Eighth time lucky as Pars beat the post to snatch a point
DUNFERMLINE 1
McCann (87)
INVERNESS CT 1
Devine (43)
In an astonishing 90 minutes Dunfermline salvaged a point at the death when Lewis McCann drilled home a Joe Chalmers cross from eight yards.
His effort went in off the post, a rich irony after his team had struck the woodwork seven times earlier in the game.
“I just told the players I’ve never been involved in a game where one team has hit the woodwork seven times without scoring,” admitted Dunfermline manager James McPake.
“Thankfully, one went in at the end. A point wasn’t what we wanted but I couldn’t have asked any more from the boys.
“Even when Ewan Otoo hit the post late on they never felt sorry for themselves and thought it wasn’t going to be their day. They didn’t chuck it.”
Dunfermline should have drawn first blood in the 10th minute when Otoo surged down the left flank and his delivery picked out Lewis McCann.
Just six yards out, the striker made a hash of his free header, glancing it into the ground and well wide.
Midfielder Owen Moffat, on loan from Celtic, came much closer with a dipping 25-yarder which only just cleared Mark Ridgers’ crossbar.
The hosts were on top and, when Moffat supplied McCann in the 18th minute, he turned and fired a shot against the base of the far post and it rolled along the line to hit the other post before being cleared.
Just two minutes later Kane Ritchie-Hosler’s low drive came back off Ridgers’ right-hand post and Inverness defender Danny Devine, attempting to clear, struck the same post but Caley Thistle somehow escaped.
Full-back Cameron Harper could have made the breakthrough for Inverness when a miscued Billy McKay shot found him at the far post but, although just two yards out, he was off balance and sliced his attempt wide of the gaping net.
Then Dunfermline struck the woodwork twice more. McCann took advantage of a slack passback to round the keeper but his shot came back off Ridgers’ left-hand post and Moffat’s effort from the rebound hit his right-hand post.
Inverness made the breakthrough two minutes before the break.
A Caley Thistle corner came to nothing but Max Anderson kept it alive, sending in a cross for Devine. The big centre-back looked more assured in the opposition penalty area, taking a touch before prodding the ball behind Deniz Mehmet with the outside of his right boot.
Goals change games and it was a more confident Caley Thistle which emerged for the second half, taking the game to their opponents.
They sprayed passes around and created several half-chances.
Home fans screamed for a penalty in the 75th minute when Jakubiak went down following a challenge from Devine but their pleas were ignored.
At the other end substitute Luis Longstaff volleyed inches over from David Carson’s driven cross.
Dunfermline’s luck – or lack of it – appeared to be summed up eight minutes from time when a 30-yard piledriver from Ewan Otoo beat Ridgers but came back off the woodwork, but there was to be one more twist.
“They were well worth a point,” said Inverness manager Duncan Ferguson. “They peppered our goal and we rode our luck at times.
“For us, it was a point gained but what an incredible game, although I thought we were much more comfortable in the second half.
“They were excellent but so were we. We showed our qualities and created chances.”