REPORT: Dunfermline 0 Morton 4

This resounding away victory saw Jim Duffy’s men complete a clean sweep over their fellow full-timers having won all three of their previous meetings this term.

It is a sequence of results that has completely confounded the Pars’ ante-post billing as League One’s premier group of players whilst confirming a young Ton squad’s own title credentials.

And Saturday’s comprehensive win surely represented the high-water mark of the Cappielow club’s season in terms of the quality of their performance in an individual match.

They were rampant as they systematically deconstructed and demoralised John Potter’s sorry Dunfermline side, particularly after the break.

In fact, the four-goal margin of victory actually FLATTERED the Fife outfit and would have been greater but for inspired home goalkeeper Ryan Scully’s performance between the sticks.

The only minus on the day was that both of Ton’s title rivals, Stranraer and Forfar, had also won, with Stevie Aitken’s side coming from behind to claim a fantastic three points at Peterhead.

Yet, despite the fact it remains ‘as you were’ at the top of the table, the nature of this performance should send confidence soaring down Cappielow way at precisely the perfect time in the campaign.

With just five momentous matches left in what is guaranteed to be a rollercoaster run-in, the Ton now find themselves flying.

Although they snatched three points at the death against Ayr United the previous week, the manner in which they managed the victory, with two last-gasp goals, created a euphoric high.

And they rode the crest of that wave to the fullest as they went into this high-pressure match against a Dunfermline side, who, let’s not forget, were desperate for points for their play-off push.

They had to survive a few scrapes in a nervy first 10 minutes in which left wing-back Alex Whittle flashed a low shot narrowly wide of Derek Gaston’s left-hand post.

Morton felt their way into things and began to truly assert themselves by the 20-minute mark when Declan McManus headed straight at Scully after Ricki Lamie had picked him out at the far post.

It was at this stage that they settled and seemed to get to grips with their own formation, in which Stefan McCluskey was required to put in a selfless shift.

When his side were in possession, he was expected to get up in support of Peter MacDonald and Declan McManus and make up a three-pronged strikeforce.

When they were out of possession, he was expected to file back on the left flank and make up a midfield four.

Not only did the tireless wideman do this to great effect, he went far beyond the call of duty by not once but twice popping up in the full-back positions to dig his team out of a jam on the counter.

Going the other way, Ross Forbes’ set-pieces were causing his former club – who must be kicking themselves for letting him leave in January – real problems.

They were struggling to deal with his corners in particular, and one outswinging flag-kick found MacDonald lurking beyond the far post.

The Ton skipper collected possession and clipped a teasing cross back into the mix, forcing Scully to claw the ball back over from right underneath his own crossbar.

Forbes took a different tack this time, slipping an intelligent pass down the bye-line to Stefan McCluskey to catch the Pars cold.

McCluskey’s low cross was blocked, as was Forbes’ follow up, but the ball broke kindly for Michael Miller on the edge of the box.

The midfielder sidestepped a challenge and unleashed a left-footed piledriver that Scully acrobatically parried to safety.

But Stefan McCluskey left the 22-year-old Partick Thistle loanee with no chance when he broke the deadlock right on the cusp of half-time.

Midfield schemer Forbes was the architect, seizing on a slack Kyle McAusland pass high in the opposition half before expertly and calmly waiting and waiting in order to draw the defender to him.

Then at the exact right moment he prodded the ball outside into the path of the overlapping McCluskey on his left inside the box.

And the former Clyde man confidently curled the ball high beyond Irishman Scully to net his sixth goal of the season.

It was the perfect note on which to end a first 45 that Ton had grown into and controlled over the piece without truly dominating.

It was in the second half that they truly took the game by the scruff of the neck and remorselessly picked apart the hapless Pars.

On 49 minutes, Stefan McCluskey fed McManus on the inside left of the box and the hitman produced a sublime nutmeg on the touchline to open up space for a shot at goal.

He was at an incredibly acute angle, however, and in-form Irishman Scully managed to turn the ball around the post.

But it only delayed the second goal by one minute, as left-back Mark Russell burst clear down the left and fizzed a low cross along the face of the six-yard box after a brilliant dribble past three men.

Fellow flying full-back Lee Kilday arrived right on cue on the opposite flank to slam high into the home net.

While important for his team, the goal could also prove significant on an individual level, giving Kilday personal redemption after the burden of a recent mistake at Airdrie seemed to weigh heavy on his shoulders.

In response to the goal, Pars boss Potter sacrificed defender Stuart Urquhart and replaced him with frontman Michael Moffat, a high profile pre-season acquisition from Ayr United.

The change facilitated a switch in formation in which the Pars switched to a 4-4-2 from what for all intents and purposes seemed a 5-4-1 set-up.

Some research showed that the system was ostensibly a 3-4-3, but Ton’s position as the dominant attacking force meant the wide players were pinned back in line with the bank behind them. Nevertheless, Moffat’s introduction did give the hosts an initial shot in the arm and they managed a short spell of sustained period.

But the Ton were soon back on top, with the imperious McManus terrorising their backline with his searing pace and ceaseless movement.

On 63 minutes, he roasted former Rangers man McAusland inside the box, flicking the ball to one side while darting around the other to collect.

The hitman then rifled an angled drive at goal but again failed to find a way past the one-man barrier that was Scully, who scrambled wide right at his left-hand post.

After a few quiet outings up top, MacDonald was showing signs of the form and ability that has cemented his standing as a fan favourite.

And he forced yet another spectacular save from Scully on 65 minutes when he accepted a Thomas O’Ware pass, turned and unleashed a stunning, swerving 35-yard drive.

More goals were inevitable, though, as was the fact the name ‘McManus’ would end up on the scoresheet. And he netted his 18th goal of the campaign on 76 minutes by rifling an angled drive into the bottom-left corner from 15 yards following more excellent approach play from Forbes.

It could have been 19 had the 20-year-old’s stabbed effort from a Russell cross finished the right side of the post rather than clipping the woodwork on the way wide.

It was testament to his display that you would have had no idea he had won his second Scotland Under-21 cap just 48 hours earlier and followed that up by travelling home from Hungary on Friday.

The cherry was placed on the icing on the cake in the final minute of the match when talented teenager Russell scored a goal of the season contender.

The fearless full-back was fed by O’Ware after Sean Crighton, who had been steadfast at the back alongside Lamie as they helped Ton to their 11th shutout of the season, had cut out a Josh Falkingham pass.

Picking up possession midway inside his own half, Russell made a bee-line for the opposition goal and lashed a sensational shot into the top right corner from the edge of the box.

The extent of Ton’s superiority on the day was summed up by an irate home supporter sat close to the pressbox inside the main stand.

In an expletive-filled rant that couldn’t possibly be repeated in a family newspaper, the disgruntled Dunfermline fan completely supported the away support’s celebratory taunt of: ‘This is so easy!’