JIM Duffy admits he had his ‘heart in his mouth’ in the dying minutes of Saturday’s Renfrewshire derby draw when he watched Saints striker Gavin Reilly hit the deck inside the box.

Reilly took a tumble under pressure from Thomas O’Ware in the closing stages of the 2-2 draw in Paisley and Duffy admits he feared the worst when he heard referee Steven McLean’s whistle sound.

However, the striker was booked for diving and Duffy was as relieved as anyone of the blue and white persuasion inside the ground.

It was a tale of two spot-kicks as the Buddies did get the break when Michael Doyle hauled back Lewis Morgan for the opener before Gary Harkins slotted home a penalty for Morton when Ricki Lamie was felled by Gregor Buchanan later in the match.

But Duffy insists his defender was convinced his foul on Morgan began outside the box and therefore should have just been a free-kick.

He said: “The referee has obviously booked Reilly for diving but I have to be honest, from where I was I had my heart in my mouth because I thought it was a penalty.

"But the referee was right on top of the play and booked him and I’ll accept that call with great delight.

“Michael Doyle says for their penalty that it was outside the box but referees make split-second decisions.

“I can’t say from where I was whether it was a penalty or not.”

The Morton manager was content with a point because he says his players stood up to the task against the league leaders.

He said: “We cancelled each other out to a certain extent in the first half because there wasn’t too much for either goalkeeper to concern themselves with.

“But the second half was a bit more open.

“We’re delighted to come back twice and I think it shows a real determination from the players and belief.

“You have to believe you can get things from these games and with St Mirren firing on all cylinders at the top of the league it’s a test for our players. But we stood up to it.

“It was an outstanding strike from Andy to get us back in the game but like a lot of games players get a little bit over-excited and think ‘we can go on and win this’ while the game is still in the melting pot.

“St Mirren caught us on the counter-attack for their second goal and we should have been switched on.

“But it was a terrific game and we’re more pleased that we’ve come away with the point because that makes these games easier to enjoy. 

“And the game was a good advert for the quality of the Championship.”