SCOTTISH Justice Minister Kenny MacCaskill was watching this match at Cappielow on Saturday, and at the end of the 90 minutes he would have been satisfied that the correct verdict was reached on the pitch.

Both sides had their chances, but the crucial difference between the teams was that the visitors took two of theirs.

Often in football the dividing line between success and failure is thin and the critical point of the game came in 70 minutes when young Brian Graham, who had come on as a sub, steered a shot from inside the box inches wide of the right post.

Manager Davie Irons commented: "Big Brian's done well when he came on. I'm not being critical of him, but if that goes in it's one all and we're back in the game.

"Sod's law, they go up the park and put one in the top corner which young Ryan couldn't do anything about." Irons made a special mention of the young goalkeeper who was called into the team after Bryn Halliwell suffered a back spasm in the pre-match warm-up.

"He's never kicked a ball in first team football in his life. He's thrown in and equipped himself very well.

"It was a tough game for him but he came through it very well." Already without regular goalkeepers Kevin Cuthbert and Colin Stewart, Halliwell's unexpected injury happened with just 20 minutes to go to kick-off.

Said Irons: "His back went into a spasm in the warm-up. I thought 'surely not'. But I don't think there was much in the game at all between the two teams.

"We're disappointed with the goals we've lost. For the first the boy's got in between the two centre backs which shouldn't happen, but we worked our way back into the game and up to Brian's chance I thought we were on top. But goals change games and they go up the park and score.

"It was a great finish by the lad - I don't think it would have mattered if we'd had three goalkeepers on at the stage, I don't think anyone would have got it.

"Then Brian Graham wins a header and it bounces over the bar. When it's not your day, it's not your day. It's inches. That's the margins between success and failure." Pars boss Jim McIntyre believed his men were worth the win, though he accepted it had been a hard game. "It's been a real tough place to come in the past," he said. "but I thought our attitude was spot-on today and we deservedly won the game.

"We were unlucky not to have two others. For me it was never a foul on the keeper," he said in reference to a goal by Andy Kirk which was chalked off.

"He's also had one which came off the post and rolled along the line. So it was some good stuff.

"Morton should have scored in the second half and we had a couple of hairy moments. It was individual mistakes. We were lucky with the one the boy got his head to and it scraped over the bar.

"But I think overall we deserved the victory on the balance of the play." Brian Graham did well when he came on but, while disappointed not to score, he hoped he had shown enough to merit a start at Ross County tomorrow. He said: "Jim [McAlister] has cut the ball back and I actually thought 'I'm going to score'. But I just opened my foot up too much and bent it round the post.

"I think I had a wee bit bit too much time. If someone had been at my back and I just had to shoot I would score, but I took my touch and just tried to bend it into the corner. As soon as it left my foot I knew I'd missed. I knew it wasn't my day when the header bounced over the bar.

"I saw the keeper coming and I thought, all I need is a touch and it's a goal, but I couldn't believe it. I missed a chance but I still feel I've done enough to hopefully push for a start on Tuesday night.

"But if I'm sub again I'll just come on and hopefully this time get a goal."