he thrust himself low to his right to push clear Crighton’s powerful downwards header from a McKee cross.

Duffy identified a need to combat Dunfermline’s midfield shape by asking his four to be more compact in the middle of the park.

The Ton began to dominate their black and white counterparts, with O’Ware, in particular, a commanding presence.

As well as regularly dispossessing Falkingham to spring counter-attacks he was also contributing in an attacking sense.

The 21-year-old sent a thunderous drive fizzing past the left-hand post after he was teed up by McKee.

He then worked a clever exchange with Barrowman before releasing McManus, who then slotted past Scully, although the keeper had already stopped due to an offside flag.

The pair squared up for real shortly thereafter and Scully came out on top this time, dropping low to his left to repel a stinging McManus snapshot taken on after Kilday had found him with a pull back.

But there was nothing Partick Thistle loanee Scully could do to prevent O’Ware from planting a bullet header in the back of his net to restore parity on 79 minutes.

As he has threatened to since the beginning of the campaign, O’Ware finally managed to harness his aerial prowess to convert from a pin-point McKee corner.

A draw would have been a respectable result for the visitors but they sensed weakness in the rattled home defence and went for the jugular.

They could and should have been made to pay for their attacking ambition, though, when the Pars almost caught them on the hop at the other end.

First, former Ton trialist Ross Forbes came within a whisker of converting El Bakhtaoui’s teasing cross, and then Geggan fired straight at Gaston from six yards after holding off a challenge.

The second, in particular, was a huge let-off. But the Ton’s admirable attacking ambition paid dividends in the third minute of stoppage time Similarly to how he had just prior to O’Ware’s leveller, flying full-back Kilday showed no attacking inhibitions as he burst down the right and steered a low cross towards McManus.

The striker cushioned the ball with his back to goal and then snapped onto his own first touch in flash, hooking his shot across the face before anyone else could react.

Had he struck it as cleanly as his earlier strike, Scully might well have saved. But the connection wasn’t quite as crisp and span beyond the keeper’s reach into the bottom corner.

The goals sparked wild scenes of celebration, both on the pitch and amongst the travelling support, that recalled their only other away victory this term, up at Peterhead in August.