Ayr United 1 Greenock Morton 1

ANY play-off hopes look all but over for Morton for another year as they failed to pick up three vital points at Somerset Park.

Anton Dowds’ touch of class on the cusp of half time cancelled out Kirk Broadfoot’s second goal in three games.

The result, coupled with Airdrie going to Stark’s Park and demolishing Raith Rovers, all but ended any hopes of the Cappielow men finishing in fourth place - with the gap now stretched to a whopping seven points with four games remaining.

Dougie Imrie named two changes to the side that lost out to Airdrie just a few days ago, looking to salvage some hope of finishing in the play-off positions.

That defeat left them five points adrift of the top four with five games to go which piled on the significance for this midweek clash at Somerset Park.

It was win or bust, and in order to try and get that vital three points Imrie looked to both Grant Gillespie and Michael Garrity for a spark to turn his side’s fortunes around and get only his third win in ten games.

Garrity came into the XI off the back of an impressive cameo against the Diamonds and he was up against a familiar face in Sean McGinty, who was there to be got at.

It was nearly another nightmare start for the hosts, who saw an effort fly wide of their goal inside two minutes. Fraser Brydon met Chalmers’ cross along the edge of the box to flick the ball away from Baird. He then tried to get his side something from a tight angle, firing across the face of goal.

Ton were living dangerously with a quarter-of-an-hour played after a Chalmers corner was half cleared at the near post, eventually dropping to Dowds on the edge of the area, who curled over from 18 yards.

But crucially Ton would get themselves in front with just over 20 minutes played after Calum Waters was wiped out by Logan Chalmers on the left-hand side. It was a similar position to which Alan Power stood over the ball back in November to feed George Oakley the matchwinner. But this time, it was Michael Garrity who stood over the ball, and he’d be the one to deliver an inch-perfect cross onto the head of Kirk Broadfoot who cutely flicked the ball beyond Josh Clarke for his second goal in three games.

The game was beginning to stretch as the hosts looked to get back on level terms. As Ayr tried to get the ball in behind, it saw the Ton backline retreat and leave a gap between themselves and the midfield. The ball found its way to Musonda who tried his luck with a with a first-time effort that forced Mullen to pull off a brilliant full-stretch save.

However Ayr’s pressure would pay off right on the cusp of half time. It was a case of whatever you can do, I can do better as Anton Dowds pulled his side level.

Dougie Imrie was barking orders, trying to marshal his side into a half-time lead. His instruction was simple, stop the cross. Tyler French clearly forgot the memo as he allowed Franny Amartey to cut in onto his left foot and deliver a good ball to the far post where Dowds had lost his man and he made no mistake in flicking it into the top right corner, in off the crossbar.

The late reply had Ayr coming out of the traps in the second half the quickest. In all honesty, they should have completed their comeback eight minutes after the restart as Ryan Mullen thanked his crossbar for coming to his aid as the Partick loan man rattled the upright from a few yards out.

After taking a hell of a barrage of pressure Ton had a rare foray forward with just over an hour played.

Jack Baird stepped out to take the ball forward and release Robbie Muirhead down the right. He opted not to cut inside Frankie Musonda, and instead aim for the near post, but lashed his effort over the bar.

Ayr were really pushing but Ton still had a threat on the counter, where they thought they’d done enough to win it in the dying embers of normal time after Alan Power did well to pick out Robbie Muirhead with a sweeping pass out to the left-hand side. He cut in onto his right foot and let rip from the edge of the box, but he could only find the palms of Clarke as neither side could find a winner.