Archives | Morton 2 Dunfermline 0

The last away match of 2024 saw Dunfermline travel to the Tail of the Bank to take on a Morton team sitting one point ahead of the Pars with a game in hand. The hosts were undefeated in their last four league matches and hoping to extend that to five. Dunfermline arrived at Cappielow having won four of their last six matches seeking their first away win in this season`s Championship.

Manager James McPake brought back Chris Hamilton who sat out the Fife derby with a one match suspension. Other changes were Tommy Fogarty, David Wotherspoon and Josh Cooper starting with Joe Chalmers, Sam Young, Matty Todd and Dapo Mebude finding themselves on the bench.

Celebrating the third anniversary of his appointment, Morton boss Dougie Imrie named an unchanged team. Lamar Reynolds returned to the home bench.

The rain halted briefly for kick off but the 25 mph wind would still be an issue. The teams changed ends before Josh Cooper got the action underway with Dunfermline attacking the goal at the west end and Morton playing with the wind on their backs.

The Pars threaten in third minute with Wotherspoon feeding Cooper who drove to the byeline and crossed from the right for Lewis McCann but he could not get enough on the ball to find the net. Then on five minutes, following a surging crossfield run by Kieran Ngwenya, a Kane Ritchie-Hosler delivery also from the right was met by Wotherspoon`s header that was also off target. Dunfermline definitely had the more positive first ten minutes before played halted and former Par Owen Moffat came on for Nathan Shaw.

Jordan Davies was shown the first card of the afternoon, a yellow for rather crudely chopping down Cooper on the left edge of the penalty box. The former Morton youth player got up and sent the free kick into the danger zone where Fogarty`s header was directed well wide left. Morton had nowhere near the Fifers goalmouth until Moffat forced Hamilton into conceding a corner on the right. Arron Lyall swung the ball in from the right and Morgan BOYES arrived timely to send his 22nd minute header into the Pars net. 1-0

Boyes was in the centre of things again two minutes later when, from a Wotherspoon free kick that had earned Sammy Ballantyne a booking, the centre back cleared a Fogarty shot off his goalline.

There were 31 minutes on the clock when Moffat released a good low shot from the left that landed just outside the visitors top right goalpost. There was a period where the home side successfully managed to push up and keep the Pars pressed back. Another Morton corner in 37 minutes went wrong for them when Moffat failed to connect with the low delivery.

When Moffat tumbled Wotherspoon there was an opportunity for him to create more danger in the home box but instead Ngwenya`s shot was cut out and Morton mounted a dangerous counterattack. Filip Stuparevic threaded the ball into the path of Davies but hurried into his shot from the edge of the box, the ball went wide left.

In the final minute of the half a McCann throw in from the left was played back to him by Wotherspoon. Dougie Imrie could be heard howling `˜stop the cross` but Lewis succeeded and the ball fell to Ritchie-Hosler but his effort went straight into the arms of Ryan Mullen.

Half Time: Morton 1 Dunfermline 0

The second half got off to a really bad start losing a goal and then got even worse as the Pars went down to ten men within the first five minutes. Cameron BLUES did well to retain possession and then lob in a cross from the right some 30 yards out. Although he would admit it wasn`t a shot, the ball sailed into the far corner of the Dunfermline net after just 80 seconds of the half resuming. 2-0

In the aftermath of the goal Wotherspoon was shown a yellow card for dissent, clearly he felt that Blues had fouled him in winning the ball. Then the very next foul saw the referee reach for a yellow card and since the culprit was the very same Pars player a red came out of Dan McFarlane`s top pocket. Two goals behind and a player less it was going to take a monumental comeback to take anything from the next 40 minutes.

Matty Todd had replaced Kieran Ngwenya at half time and when Wotherspoon went off another change saw Josh Cooper withdrawn to introduce Dapo Mebude. Having recovered from a calf injury, Chris Kane returned to action as a 64th minute substitute for Lewis McCann.

It might have been three in 67th minute but the right post kept out a Lyall drive and at the other end Todd was handed a chance to fire at goal from a free kick 28 yards out but the ball cleared the crossbar. Thankfully Oluwayemi made a brave safe at the feet of Moffat after he broke through the middle before in 75 minutes a Todd ball into the box dropped for Mebude but his shot was blocked.

A 78th minute shot from Ritchie-Hosler forced a corner. Todd crossed from the right and when Ritchie-Hosler was closed out of shooting it was Todd who fired a shot on target that the Morton defence cleared. There would be shots from Otoo and Fogarty but the outcome of this game was really in no doubt after 50 minutes.

The result meant Dunfermline stayed ninth and dropped four points behind Morton, three points behind Hamilton with both teams played one less match. It was a dark day for the team but the winter solstice has come with the promise of more light. For Dunfermline Athletic let`s hope that`s under the floodlights on Friday night!

MORTON: Ryan Mullen: Cammy Ballantyne (Grant Gillespie 86), Jack Baird, Morgan Boyes, Zak Delaney: Cameron Blues, Iain Wilson, Jordan Davies (Austin Samuels 86), Arron Lyall (Niall McGinn 76), Nathan Shaw (Owen Moffat 12), Filip Stuparevic (Lamar Reynolds 76)
SUBS NOT USED: Michael Garrity, Logan O`Boy, Gary Woods (GK)
SCORERS: Boyes (22), Blues (47)
YELLOW CARDS: Davies (14), Ballantyne (24), Moffat (53), Blues (82).

DUNFERMLINE: Tobi Oluwayemi: Aaron Comrie, Tommy Fogarty, Kyle Benedictus (c), Kieran Ngwenya (Matty Todd HT), Kane Ritchie-Hosler, Chris Hamilton (Craig Clay 89), Ewan Otoo: Josh Cooper (Dapo Mebude 53), David Wotherspoon: Lewis McCann (Chris Kane 64).
SUBS NOT USED: Joe Chalmers, Sam Fisher, Sam Young, Taylor Sutherland, Deniz Mehmet (GK)
YELLOW CARDS: Wotherspoon (48), Hamilton (54), Clay (90+3)
RED CARD: Wotherspoon (49)

REFEREE: Dan McFarlane
ATTENDANCE: 1722
WEATHER: windy, changeable 5°C

NEXT MATCH (home) v Falkirk, Friday 27th December 2024, kick off 7.45pm at KDM Group East End Park

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