Morton starting to motor on under Hopkin
DAVID HOPKIN insists his Morton side are beginning to grasp what he wants from them as a third win in four games offered flickering hope this could be more than just a season spent battling the drop.
Two goals from Kyle Jacobs and a Jim McAlister header overcame efforts from Euan Murray and Kevin Nisbet to put the Cappielow side three points clear of ninth-placed Partick Thistle and just four points away from the promotion play-off places.
Hopkin, who returned to the club back in May, has overcome the odds before by taking Livingston into the Premiership and admits he is starting to see the right mentality as his men endeavour to drag more and more teams into a dogfight.
‘The last three or four weeks, I think everyone has started to realise what it is to play in my team,’ he said. ‘Our main focus at the start of the season was to stay in the league with the budget we have, but we have young players now at 19 and 20 who are starting to turn into men.
‘We showed another side in coming back from 1-0 down. The mentality was fantastic.
‘It was important we got back amongst the pack. We haven’t done anything yet, but we have to keep improving and I hope we can get one or two players in to make us stronger.’
Dunfermline opened in bright fashion with Nisbet forcing a save from Danny Rogers before Murray’s 23rd-minute opener.
Gabby McGill released a shot that Rogers could only palm into the path of Murray and he converted from close range.
Morton took control around the midway point of the first half and drew level just before the break.
Luca Colville found Robbie Muirhead at the back post with a cross and he nodded the ball back into the danger area, where Jacobs was waiting to convert with a header of his own.
Five minutes into the second half, Colville emerged as the provider again. His cross from the left was just perfect, with captain McAlister heading home.
A deserved win was secured six minutes from full-time when Jacobs took advantage of hesitancy from Scully to force the ball home from a Nicky Cadden corner.
Nisbet did score with a 25-yard free-kick deep into time added on, but it was not enough to ease the pressure on visiting manager Stevie Crawford after five straight defeats.
‘This is a young squad with a lot of potential for development but we need to learn quickly,’ said Crawford. ‘Every goal we conceded here could have been prevented.’