MORTON clambered out of the relegation play-off position courtesy of a result that also gave coach Davie Irons his first win in charge of the Greenock side.
It wasn't pretty, and there were more than a few nervous punters inside Cappielow when Stirling substitute Jay Rodreguez tapped home a consolation for the visitors near the death.
Even before Morton nosed themselves in front midway through the fi
rst half, they had created more than a few decent chances. Peter Weatherson struck the post with a searing 20-yard free kick inside ten minutes, moments before the same player just failed to connect Jim McAlister's low centre for what would have been a certain goal.
But the Greenock side's perseverance paid off when they finally took the lead, albeit courtesy of some poor Stirling defending. Laurie Ellis failed to clear his line and Morton's Chris Miller had the simple task of squaring to Allan Jenkins who promptly slid the ball past exposed goalkeeper Myles Hogarth.
Morton squandered an opportunity to double their tally just before half time when Iain Russell's low penalty was saved by Hogarth. Perhaps it was a case of justice served, because the award was a soft one – the referee adjudging Paul Nugent to have felled Weatherson.
Allan Moore's men huffed and puffed in pursuit of an equaliser without ever applying sustained pressure, and finally conceded defeat when Russell – atoning for his earlier penalty miss – got on the end of Kevin Finlayson's cross and dispatched a close-range header past Hogarth.
The full article contains 264 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
