Airdrie Utd 0-4 Morton: Morton show their mettle

As RIPOSTES over questions of character go this was just about as emphatic as you could get.

After suffering a bit of drubbing in the Scottish Cup against Dundee, eyebrows were raised over whether Morton possessed the right stuff to continue their push to replace the Dens Park side in the SPL next season.

Well, they airily dismissed that one with what amounted to a demolition of hapless Airdrie United yesterday.

Two goals in either half were enough to suggest that their woeful result on Tayside was just a bad day at the office and this was business as usual.

“It was a great performance from start to finish,” said a happy Morton manager Allan Moore, pictured. “We just talked about the goals we lost last week – then put it behind us and concentrated on this game.

“The fact that the Partick game was off today gave us a bit more fire in our bellies as we were able to go eight points ahead of them and it sets us up nicely for our game with them next week.”

From the outset there was a directness about Morton’s play which signalled a real intent to wipe the slate clean.

While Moore’s squad boasts a rich seam of personnel with SPL experience in its ranks, it was one of its less-heralded members, David O’Brien, who set the tone for their desire to seize the initiative in this game. He led their early offensive with a foraging burst down the left which saw him play an enticing ball across the face of the Airdrie goal but unfortunately for him there were no takers in yellow shirts.

Shortly afterwards, the winger was in the thick of it again, this time miscuing a decent opportunity that came his way as he hovered by the Airdrie penalty spot.

It summed up his have-a-go attitude that he dusted himself down after this and when he found himself in the right place at the right time again after Peter MacDonald drove in a ball from the left he made no mistake and calmly side-footed his team into the lead.

Airdrie bore all the hallmarks of a side that had only won one in their last 14 league outings, and when you are on that kind of run you need all the breaks you can get.

None of them were coming their way with Derek Gaston pulling off an excellent double stop from Ryan Donnelly and John Boyle when the match was still scoreless. They also had a decent shout for a penalty turned away by referee Brian Colvin after Sean Lynch’s overhead kick appeared to strike the arm of a Morton defender.

“It was a great double save and then a stonewall penalty,” reflected a despondent Airdrie manager John Boyle, “but the best team won. They wanted it more.”

The home side’s fortunes took a plunge either side of half-time when the league leaders struck with a knockout double blow. Firstly, that man O’Brien was in the thick of it again, crossing for Colin McMenamin to finish in clinical fashion. Then, as Airdrie tried to steady themselves for the second half, Morton again exhibited a ruthless streak with Michael Tidser setting up MacDonald, whose shot took a deflection on its way past Kenny Arthur.

With 52 minutes on the clock it was already game over and the hosts were reduced to damage limitation. They didn’t even succeed in this objective with Kyle Wilkie joining in the scoring spree for Morton by drilling a fourth goal.

Airdrie’s dignity was lost in an ill-tempered close to the game with firstly Marc Warren picking up a second yellow card and then team-mate Ricki Lamie joining him for an early shower after he motioned a head-butt towards Peter Weatherston.