MORTON manager Jim Duffy insisted his side deserved their draw with Brechin City after recovering from a first-half horror show to rescue a point at Cappielow on Saturday.

The Greenock men were fortunate to find themselves trailing by just two goals at the interval following a woeful defensive display.

But they made visitors Brechin pay for their profligacy by scoring twice in the second 45 to snatch a draw right at the death.

Duffy admitted his team were all over the place at the back before the break but was pleased with the way they fought until the end to salvage a share of the spoils.

He said: “It was a deserved draw. I don’t think anyone could deny us that in terms of the pressure we put on Brechin in the second half.

“I thought Brechin were terrific in the first half, particularly the first 25 minutes. We were all over the place defensively and they fully exploited it.

“I felt as if we were very disjointed looking and maybe a wee part of that was to do with us changing the shape today. It [the 4-2-3-1 formation] was an unfamiliar shape for us.

“But credit to Brechin, they played really well. They scored a couple of goals and they could have scored another couple of goals.

“They were a fraction offside and the boy [Alan Trouten] missed a great chance, so from that point of view it was a harsh 25 minutes for us.

“Did I consider changing things at that stage? To be honest, I considered changing the personnel, because with the players we had on the pitch I couldn’t change the shape.

“Jon [Scullion] plays off the front, Declan [McManus] was doing a job for us [on the left] and Jinky [Jamie McCluskey] plays on the right.

“So I couldn’t stick a man in midfield; there wasn’t one of those who could go into midfield to shore it up a little bit.

“But, of course I considered changing the personnel before we managed to settle down and started passing the ball.

“We managed to get a few shots in but they were all from distance and we really couldn’t get in behind their defence.

“Obviously the goal from Jinky gave us a bit of impetus in the second half, but as the clock was running down I was thinking it wasn’t going to be our day.

“With the penalty it was either Joe [McKee] or Declan. It’s been a while since we had one, but Deccy’s a confident boy. It was virtually the last kick of the ball and with those you just never know.

“Getting the point was important for us. We didn’t score last week, so to score two goals was important too.

“It’s a tough league and if you’re losing 2-0 and you get a point, it’s something you have to accept with a bit of grace.

“It’s not what you want; you want three points. But if you look at the balance of play over the course of the game, I don’t think it was an undeserved point.

“Overall you’ve got to be happy with the point. To come back from the brink at 2-0 down to 2-2 showed a bit of courage and determination from the players.

“I said to them in there [the dressing room] that I was most pleased with the way they didn’t shy away from passing the ball. Joe McKee and Jamie McCluskey kept looking to pass it.

“It’s easy to just lump it up the pitch and hope for the best when there’s 10 or 15 minutes to go and you need a goal, but they didn’t do that and they got a reward at the end of it.

“That’s our first league draw and it’s mid-December – but it’s better than a defeat. That’s the only way you can look at it.

“Overall we were shaky defensively but I thought we played some good football. Hopefully it gives the players a wee bit more confidence and belief that they can go and get back on track again.”