REPORT: Morton 2 Dunfermline 0

The Ton support had been brought to fever pitch towards the end of the week when former fan favourite Michael Tidser penned a two-and-a-half year deal to seal a remarkable return to Greenock.

But the ink on the signature was barely dry when the bombshell news broke that the midfielder was ineligible to play for the club until next season due to FIFA registration rules.

Despite a day of frantic phone calls to try and find a way to circumnavigate the rule and free up Tidser to play against the Pars, Ton were forced to admit defeat on Friday evening.

The blunder prompted a fierce backlash from furious fans who had seen their excitement abruptly extinguished.

But a match against fellow full-timers Dunfermline screened live on BBC Alba provided the perfect platform to provide a timely tonic to sate that anger and rekindle the enthusiasm.

That league leaders Stranraer had dramatically dropped points 45 minutes before Ton kicked off by conceding a last minute equaliser at Airdrie enhanced the positivity.

And when new signings Ross Caldwell and Peter MacDonald netted to fire Jim Duffy’s men to within two points of Stevie Aitken’s side, the Tidser drama was forced into the background.

Although the playmaker was unavailable, Duffy still elected to shake things up by setting his side out in a 4-3-3 formation for the first time this term.

The Ton boss restored Caldwell to the starting line-up in place of the injured Jamie McCluskey and deployed him on the right of MacDonald, with Stefan McCluskey operating on the opposite flank.

But the hosts’ best laid plans were almost sent careering aft agley when the Pars came within a couple of feet of opening the scoring in the third minute.

Michael Moffat caused panic when he charged down a Ricki Lamie backpass, which Derek Gaston crashed against the frontman. Fortunately for the keeper, the ball spun wide of the right-hand post.

Morton responded well, though, and created an excellent opportunity four minutes later when Ross Forbes found Lee Kilday in an advanced position with a precise, diagonal pass.

The full-back’s final ball has left something to be desired in recent weeks, but his delivery was beyond reproach on this occasion as he flashed an excellent cross into the box.

Veteran hitman MacDonald arrived right on cue but couldn’t quite readjust his upper body in order to make the perfect connection and he headed down into the ground and over the top.

Besides their early scare, the Ton had been purposeful in the opening quarter of an hour, playing some slick, high-tempo football.

But they were soon tamed by a compact Dunfermline side who worked hard to limit the space in their half of the pitch.

Meanwhile, the visitors grew in confidence and looked the side more likely to score in the final half hour of the first half, with Moffat in particular posing problems.

On 15 minutes, the former Ayr man took advantage of hesitancy in the home ranks to burst through the centre before pulling his shot wide of the right-hand upright.

Ton were let off the hook again two minutes later when Moffat escaped their attentions down the right and pulled back for Andy Geggan, who failed to hit the target with a placed effort from 12 yards.

A recurring theme of the 90 minutes was Morton’s tendency to concede soft free-kicks in their half of the field, which right-back Ross Millen would then drop into the danger area.

The first such example came on 27 minutes after Ross Forbes was penalised for a trip wide on the left.

Millen, son of former Morton defender Andy Millen, fizzed an inviting ball into the box and Geggan won his aerial duel to flick on with a glancing header.

Ton No1 Gaston was back between the sticks for his first start since the 4-3 win at Stirling on 27 December, but showed no signs of rust when he showed sharp reactions to grab at his left.

The disjointed nature of Ton’s own attacking play at this point was summed up by a botched short corner routine involving Forbes and Stefan McCluskey.

But it was from a Forbes flag-kick that Morton would manage their first meaningful attempt on goal since MacDonald’s early header.

It was on 37 minutes that the former Pars midfielder flighted a teasing inswinging corner to the far post.

Thomas O’Ware managed to steal in round the back and strained his neck muscles to stretch and head the ball towards goal, but goalkeeper Ryan Scully reacted well to make the block.

The half concluded in familiar fashion with the two aforementioned patterns repeating themselves in the final five minutes.

First, Millen was afforded another opportunity to fire a free-kick in on top of the Ton, with the defender’s latest effort making it all the way through to Gaston who again collected on the line.

Then, in the first minute of stoppage time, Geggan was presented with another glaring opportunity to score and, once again, the midfielder failed to take it.

It was from Andy Stirling’s floated corner kick that the unmarked Pars No8 headed wide of the target, to Ton’s immense relief.

Duffy tweaked his system at the break, moving Caldwell in off the flank into more of a central position closer to central striker MacDonald.

They threatened the Dunfermline goal twice in the first five minutes of the second period but Forbes found no takers for his wicked low cross while McCluskey fired straight at Scully after a neat nutmeg. The Cowshed began to chant for Conor Pepper at almost the exact moment the Ton management team called him down to the halfway line in order to introduce him to the action. And the energetic Irishman’s thrust and dynamism was a catalyst for Ton’s breakthrough as the game gradually began to open up.

In fact, Pepper played a crucial part in the counter-attack that led to the all-important opening goal just seven minutes after entering the field of play. The 20-year-old bust a gut to get up in support of MacDonald, accepted a pass inside and then sent him clear with an incisive angled return, and the Ton skipper then slipped the ball inside to Caldwell.

Hard-working hitman Caldwell is as direct and powerful a striker as Ton have had in a long time, and he fastened onto the pass and rifled an unstoppable drive under Scully to break the deadlock.

The 21-year-old’s recent arrival, as well as that of MacDonald, paved the way for Andy Barrowman to leave the club and join Dunfermline as a player/coach.

And the former Ton skipper was denied a triumphant return to Greenock by a jaw-dropping save from ex-team-mate Gaston.

He looked certain to have levelled the scores when he met Josh Falkingham’s cross from the right with a strong header back across goal.

But Gaston had other ideas and shot out his left arm to divert the ball around the post. It was a superb save that quite rightly earned the acclaim of his team-mates and the home crowd.

That feeling of relief was quickly replaced by anger when referee Alan Muir waved away penalty appeals on 76 minutes.

After stealing possession, Stefan McCluskey pushed the ball into the path of MacDonald, who went down under a challenge from Scully and Lewis Martin.

Whistler Muir adjudged MacDonald to have dived and waved away the claims before showing the striker a yellow card for simulation.

The 34-year-old didn’t let the decision upset him, though, and finished off another clinical counter four minutes later to all but wrap up the three points.

Supporters are often referred to as a 12th man, and one individual stood just outside the Cowshed could claim to have a hand in his side’s second strike. The fan held onto the ball and nonchalantly refused to return it to Pars left-back Alex Whittle, thereby allowing his own team to get organised.

It also served to frustrate Whittle, who then rushed his throw in only to see Forbes pick Shaun Byrne’s pocket before bursting forward and then feeding Caldwell on the left.

The strike pairing crisscrossed, with Caldwell driving inside towards goal while MacDonald peeled away to the left. Caldwell proceeded to slip to ball into MacDonald, who was able to rifle a left-footed drive into the net off the underside of Scully without breaking his stride.

It was almost enough to make the home crowd forget all about Tidser – but not quite, as they broke into a chant of ‘There’s only one Michael Tidser’ in support of the distraught star.

They will be hoping that any future songs will be in celebration of his on-field displays as the club searches for a solution to the issue.