Montrose took the accolade of inflicting the first defeat on the only side still unbeaten in the senior English and Scottish leagues.
Dunfermline Athletic travelled to Links Park Stadium on Saturday, yet to concede a goal on the road.
They sat top of League 1 with seven wins and four draws but a double from substitute Matthew Wright gave them the first tally in their defeats column.
It was no more than Stewart Petrie’s side deserved and he appears to have enjoyed the victory as much as the fans.
You know it’s a big result when the gaffer ends up working behind the bar in The Golfy*
*he was sacked 30 seconds after this for pouring the worst pint of T known to man pic.twitter.com/8NIdzzIywr
— Montrose FC (@MontroseFC) October 22, 2022
Courier Sport looks at the main talking points from the match.
Montrose’s approach
It was noticeable how much more Dunfermline built play through the middle than the last time these sides met.
Montrose packed their defence that day which inevitably forces the ball down the flanks more often.
James McPake noted the change in approach from Stewart Petrie for this one.
Montrose played a front three up against the Pars’ back three – an approach that worked well for McPake at Alloa – and got the ball forward quickly.
It caused Dunfermline issues from the off and they were lucky not to be behind early on.
Breen clears the ball off the line:
Montrose were eventually rewarded through Wright’s super-sub performance – his first an excellent team goal.
Wright opens the scoring:
Petrie’s side are on a decent run of their own, having picked up 10 points from their last 12 and are now above Falkirk in third.
Mitigating factors
Losing one of your first 12 League 1 matches is a brilliant way to start the season -especially given the turnaround that was required in the summer.
Montrose were well worthy of their win and this point isn’t designed to detract from that.
There was still a lot to like about Dunfermline on Saturday – Chris Mochrie almost took full advantage of the extra space in the middle of the park.
Mochrie forces a save:
On another day he opens the scoring and it’s a different game – Petrie said as much after the game.
A defeat was always likely to come and it has against a side that is in form and is always challenging at the top end of this league.
It was also the Pars’ third game in a week after wins over FC Edinburgh and Clyde.
Ross Sinclair
The Mighty Mo’s back three were excellent but were still, understandably, breached a number of times.
They had Ross Sinclair to thank for winning the headline battle between him and Mochrie.
Three times he saved from the Dundee United loanee, one with his foot while flummoxed by a deflection.
Sinclair saves again from Mochrie:
He saved his best stop for shortly after his side went 2-0 up when Joe Chalmers unleashed towards the top corner.
It prevented any hope of Dunfermline getting back into the game.
How will Pars respond?
All good things must come to an end.
Rather than focus on the negatives, McPake used Saturday’s post-match to praise his players for their start to the season.
More than a quarter of League 1 was completed without defeat – even if there is room for improvement – and they have the same number of league wins as the whole of last season.
The Pars boss came in while the club was at a real low and quickly instilled a winning mentality in the players.
Weeks into the job he said he wanted his players to show that desire even if they are playing table tennis.
Montrose v Dunfermline verdict: Key moments and star men as Might Mo inflict first defeat on Pars https://t.co/UzlwroON6G pic.twitter.com/4jQOwaLm07
— The Courier Sport (@thecouriersport) October 22, 2022
Now it is all about how Dunfermline bounce back after their first defeat, starting with a resurgent Kelty Hearts next weekend.
A trip to Falkirk follows that.
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