MORTON 1 QUEEN OF THE SOUTH 2 (Morton: Weatherson 23; QoS: Burns 31, Holmes 64) AFTER a bright start, in which they took the lead, Morton showed a soft centre that has been all too evident in their last couple of seasons.

Much as their football approach under James Grady and Allan McManus has changed, with the accent on a passing game, this performance typified an all too familiar lack of grit, or understading of what to do, when the going gets tough.

There can be admiration for some of the football this team tries to play, but the evidence is that some failings may be too deep rooted to solve with the current personnel. They keep recurring, after all.

Of course, players are still to come back from injury, and it will be some time in Jaunary when, all else being well, the new management team can hope to have a full squad at their disposal.

There has been an acknowledgement that, if the current group is found wanting, action will need to be taken to remedy that. This was again underlined in the after-match press conference when Allan McManus spoke of having to look at freshening the squad in the January transfer window.

The problem he and Grady have, of course, is that the players they may wish to move on may not want to depart. The wage structure at Cappielow is not ungenerous and any real task of reconstruction will probably have to wait until the end of the season when most of the players are out of contract.

But as from today, striker Iain Russell returns from his spell on loan to Alloa while the return of midfielder Neil MacFarlane is imminent.

Allan Jenkins too is not that far away from a comeback.

The saving grace for Morton is that Airdrie and Ayr are definitely poorer teams at that end of the league than there have been in recent First Division seasons. That is giving the club some leeway as they wait for the walking wounded to return.

Yet the match began well for the hosts, who surprised the home support by playing Jim McAlister up front alongside Peter Weatherson.

In nine minutes it was McAlister who got to a Paartalu cross but his header, having to lean back as he did, soared over the target.

Then a Carlo Monti delivery from the left side was headed back across the goalkeeper by Peter Weatherson, the ball sneaking past the left post.

Jordan McMillan of Queens entered the referee's book when he clattered McAlister in 17 minutes as the visitors sought to stay in the game.

In 20 minutes a goal seemed certain for Morton when Peter Weatherson turned on his own headed flick-on from a Monti free kick and fired a vicious shot at goal, only for Hutton to beat it out. The inrushing Ryan McGuffie side-footed the rebound from close range at goal only for Hutton to block again, astonishingly followed by two Stewart Greacen efforts also thwarted when it seemed impossible that a goal could be avoided.

McKenna barged McAlister, and was booked for his pains, before Morton at last took a thoroughly deserved lead in 23 minutes.

There seemed little danger, but Erik Paartalu fired in a superb cross from deep on the right, the ball taking a late swerve past Andrews to Weatherson who flung himself at it on the blind side of the big defender to head fiercely past Hutton.

Queens replied with a Weatherston drive saved by Colin Stewart at the expense of a corner but, when the equaliser arrived, in 31 minutes, it did so against the run of play.

Weatherston supplied a pass from the left inside to McLaren some 40 yards from goal. He directed a simple ball to Burns, wide on the right, who went outside David MacGregor and fired an angled drive at goal. Stewart got down to it but the ball struck him and flew over the goalkeper and into the net.

It was an awful soft goal to lose at a point in the match when Morton were well on top.

This encouraged the visitors and the inrushing Quinn just missed an angled drive by McMillan at the back post.

A minute later Morton had a strong appeal for a penalty when Andrews tumbled Weatherson in the box, but the referee was having none of it.

Upon the re-start, McAlister turned and fired a long range drive narrowly wide, Quinn replying with an effort inches past the post.

But it was Queens who grabbed the initiative with a second goal in 64 minutes. McMillan sent a long ball upfield towards the towering Holmes, Greacen mistimed his challenge and the big Queens striker took advantage to wallop a perfect, lobbed shot from fully 35 yards over Stewart who had come off his line.

Kean replaced McLaren for Queens, with Stevie Masterton making his comeback, after being out since 22 August, when he took over from McGuffie. Morton had lost all cohesion by this time, their sole effort worth the name being a brisk Masterton drive from 30 yards which whistled past the right post.

They now face a daunting trip to Dens Park next Saturday to pit their wits against the league leaders.

MORTON (4-4-2): Stewart 5; Van Zanten 5, Greacen 5 Shimmin 8, MacGregor 5; Finlayson 5, McGuffie 5 (Masterton 74 3), Paartalu 7, Monti 5 (Graham 78 2); Weatherson 7, McAlister 6.

Subs not used - Shepherd, McWilliams.

QUEEN of SOUTH (4-4-2): Hutton; McMillan, Andrews, Reid, Harris; Burns, Quinn, McKenna, McLaren (Kean 74); Holmes, Weatherston (Scally 90).

Subs not used - McGeown, Trialist.

Bookings: McMillan 17, McKenna 21.

Referee: Steven Nicholls 6.

Attendance: 1,814.