Dunfermline 3 Morton 1
Saturday, 7th Dec 2019Ladbrokes Championship: Josh Edwards started in place of Lee Ashcroft. Kevin Nisbet (21 pen.) 1-0: Greg Kiltie (52) 2-0: Reece Lyon (62) 2-1: Kevin Nisbet (84) 3-1:
After seven previous attempts, eighth placed Morton came to East End Park in seek of their first away point of their league campaign. They faced a Dunfermline side that had won their last four home games and as a result of a midweek victory at Ayr, now sitting in fourth place in the Championship.
With Paul Paton still out, Lee Ashcroft and Andy Ryan joined those sidelined. Lewis Martin captained the team that saw Josh Edwards return in place of Ashcroft and Ryan Scully, Miller Fenton and Stuart Morrison return to the bench.
From the side that started at Brora in the Scottish Cup replay on Tuesday evening, Morton manager David Hopkin made three changes. Reece Lyon, Lewis Strapp and Luca Colville dropped out and in came Chris Millar, Adam Livingstone and Jack Baird.
Kyle Turner kick off for the Pars attacking the goal in front of the Morton support. It was all Dunfermline for the opening minutes with Ryan Dow creating the first opportunity in the seventh minute running in from the left to chip the ball into the box but Kevin Nisbet’s back header did not fool Danny Rogers who clutched the ball.
In eleventh minute Turner prodded the ball into the Morton box from the right and when Greg Kiltie latched on to it, travelling right he cut his shot back from an angle and could only find the sidenetting.
Morton’s first attempt came on 16 minutes when Bob McHugh’s effort had the sting taken out of it by a defender and Cammy Gill has an easy task to hold. Back at the other end Aaron Comrie burst in on the right side of the box and his cut back was good for Turner to connect but he sent a great chance over the bar.
The Pars were to be awarded a penalty when Millar handled the ball in the box and when Nisbet stepped up he sent the ball to the keeper’s left. Rogers saved but the linesman medicated a retake. The Morton keeper was yellow carded for dissent and next time NISBET chose the other side and the Fifers had a 21st minute lead. 1-0
Going behind seemed to rouse the visitors and they injected some urgency into more positive play. Dunfermline were kept away from the opposition goal until 33rd minute when Turner picked out Kiltie who teed up Tom Beadling but again it was the sidenetting that was hit.
The post kept out a Kiltie header after Comrie and Dow combined on the right but other than that neither keeper was busy as the game was played in torrential rain.
The Pars had eight first half shots to Morton’s one and deserved their material lead. With it getting wetter and wetter it might be down to which team would make the fewer mistakes in the second half.
Half time: Dunfermline 1 Morton 0
The home side threatened right away with a Comrie cross, a Turner free kick and then a corner from the left that Martin purposely arrived late for. Then in 52 minutes a blocked shot rebounded for KILTIE to score against his old club. 2-0
Nicky Cadden then put over a tricky cross that Gill palmed away and the visitors’ follow up was blasted over the bar. That was Camden’s last involvement as he was then subbed by Aidan Nesbitt.
The Pars should have extended their lead in 56 minutes when Nisbet’s cut back for Beadling looked a certainty but the defence dived in and managed to block the shot. It was the next Morton sub Reece LYON who was to make a significant difference. Chris Millar has just been withdrawn when the sub smashed a shot past Gill from 20 yards out. 2-1
Turner had two efforts to try and net a third before Dow was close to converting a cross in from the right. Nisbet earned a free kick on the right perimeter and when Turner took it short to Dow the visitors blocked the Pars no.11’s shot. At the other end Devine made a telling stop on a Lyon shot.
Joe Thomson was the first Dunfermline sub replacing Kyle Turner in 72 minutes and Joe was almost a super sub making the keeper save with his first touch and then Rogers recovering to stop Kiltie’s follow up.
Two Morton corners from the left almost cost the Pars with Livingstone pumping the ball into a crowded penalty box and Grant getting the chance from four yards out that he crashed over the bar.
Into the final ten minutes and Morton were looking a dramatically different team than the one that contested the first hour. Gill pushed away a devilish dipping shot from Nesbitt in 83 and then from a quickly taken Morton corner Dow broke, evading a Nesbitt attempt to clip him and set up NISBET to find the far side of the net for a third Pars goal. The Player of the Month’s eighteenth of the season. 3-1.
There was no way back from that for the Greenock men and Thomson came close to converting a Comrie cross with an overhead kick. Three goals, three points, three wins in a week and up into third place.
SUBS NOT USED: Gabby McGill, Lewis McCann, Anthony McDonald, Miller Fenton, Ryan Scully (GK)
SCORERS: Nisbet (21 pen. 84), Kiltie (52)
YELLOW CARD: Edwards (19)
MORTON: Danny Rogers: Stephen Welsh (Cameron Salkeld 67), Peter Grant, Kyle Jacobs, Jim McAlister(c), Chris Millar (Reece Lyon 62), Adam Livingstone, Jack Baird, Robbie Muirhead, Bob McHugh, Nicky Cadden (Aidan Nesbitt 55).
SUBS NOT USED: John Sutton, Cameron Blues, Luca Colville, Sam Ramsbottom (GK).
SCORERS: Lyon (62)
YELLOW CARD: Rogers (21), Baird (45+1), Welsh (65), Grant (74), Nesbitt (84)
REFEREE: Steven Kirkland
WEATHER: Rain 7C
ATTENDANCE 3515
NEXT MATCH: Ladbrokes Championship: (away) v Dundee 14th January 2019, kick off 3.00pm at the Kilmac Stadium at Dens Park
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Preview Morton
Saturday, 7th Dec 2019Ladbrokes Championship: (home) Saturday 7th December 2019, kick off 3.00pm at East End Park
Saturday’s home match against Morton provides an opportunity for the Pars to strengthen their grip on their newly acquired fourth place in the Championship. With the home side on a run of good form at East End Park and their opponents having lost all seven of their league matches on the road this one looks like a banker but as every manager says of this league, everyone can beat everyone else.
Dunfermline will also want to make amends for leaving Cappielow in October with just one point after losing an equaliser in the fourth minute of time added at the end of the match.
Milestones v Morton (Home)
Last League Victory: 26/01/19 | 3-0 | Championship
Last League Defeat: 27/04/19 | 0-1 | Championship
Best League Victory: 29/01/66 | 6-0 | Division One*
Worst League Defeat: 28/03/15 | 0-4 | League One
Last Goalless Draw: 17/03/18 | 0-0 | Championship
First League Meeting: 25/12/26: | 1-1 | Division One*
*Pre league reconstruction
This is the 103rd league meeting between these teams and Dunfermline hold the better record 45 wins to Morton’s 31. 26 have been drawn.
The last dozen meetings have resulted in three Pars wins, four defeats and five draws.
Last Twelve Matches v Morton
05-10-19: (A) D 1-1 Championship
05-04-19: (H) L 0-1 Championship
26-01-19: (A) D 0-0 Championship
01-12-18: (H) W 3-0 Championship
22-09-18: (A) D 1-1 Championship
17-03-18: (H) D 0-0 Championship
03-02-18: (A) L 1-2 Championship
20-01-18: (H) L 1-2 Scottish Cup
21-11-17: (H) D 1-1 Championship
09-09-17: (A) L 2-3 Championship
29-04-17: (H) W 3-1 Championship
25-03-17: (A) W 1-0 Championship
Last time at East End Park
Dunfermline 0 Morton 1
Saturday 27 April 2019, Ladbrokes Championship
In this final home match of the season Dunfermline paid for not taking their chances and Morton headed home with all three points after being awarded a late debatable penalty.
The game was all square when Jackson Longridge earned a second yellow card and left his side to fight out the final seventeen minutes with ten men.
A Charlie Telfer corner from the left in 83 minutes led to the penalty that was to secure a victory for Morton. The initial delivery from the left was headed out by Ryan Blair but when Michael Tidser returned the ball an alleged push in the back of Greg Kiltie as he rose to try and head in the cross was deemed enough for referee David Munro to point to the spot. Myles Hippolyte was deemed to be the culprit but he would later claim that it was a poor decision against him. Greg KILTIE stepped forward and drove the ball into the bottom right 0-1.
DUNFERMLINE: Ryan Scully: James Craigen, Mark Durnan, Danny Devine (Kallum Higginbotham 85), Lee Ashcroft (c), Jackson Longridge: Myles Hippolyte, James Vincent, Louis Longridge (Lewis Martin 75), Ryan Blair: Bruce Anderson (Faissal El Bakhtaoui 63).
SUBS NOT USED: Matthew Todd, Stuart Morrison, Callum Smith, Cammy Gill (GK)
YELLOW CARD: J Longridge (54)
RED CARD: J Longridge (73)
MORTON: Robby McCrorie: Lee Kilday, Gregor Buchanan, Reghan Tumility, Jack Iredale: Charlie Telfer, Jim McAlister (c), Michael Tidser, Greg Kiltie, Reece Lyon (Chris Millar 62), Andrew Dallas (Bob McHugh 62).
SUBS NOT USED: Keelan O`Connell, Lewis McGrattan, Dylan Dykes, Darren Hynes, Derek Gaston (GK).
Form Last Six Matches
Dunfermline have won four of their last six matches and all of their last four home games. After a run of two wins in eleven Morton are now unbeaten in their last three games.
DUNFERMLINE
Ayr United (A) W 1-0
Partick Thistle (H) W 5-1
Stranraer (A) L 0-1
Alloa Athletic (A) L 1-2
Queen of the South (H) W 2-0
Arbroath (H) W 2-0
MORTON
Brora Rangers (A) W 3-1
Brora Rangers (H) D 1-1
Arbroath (H) W 1-0
Partick Thistle (A) L 1-2
Dundee (A) L 1-2
Ayr United (H) L 2-3
Current League Stats
DUNFERMLINE
League Position: 4th
League Points: 22
Goal Difference: +6
League Record: P16 W6 D4 L5 GF22 GA16
Last Six League Match Form: LWWLWW
MORTON
League Position: 8th
League Points: 16
Goal Difference: -11
League Record: P14 W5 D1 L8 GF15 GA26
Last Six League Match Form: LWLLLW
Last time out
DUNFERMLINE v Ayr United): Cammy Gill: Aaron Comrie, Lee Ashcroft (c) (Josh Edwards HT), Danny Devine, Lewis Martin: Ryan Dow, Harry Cochrane, Tom Beadling, Kyle Turner: Greg Kiltie, Kevin Nisbet (Andy Ryan 81).
SUBS NOT USED: Gabby McGill, Joe Thomson, Lewis McCann, Anthony McDonald, Ben Swinton (GK).
MORTON v Brora Rangers: Danny Rogers: Stephen Welsh, Peter Grant, Lewis Strapp, Kyle Jacobs, Jim McAlister, Reece Lyon, Luca Colville, Robbie Muirhead (Cameron Salkeld 86), Bob McHugh (John Sutton 77), Nicky Cadden (Aidan Nesbitt 77)
SUBS NOT USED: Chris Millar, Cameron Blues, Alex Easdale, Sam Ramsbottom (GK).
Referee will be Steven Kirkland.
Other Championship Fixtures
Arbroath v Dundee
Dundee United v Alloa Athletic
Inverness Caley Thistle v Ayr United
Queen of the South v Partick Thistle
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