Quitongo shocks Pars and surprises Duffy too

JIM DUFFY hailed the talents of Jai Quitongo after the Morton striker left Dunfermline stunned with a late Scottish Cup winner.

The 20-year-old had only been on the pitch for 10 minutes when he curled the decisive strike beyond Lee Robinson to send the Greenock club into the fifth-round draw.

The visitors had taken a first-half lead when Gary Oliver found himself in acres of space on the right side of the box to fire in the opener in the 24th minute.

But Declan McManus’s powerful equaliser 12 minutes into the second period gave the Pars the upper hand and Derek Gaston pulled off a magnificent save to prevent Nicky Clark’s header from giving the Fifers the lead.

Then, with just five minutes remaining, Quitongo finished off a lightning break by Morton to shock even his manager.

Duffy said: ‘Jai looked surprised to score and I was a bit surprised as well! We know Jai has got real talent; he’s strong, he’s quick. But he’s had a stop-start season with niggly injuries. He needs a run of games. You could see he was struggling with his fitness.

‘But he’s a talent. He’s just 20 and there’s a lot of potential there.

‘It’s a fantastic result and it was a terrific cup tie. It was great to get the win.’

Dunfermline boss Allan Johnston moaned: ‘I thought when we scored we would go on to win it.

‘It sounds like a hard-luck story but their first goal must have been very close to offside and before the second one, there could have been a free-kick as well.’