Morton 2 - 1 Livingston

By ALAN GALLACHER
Published on 20/01/2013 00:00

NO STAGE fright this time out for leaders Morton who reaffirmed their position at the summit as they squeaked past Livingston for the sort of win any team going for silverware needs to dig out over the course of a season, and as such could be one they reflect back on come May as utterly vital.

SCORERS:

Morton - Hardie 15; MacDonald 68

Livingston - Russell 53

The last time they had the top spot to protect they were hammered 3-0 by lowly Dumbarton, so the prospect of looking to ­consolidate against an in-form Livingston team full of enthusiastic youngsters bragging only a solitary loss in a dozen outings was always going to be a genuine test of the Greenock mettle.

Fifteen minutes in and it was all going according to plan for Allan Moore’s high-flyers when Martin Hardie forced home a loose ball from a yard out to give Morton the lead, albeit slightly against the run of play.

Livingston, with the superb Stefan Scougall running proceedings in midfield, refused to take the blow lying down and only good stops form home keeper Derek Gaston kept out Mark McNulty on two occasions and a rising drive from Anthony Andrew as the ­visitors’ game of keep-ball started to find some penetration.

Eventually, the men from West Lothian were deservedly on a level-footing, one-time Morton striker Iain Russell making himself even more unpopular with his former supporters thanks to a cool finish from the edge of the area.

With the game threatening to get away from them, Morton dug deep and showed championship credentials to snatch a winner midway through the second half. Fit-again Peter MacDonald, above, met a Michael Tidser free-kick with a bullet header to settle the contest.