Managers Post Morton

29/12/12: JJ - "Wednesday was acceptable but today wasn't because they were second best all over the pitch.

Jim Jefferies conceded that Morton thoroughly deserved their victory:-

"We didn't deserve it. We scored early on and that should have settled us down but when we were wanting time on the ball they stopped us doing that. We didn't show the right response when they do that - you need to dig in and battle for it. They were up for that more than we were.

"You have talked about these things before the game - their words not mine - 'come on lads this is going to be a battle down here.' You know that you are going to face a tough game because they had a great result on Boxing Day but they responded the right way.

"Maybe even at 1-0 we had a couple of good chances to get in behind them and felt that we could take something but we weren't winning enough balls and never got to grips with the middle of the park. We had people running into the box that we weren't picking up. We were fortunate to be 1-1 at half time and they knew that so we were looking for a response at the beginning of the second half.

"There were jobs to be given at half time in terms of making sure that we track runners; some people did and some people didn't. The one that didn't allowed the runner to get a hit when he should have been blocked, he should have been picked up, he should have been pressed and it was a tremendous strike.

"They got a wee break for the third one because it came off Josh who had tracked his runner into the box. It came off him and allowed the boy who was in an offside position had it not come off Josh. Gallacher made a great save but Weatherson reacted and our defenders had been caught flat footed. That was typical of us all day.

"That was not like us and I think that was our worst performance of the season. The only time we played was when we got it back to 3-2; for a ten minute spell we looked like we had them on the back foot. We had a bit of pressure and because we have done it in the past coming back late on, we looked like we could maybe snatch it.

"We would have taken a draw from 3-1 down but when it is like that you have to keep up the pressure and be resilient. We should not have let them back in the game because we had enough defenders back but the boy walked it into the net and that shouldn't happen either."

The Manager felt that he could accept the defeat on Wednesday because the performance against Falkirk was much better. Pars fans applauded their team off the park that day and Jefferies told his players that defeats will happen but it is about the manner in which you get beat:-

"Wednesday was acceptable but today wasn't because they were second best all over the pitch. Morton thoroughly deserved their result and now we have to pick ourselves up. Nothing would be decided today; it has made the result a lot harder but starting on Wednesday we want to see a bit of fire in their belly in the game against Raith Rovers. Then we go into games that we are well capable of winning and you just hope, because nobody can win every game, that we can get back to winning ways."

Dunfermline have failed to win in the league since defeating Dumbarton 4-0 at East End Park in November and have taken just one point from the last twelve available. The gaffer feels that in some of these games the side have been comfortable and failed to take chances that have come their way:-

"Today we deserved nothing. The good start should have settled us down, in fact I think we could have scored from the first three corners that came in. We had two headers that went over the bar but you could say that might have been cancelled out because they had a couple of good headers that could have counted."

The main topic of the Pars pre match team talk had centred on avoiding giving away free kicks because Morton's strength had been identified as good delivery to big players capable of attacking the ball in the box.  Unfortunately that didn't happen with three free kicks in quick succession midway through the first half at created just the sort of problems that had been predicted:-

"They hit the bar with one in the first half and one was kicked off the line but we could have scored more at the other end. It was like none of the two of us could defend set plays today. Where the battle was won was in the middle of the park where only Josh Falkingham in that area played to form. He cannot do it on his own, the rest of the midfield were way off but they weren't the only ones. There were quite a few players who didn't play to form. That's the first time that they have done that to be fair. That's as bad as they have been and now it is about how you respond to that. Hopefully that will be on Wednesday."

Morton manager Allan Moore revealed that his team were full of belief that they would redeem the game from 1-0 down:-

"We hit the bar and one of their boys cleared off the line but that team believed that it was going to come. To score four goals at home against one of the teams that will be there at the end of the season is great. It is great for Tidser and Fouad and big Hardie is saying that he is the puppetmaster. He was shouting at Tidser to get up the pitch, Tidser said that 'if he hadn't shouted at me I wouldn't have been that far up the pitch'.

"Everybody expected Thistle to go Airdrie and turn them over but there are no easy games in this league. It is great to go into the new year top of the league; especially because we have done it the hard way - we have come from behind. We have not been sitting up there; we have had two very hard games. The last time we played Thistle and Dunfermline we felt that we should have got six points out of six. Today you couldn't ask for anymore.

"We have beaten the two teams that were above us a couple of weeks ago and now we are up there. The problem now is that we are up there to be shot down, it is a challenge. We probably won't stay there all the way until the end of the season; there will be ups and downs but as long as come the beginning of May that we are up there I will be happy."