Morton 5-2 Airdrie United

Morton closed the gap at the top of the league to set up a humdinger showdown with leaders Partick on Wednesday.

Scorers: Morton - MacDonald 5, 22, 60; McMenamin pen 68, 90; Airdrie United - Lynch 70; Cook 73

The Cappielow men could have notched a cricket score had they taken even half of the openings they created, but they will content themselves with knowing a win in Glasgow’s West End in midweek will see them top of the table once again, albeit with Thistle holding a game in hand.

With their rivals out of action ahead of this afternoon’s Ramsdens Cup Final, the home team raced out of the blocks and created a plethora of clean-cut openings, although only Peter MacDonald’s rammed finish after five minutes separated the teams following this 
initial blitz.

MacDonald clinically grabbed his second midway through the half before sealing the points and his hat-trick on the hour mark with an explosive drive from 25 yards high into the net.

When Colin McMenamin made it 4-0 soon after from the spot the game looked over, but Airdrie struck twice through Sean Lynch and Alan Cook, only to then have Grant Evans dismissed before McMenamin wrapped things up with a close-range header.