Lewis McCann has revealed he played through the pain barrier in a bid to bolster Dunfermline’s Championship survival bid.
The rangy front-man climbed from the bench on Friday night to head home a crucial 88th-minute leveller against Morton.
McCann then took a heavy knock to his shoulder as he sought to burst through on goal in the dying embers.
Following a chat with the Pars medical staff, he was determined to see out the remainder of the contest as Dunfermline chased a winner.
And it almost came for the Northern Ireland under-21 star, with Jack Hamilton smothering a close-range effort deep into injury-time.
McCann now faces a fitness sweat for Tuesday’s showdown against Partick Thistle.
He smiled ruefully: “Hopefully I’ll be fully fit for the Partick Thistle match but my shoulder was hanging off after the game!
“After the goal, there was another attack where I was dribbling through and I went down and landed on my shoulder.
“I went over to the physio to let him know my shoulder was sore — but I’m not coming off a few minutes after coming on!
“I just thought, ‘play through the pain’. I had some momentum and I was running on adrenaline. But it was very painful after the game.”
No debate
It would have been all the more painful if Dunfermline had failed to claim at least a point in front of the BBC cameras.
Indeed, the Pars’ dominance merited a victory, with Kevin O’Hara striking the post amid a barrage of passable opportunities for the home side.
McCann added: “Even watching on from the sidelines, it just felt like the ball wouldn’t go in the net.
“We had so many chances. If luck had gone our way, then we win that match.
“But we’ve been saying that all season — we’ve just got to be a bit more clinical ourselves.
“You’ve just got to keep pushing. It doesn’t matter if things aren’t going for you. Something will eventually drop and you’ve got to take that chance when it comes.”
With Dunfermline bottom of the Championship — level on points with Queen of the South but six adrift of Ayr United in eighth spot — the upcoming game in hand against Thistle could be season-defining.
McCann added bluntly: “There’s no debate any more; we can’t leave that match with anything less than three points.
“If we can just be a little more clinical, I don’t see why we can’t get them.”
