The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
There’s no better time to beat United – Morris
DUNFERMLINE: Teams enter play-off game with ‘winner takes all’ mentality
Callum Morris insists Dunfermline can see right through Csaba Laszlo’s mind games and reckons all the pressure is firmly on Dundee United in tonight’s play-off showdown.
Laszlo claimed ahead of the first leg that the Pars were favourites and, despite his side taking home a goalless draw from East End Park on Tuesday night, was adamant after the match that the Fifers are still the team in the driving seat.
Morris spent two years at Tannadice after leaving his first spell with Dunfermline in 2014 and knows how much his old side need to go back up to the Premiership this season.
The Pars skipper is also fully aware of how desperate the United fans will be to see their team progress to a semi-final clash with Livingston, and reckons Laszlo’s protestations are a thinly-veiled attempt to ease the pressure on his players.
Morris said: “It’s a poor attempt at reverse psychology that, isn’t it? Let’s be serious. But we don’t worry about that kind of thing.
“Ten weeks ago, we had to dig ourselves out of a hole and roll our sleeves up and go on this run we’re on. We knew if we got where we are now that would stand us in good stead, that we’d be in good form and winning games and putting in good performances.
“So, we won’t worry about that at all. We’ll go up there and I believe if we do what we’re capable of we’ll go up there and do the job.”
With Tuesday’s stalemate providing both sides with a clean slate going into tonight’s rematch, there will be no need for either to protect a lead or chase a comeback.
And Morris believes that makes the second-leg an exciting prospect.
He added: “If you look at Liverpool against Roma in the Champions League on Wednesday night, going into the game three goals ahead, I think it can change the mentality a bit.
“When you go into the first-leg, knowing that it’s over two legs, you have to manage it a little differently.
“But now it’s just a cup final, it’s one game and winner takes all. It gives you licence to really give it everything.
“It’s just 90 minutes of pure football and whoever scores the most goals wins the tie, and hopefully that will be us.”
Although they did not earn the lead they wanted to take to Tayside, Dunfermline will take heart from surviving for almost the whole of the second-half with just 10 men after Lee Ashcroft’s controversial red card.
Ashcroft is free to play after the Pars appealed referee Bobby Madden’s decision and Morris sees plenty of reason for optimism, despite a winless record against United dating back to August 2011.
He commented: “We’re full of confidence going into the game.
“We know what we need to do and what we’re capable of doing, so we’ll go up there and give it our all.
“People say we haven’t beaten them but the flip side of that is there’s no better time to beat them.”
Dunfermline, who will have defender Lee Ashcroft available to play after the club appealed his controversial red card from the first-leg, have been handed a boost, with full-back Ryan Williamson declared fit to play, despite limping out of Tuesday’s encounter.
Defender Jean-Yves M’voto is also back after an ankle injury, but striker Andy Ryan is unlikely to make the squad after sustaining a hamstring injury.