First Division: Jefferies stays grounded as Pars move closer to summit

Dunfermline moved menacingly closer to leaders Partick Thistle at the weekend by winning 3-0 win at Hamilton Accies whilst the Glasgow side were striking late to draw 1-1 at Raith Rovers.

The gap is now just one point as the Pars won for the fifth consecutive league game, but manager Jim Jefferies is remaining reserved on whether his side are genuine title contenders. After a goalless first-half, his side went ahead through a close-in strike from Ryan Wallace and he doubled the lead with 20 minutes to go with an angled shot.

Substitute Ryan Thomson completed a good afternoon’s work by heading home in the final minute. Jefferies said: “We are just a new side made up a fair bit from players who were playing at a level below the First Division. We are doing everyone proud but I am not going to say we are going to do this or that.

“Our target was to be challenging and playing a good brand of football. We are doing that at the moment.”

Thistle dropped their first points but, by equalising two minutes into injury time, it is likely that they will be feeling like they won at Kirkcaldy. The home side took the lead midway through the second half when Greig Spence sent a fine drive past Scott Fox from 20 yards. But substitute Kris Doolan’s late header secured a point for Partick.

Morton won their fourth game in a row as the defeated an Airdrie side that finished with ten men 3-2. The Diamonds led at half-time through John Boyle’s shot but Morton levelled three minutes after the resumption when Archie Campbell lobbed home. David O’Brien put Morton ahead at the midway point of the second half, with Campbell curling in his second with 11 minutes left. Boyle scored his second to bring Airdrie back into things but David Lilley’s dismissal after a challenge on Campbell put the task beyond them.

Falkirk drew 1-1 at Cowdenbeath and now sit 13 points behind Partick. David Weatherston volleyed the Bairns in front after three minutes but Cowdenbeath levelled when Lewis Coult fired home a quarter of an hour later.

Livingston won a league game at home for the first time since February and they did it in style with a 5-0 success over Dumbarton. Marc McNulty opened the scoring and Craig Barr headed in the second after 12 minutes. Debutant Chris Turner missed a penalty for Dumbarton before McNulty made it three before the interval. Second-half substitute Callum Booth scored with his first touch and Keaghan Jacobs curled in a free kick to complete the rout.