Oliver ends personal goal drought to put a spoke in Pars’ title ambition
Gary Oliver produced a finish which was clinical and cathartic in equal measure as the Morton striker’s first goal in 11 months secured a richly merited 1-1 draw against Dunfermlinei
The former Hearts forward, who last found the net for the Ton when he bagged a brace against Ayr in January, ended that drought by dispatching an instinctive drive beyond Sean Murdoch following a sweeping move by Jim Duffy’s men.
Oliver’s effort cancelled out Andy Ryan’s opener for the Pars and, understandably, the relief in his passionate celebration in front of the travelling fans was clear to see.
While a creditable point for Morton, the stalemate represents a blow to the title aspirations of Dunfermline, who knew a win would take them to within two points of tabletopping Dundee United.
Having been postponed for ten days, fans were forced to wait an additional ten minutes for this re-arranged Championship clash to finally commence, with the kick-off time moved back to accommodate supporters locked out of the Norrie Mccathie Stand at East End Park due to issues with the electronic entry system.
After a frustrating delay in taking their seats, the home fans did at least see their favourites take control of the early stages. With no Kallum Higginbotham, Nicky Clark was allowed a rare crack at the Pars set pieces and he stung the palms of Derek Gaston with a free-kick from 20 yards.
Dunfermline did break the deadlock on 21 minutes, largely due to some inept defending by the visitors. Mark Russell, attempting to clear his area, only succeeded in battering the ball against Gary Harkins and into the path of Fraser Aird. The Canada international reacted admirably to the stroke of good fortune, swiftly slipping a pass to Ryan who slotted home his sixth goal for the club.
Belying a run of one win in six league outings, Morton restored parity in slick fashion. In a sweeping move, Michael Doyle scampered clear on the right flank and, although Oliver’s first effort was blocked, he fired the equaliser beyond Murdoch at the second time of asking.
Oliver had the ball in the net on the cusp of half-time after accidentally deflecting a Harkins free-kick into the net, but the Morton celebrations were cut short by the flag of assistant referee Kylie Cockburn.
Goalmouth action was at a premium in a more attritional second period. However, controversy erupted when Dunfermline thought they had won a penalty for handball, only for referee Stephen Finnie to indicate that Ryan Williamson’s delivery had been blocked outside of the box.
Dunfermline’s final opportunity to escape with a pivotal triumph came and went when Michael Paton curled a drive tantalisingly wide from the edge of the area.