DUNFERMLINE 0 AYR UNITED 0
Dunfermline boss Allan Johnston was by far the happier of the two bosses after this East End Park stalemate.
Visitors Ayr United extended their unbeaten run to nine games but their failure to find a winning goal meant they lost their grip at the top of the Championship, title rivals Ross County now a point ahead of the Honest Men.
“I thought we should have come away with three points,” said the Pars manager. “The first half wasn’t great.
“Ayr probably had the territorial advantage and looked a threat at set-pieces, but we were a much-improved side in the second half and created a few chances although we did ride our luck a bit towards the end.
“I thought Danny Devine and Lee Ashcroft handled the threat of Lawrence Shankland and Michael Moffat very well.”
The opening stages of the contest were scrappy with neither side able to manufacture any kind of attacking threat and there was little to generate any warmth among the shivering spectators.
However, Declan McDaid did provide a degree of optimism for the vociferous band of travelling supporters when he created the first chance of the game after 13 minutes, cutting in from the left and sending in a fierce shot which stung the palms of Dunfermline goalkeeper Lee Robinson.
Ayr forward Shankland’s measured pass on the half-hour released strike partner Moffat, whose shot was superbly saved by the Pars keeper.
It was a transformed Dunfermline team who re-emerged for the second half, the lethargy of the opening period having disappeared as they structured a prolonged period of attacking pressure, with Ayr keeper Ross Doohan
making three excellent saves in quick succession to deny Higginbotham, Joe Thomson and Aidan Keena.
Ayr gaffer Ian McCall rued his two strikers’ failure to find the net.
“There were two chances in the game, falling to Michael and Lawrence, and they both had to score,” said McCall.
“But I’m not going to say anything about Lawrence. That’s 57 goals in 57 games for us – he’s done not too bad!
“It was a poor game to watch. There wasn’t a lot of football played.”