REFEREE John McKendrick has long been unpopular with Morton fans - and his stock fell even further with them on Saturday after ignoring two seemingly stonewall penalty claims.

In October 2013, the whistler was at the centre of a Cappielow controversy during a League Cup quarter-final tie against St Johnstone His decision to penalise Nacho Novo for encroachment at a Stevie May free-kick ended with the Saints striker firing in the retake which led to the crushing late goal which sent Ton crashing out.

They had not forgotten that evening and treated the man in the middle to a hostile reception prior to the 1-1 draw at Falkirk the following February.

McKendrick also went on to draw their ire in that encounter, awarding the Bairns two spot-kicks , with the second, a Fouad Bachirou challenge on Craig Sibbald, hotly contested.

On Saturday at Palmerston Park, it was almost a role reversal as he waved away four Morton penalty appeals – two of which occurred in the first half and looked certain spot-kicks.

McKendrick has been in the public eye of late, with Falkirk boss Peter Houston issued with a notice of complaint by the SFA after his fierce criticism of the refereeing in a match against Rangers.

And although Ton boss Jim Duffy was less pointed in his criticism of the official, he was furious with the decisions and felt they proved costly after losing by a narrow 1-0 margin to Queen of the South.

It was a third consecutive league loss for the Greenock outfit, coming on the heels of defeats to Rangers and Raith Rovers.

And Duffy made three changes to the team selected at Stark’s Park, dropping Conor Pepper, Michael Miller and Peter MacDonald for Ricki Lamie, Ross Forbes and Alex Samuel.

The visitors started brightly dominating the first 10 minutes, and they could well have taken the lead in that period had Denny Johnstone brought his shooting boots.

Stefan McCluskey was terrorising Lewis Kidd down the Queens left - more of which later – skilfully nutmegging him to wriggle into the box before pulling back for the Ton No9.

Birmingham loanee Johnstone, though, took a fresh air swipe at the ball. He did manage to spin 360 degrees and hook a shot at goal at the second attempt, but it was easily gathered by Robbie Thompson.

It was a moment of what originally appeared to be misfortune that turned the game turned in the hosts’ favour in the 10th minute.

Central defender Andy Dowie was forced off injured and James Fowler replaced him with wide midfielder Alex Harris and changed shape from 3-5-2 to 4-4-2.

It saw them match up with Morton and turned the game in their favour, with wideman Harris getting at left-back Mark Russell at every opportunity.

Just four minutes after entering the action, the Hibs loanee twisted and turned out on the wing to manufacture space for a cross.

The Ton defence failed to deal with his left-footed delivery, and deadly Doonhamers hitman Derek Lyle was alive to the situation, seizing on the indecision to sneak in and glance a header past Derek Gaston.

It was the former Cappielow striker’s second goal against his former club this term, having netted the first equaliser in last month’s 2-2 league draw, and his seventh of the season.

James Fowler’s side really started to push the envelope after taking the lead, causing Ton untold problems in an intense 10-minute spell of total dominance.

Ryan Conroy smashed a shot just over the crossbar before Harris forced Gaston, who signed a contract extension on Friday, into a strong two-handed save with a swerving shot from 25 yards.

They should have doubled their lead on 21 minutes when Kyle Jacobs headed narrowly wide of the left-hand upright after meeting Conroy’s inswinging corner.

One minute later, influential former Dundee man Conroy, shifted out to a familiar role wide of the left in the earlier reshuffle, drove infield and dragged a right-footed shot past the post.

Morton managed a rare foray forward on 24 minutes and the incident proved to be the game’s key flashpoint.

McCluskey shifted the ball inside off the left, easing his way past a panicked Kidd as he wriggled into the box.

Queen of the South defender Kidd clearly manhandled McCluskey, wrapping his arms around his shoulders, and the Ton man went to ground in the area.

Whistler McKendrick seemed to pause to think about the decision, and decided to caution the incredulous McCluskey for simulation rather than point to the spot.

The unanimous feeling across the pressbox was that it should have been a penalty, and the Ton contingent made their feelings perfectly clear both during and after the match.

Perhaps the clearest indication that it should have been a spot-kick came from the usually partisan home support.

One Doonhamer sat in the mainstand, angered by the risky defending, shouted to his own player: “You got lucky there, Lewis! - thoughts echoed on the official Queen of the South website.

‘The home side were quite fortunate not to concede a penalty around the half an hour mark as it did appear that Lewis Kidd pulled McCluskey to the ground inside the penalty area,’ their report read.

Duffy was left incandescent moments later when Johnstone received a pull on his shoulder as he charged into the box, the Cappielow gaffer receiving a talking to by McKendrick as a result.

The fact the striker stayed on his feet seemed to count against him, and jarred with the decision to book McCluskey for going down under a similar pull.

Thereafter Morton began to get back into the game, and their best efforts to equalise both came from Ross Forbes free-kicks.

On 32 minutes, he whipped a set-piece over the wall and rippled the side netting, creating the brief illusion of a goal, after Kyle Jacobs had fouled Michael Tidser 25 yards out.

Similar to one which the playmaker saw hacked off the line against Raith last week, Forbes fizzed in a fierce inswinging free-kick from wide on the right, but the well-positioned Thompson clutched cleanly.

The second half, by contrast, saw one-way traffic headers towards the Queen of the South goal, with Morton camped in the Queens half for virtually the entirety of the 45 minutes.

Crucially, for all their possession and pressure they could not find a way to break down the defensive-minded Doonhamers.

On the rare occasions they did manage to do so, their finishing was not nearly clinical enough to get them the goal they needed.

On 54 minutes, a Ricki Lamie long ball was knocked on by Johnstone and then onto Bobby Barr, who checked onto his left foot and flashed a dipping drive just over at the top-left corner.

Three minutes later, excitable Swansea striker Alex Samuel did superbly well to swivel in behind the defence but rushed his finish, spooning well over the bar with his left foot.

They continued to turn the screw without finding the finishing touch, and Lee Kilday showed desire to get on the end of a Barr cross but could only prod a half-volley tamely at Thompson.

Ton were huffing and puffing without really threatening to equalise, and Duffy decided to replace McCluskey with Jon Scullion, who immediately sent a scissors volley spinning wide from a Barr cross.

The visitors went up a gear after the introduction of midfielder Joe McKee – his first appearance since the opening day Petrofac Cup loss to Dumbarton - on 78 minutes.

By comparison, Fowler made his intentions clear by withdrawing a striker, Lyle, and replacing him with a midfielder, Mark Millar, who was subsequently cautioned for a terrible late challenge on Romario Sabajo.

Sub McKee sent over a cross which ended with resolute Queens skipper Chris Higgins scrambling the ball off his line in the final minute.

That and a few half-hearted penalty appeals involving Kilday aside, it felt as though Ton could have played until Boxing Day, the original date of the game, without finding a way through Queens’ stubborn resistance.

It’s arguable that over the piece neither side deserved three points, but the Cappielow club will certainly feel that they should have taken a share of the spoils.

That they didn’t could be equally apportioned between a lack of cutting edge in the final third and questionable refereeing.