STAND-IN Morton skipper Thomas O’Ware says it was a privilege to lead the club out against Clyde on Tuesday and that scoring the winner set it off as the perfect night.

Defender O’Ware, the Cappielow club’s longest serving player having joined as an Under-19s prospect in November 2011, was selected as captain in Lee Kilday’s absence.

The 23-year-old insisted it was a real source of pride to wear the armband, adding that netting the League Cup tie’s only goal was the cherry on the icing on the cake.

Speaking exclusively to the Tele, O’Ware said: “It was a good night. It was my second time captaining the team. I did it last year at Albion Rovers, but this was kind of my first full game.

“Lee is struggling with his knee a wee bit and the gaffer gave us the team on the morning of the match. With Gats [Derek Gaston] not playing, I thought it might be me, but it was five minutes before the game that I find out. It’s always a privilege for me to wear the armband, obviously the club means a lot – and to get a clean sheet and score a goal is the perfect night.”

Jim Duffy’s side had piled the pressure on the Bully Wee and for a time it felt as though a goal might evade them.

O’Ware slid in to scramble home a Ross Forbes corner at the far post, and the centre-half told how it was the result of a moment of intuition.

He added: “The goal came from an unlikely source. The way it turned out we only had two or three corners, but had worked on them all morning. One of them is we all cram in the six-yard box, and I usually always attack the front post and I don’t know why but I didn’t on the goal.

“I wasn’t getting any joy going to the front post on the first two corners, so I just kind of stood out and then went in late. Ricki [Lamie] just missed it and it fell to me and I managed to get a toe to it. The ball was over the line, but I didn’t think the ref was going to give it because the keeper did well to get back in.

“But he did and that was good because you always feel a goal might not come after missing a lot of chances, especially in the first half.”

Manager Duffy felt 3-0 or 4-0 would have been a fairer reflection of the 90 minutes against Clyde, and O’Ware concurred, hailing the performance and a number of individual displays.

He said: “Last Saturday at Albion Rovers was a sloppy game, a first competitive game, but we still managed to get the win on penalties and picked up too good points.

“The performance on Tuesday night was excellent from start to finish. I was actually surprised by how well we played. We caused them a lot of problems and I thought [Michael] Tidser was outstanding. Tidser controlled the game.

“It’s good to have a player like that in your team. He’s played at a higher level and sees a pass that maybe other players can’t see.

“Wee Tiff [Scott Tiffoney] has been outstanding. He’s got his chance this year, not just in friendlies but in competitive games.

“Strappy [Lewis Strapp] as well. I think both of them have been fantastic, linking up on that side together and defensively as well. You see Tiff’s work-rate, and you’d think Strappy was 21!

“I think the League Cup has been good for the young boys. You get three or four matches and it gives them a chance to get game time.”

The Sinclair Street side travel to Ayrshire today to face Kilmarnock at Rugby Park in their penultimate Group H fixture.

And O’Ware reckons he and his Ton team-mates can give their qualification hopes another boost by taking something from the game.

He concluded: “It’s a massive game today, and a hard game. Kilmarnock are second and this will be their second game.

“We have five points, so if we can try and get something from the game and something from next Saturday against Berwick, we should be okay.

“In terms of qualifying, it’s the top four second-placed teams that go through, so we want to try and get as many points on the board as we can.”