Nisbet inspires Pars to comfortable win

PARTICK THISTLE 0 DUNFERMLINE 3

Dunfermline summer signing Kevin Nisbet returned to his old stomping ground with a point to prove and drove the Pars to three points for the first time in six months.

The much needed victory for Stevie Crawford’s charges ended a run of five successive defeats.

It was nine years almost to the day when the Pars last enjoyed a league win at Firhill and they ended that run in emphatic fashion against a pitiful and managerless Jags.

Nisbet said: “It was the team which let me go and it was my first time back here. At Raith last season I played virtually every game and it was great to come here with the Pars and get the win.”

First-half strikes from Nisbet and Ryan Dow and a second-half long-range effort from Kyle Turner ended the long wait for a first league win of the campaign for the East End Park outfit.

The Pars almost went in front after just five minutes when Cammy McGill picked out Dow on the right and his cross found Nisbet unmarked, but the striker’s downward header was pushed away by goalkeeper Scott Fox.

But the Fifers took the lead in 23 minutes when Aaron Comrie drilled the ball in from the right for Nisbet, released by the Jags in July 2018, to side-foot the ball home from eight yards.

Nisbet slammed the ball against the bar from 10 yards on the half-hour mark after a Josh Edwards corner was only partially cleared.

One minute later, the Pars were more fortunate when Dow burst through unchallenged on the left before clipping a crisp, low drive beyond Fox into the far corner of the net.

Nisbet said: “The first one I scuffed and it went in and the second one I hit cleanly and it hit the bar, but I will take it.

“The most important thing was getting the win. It was all about us, we didn’t focus on Thistle.”

The points were wrapped up four minutes after the interval, to ensure the Pars had their first league win since March, when substitute Lewis McCann’s shot was blocked. The ball broke to Kyle Turner, who lashed in a 20-yard shot which took a wicked deflection off Tom O’Ware and flew past a helpless Fox, who was left rooted to the spot.

Nisbet added: “Any team that has not won in its first five wins are dying to get a win and to come to such a hard place as Firhill and get a 3-0 win and a clean sheet is positive and that we can kick-on from here.

“Stevie Crawford, having been a striker, and me a striker, is good for my development. It was all about getting to a team where I can play week in and week out and score goals.”

For the Jags, they were cast adrift at the foot of the table and can’t be relishing a League Cup last-eight clash on Wednesday night away to Celtic.