THERE was an anxious atmosphere inside Cappielow as Ross County came to town aiming to drag themselves out of relegation trouble at the Ton’s expense.
Although the Staggies were four points behind Morton in ninth place, they held a game in hand over the Greenock side, with their form also improving since the return of Stuart Kettlewell.
However, Ian Murray was out to dispel any negativity after a crushing 4-0 defeat to League One Stenhousemuir and a creditable draw against Arbroath in horrible conditions left plenty to be desired in his start to life in Greenock.
And the new gaffer was forced into one change from the trip to Angus as on-loan County man Arron Lyall dropped out the side for Owen Moffat, with Murray aiming for his first win as they stepped out onto the Cappielow pitch for the first time under his stewardship.
Moffat had earned his place in the side after an impactful substitute appearance at Gayfield last time out and he was involved straight away, strutting through midfield and sliding Zak Delaney in.
The fullback produced an enticing ball across the corridor of uncertainty, which flashed across the face of goal but lacked a crucial touch to plant it in the back of the net.
As the Ton increased the pressure on the County box, they were almost hit with a superb counter-punch, as a clearance from a set-piece was nicked off the toes of the last man, Jackson Longridge, by Jay Henderson.
the speedy winger raced in on goal, leaving three recovering Ton defenders in his wake, but James Storer was equal to his effort, narrowing the angle and spreading himself well to deny him.
The chance gave Ross County some encouragement, and they enjoyed their best spell of play afterwards, with former Ton loanee, Jamie Lindsay, stinging the palms of Storer with a half-volley from the left of the box.
But Morton regrouped and found the opener after 20 minutes of play, as a superb switch of play from Grant Gillespie got his side in down the right where Moffat looked to find Michael Garrity at the near post.
Despite the winger’s best efforts, the ball came off the post, but in his scramble to clear, Connor Randall gave the ball straight to Eamonn Brophy, who slotted the ball past Trevor Carson to give the home side the advantage.
However, after aiming to shake off an injury picked up earlier in the game Jackson Longridge went down again, forcing Murray into handing Fergus Owens his debut alongside makeshift centre-back, Ian Wilson.
The pair looked assured in possession at the back which encouraged their teammates to push higher up the pitch, and it should’ve paid dividends when Morton pressed the Staggies into giving the ball away from a goal-kick on the edge of the box.
O’Halloran, who won the ball back, laid it on a plate for Brophy to net his second, but the striker lifted his shot when a simple finish looked on and clipped the bar as it sailed over.
And the top goalscorer could’ve had a first-half hat-trick if things had went his way, as great link-up play between Gillespie, Ballantyne and Moffat down the right led to Brophy flicking a header towards the bottom corner, only to be denied by a sprawling save from Carson.
Kettlewell clearly wasn’t happy with his side’s first-half showing, opting to make changes both to personnel and shape during the interval, but it didn’t have the desired impact as Morton only turned the screw.
A key theme of Morton’s game was O’Halloran and Brophy dropping off of the front line to pick the ball up in space, and Wilson’s assurance on the ball found O’Halloran early in the second-half who did well to set Moffat on the wing.
The diminutive wide man drove to the byline and seemed to overhit his cross, but Delaney burst a gut to get on the end of the ball and was unlucky not to see his effort burst the net as Carson denied him.
The left-back was having an impressive outing, and almost set up O’Halloran in the box before his effort was blocked by the onrushing County defence.
Just as was the case during the first period, County almost found the back of the net against the run of play, as Henderson’s dangerous delivery from a corner was instinctively flicked on by Ryan Duncan, but the midfielder’s effort whistled by the near post in a big let off for a Ton side who have struggled to defend set-pieces since Murray’s arrival.
However, Morton continued to threaten, and found a second goal from a sweeping counter-attack after an hour of play.
Efficient midfield play from Gillespie and Garrity allowed Moffat in behind, who cut across the County defence and set up Delaney to cross for O’Halloran, and he made no mistake from six yards out in firing into a gaping net.
With a two-goal lead and a number of tired bodies on the field, Morton began to sit deeper and deeper in defence of their lead, and County went all out for a way back into the game, but despite their best efforts they struggled to break down a stubborn Ton back line.
That was until a late hurl into the box from Trevor Carson found Jordan White, who flicked the ball down to Alex Iacovitti, who swivelled from six yards out to volley home and set up a nervy ending.
But the comeback wasn’t to be as the Ton saw out a comfortable victory in the end, displaying some tidy attacking play in Murray’s maiden voyage at home.
The win did little to dispel any worries of relegation though, as wins for Airdrieonians and Queen’s Park leaves the Sinclair Street side only five points above the Spiders in ninth, with the Glaswegians holding two games in hand over the Ton.
However, Morton are only six behind Ayr United in fourth now and three behind Dougie Imrie’s Raith Rovers, with the former manager returning to Cappielow in Morton’s next outing on Valentine’s Day.
