Dumbarton1–0Morton

IT was made in Ayrshire. It was scored by a Raith Rovers player.

It was the goal that gave Dumbarton three critical points.

Lewis Vaughan was the man who put Sons ahead against Morton - and got them back in front of his parent club in the Championship table.

After an hour's play, he latched on to an assist from Ross McCrorie to give an always closely-contested game its decisive moment.

Dumbarton needed some breaks to get the result they wanted. Morton hit the woodwork, they had a goal ruled out, and they never stopped pushing to avoid a third consecutive game without scoring.

But against a team which could well be in next season's top flight, Sons held their own. They were competitive and battle-hardened and did what their visitors couldn't - find the net without being penalised.

The job of securing a place in the 2017/18 Championship is not done yet. It is not likely to be officially finished for another few weeks. But this was a huge step forward.

The game was a tough contest from the start but was lacking in clear chances until the dying stages of the first half. Ten minutes from the interval, Lawrence Shankland intercepted six yards from Dumbarton's goal.

He looked set to score, but his shot crashed against the bar. Another opportunity came his way within seconds, but his low shot was held by Alan Martin.

At the other end, Gregor Buchanan's header was hacked off the line. A game which had looked like the definitive 0-0 draw suddenly had its spark.

Early in the second half the woodwork was struck by Morton for a second time when Andy Murdoch's shot hit the outside of the post and rolled wide.

A Robert Thomson header, against the club he has a pre-contract agreement in place with for next season, also missed the target narrowly for Sons.

But cometh the hour mark, cometh the man.

Andy Stirling couldn't make space to shoot. Neither could McCrorie, being closely watched by a defender.

Instead he played in Vaughan, whose fierce low finish found the net.

The lead could have lasted only six minutes, but Jamie Lindsay's cross hit the inside of the post and bounced out, with Michael Tidser shooting wide from the rebound.

Sam Stanton then broke through at an angle for the home side, but his shot was beaten away by the keeper.

Then with 15 minutes left Shankland found the net, but his header was chalked off for a push on Buchanan.

Anybody hoping for an ending free of any nerves was to be disappointed. But the heads on the pitch were cool enough to see it out.

The next task is in Paisley, against a St Mirren side who have just scored six goals against Ayr United.

It's going to be huge.