REPORT Morton 2 Livingston 0

In a candid interview with the Tele, Douglas Rae expressed displeasure with the campaign at large as well as casting doubt over manager Kenny Shiels’ future and criticising striker Garry O’Connor.

But the chairman’s frank and forthright comments had no negative bearing on Tuesday’s tremendous 3-0 triumph over Dumbarton or this impressive 2-0 win against Livingston.

Rock-bottom Ton were in fine form in midweek as they swept aside play-off chasing Dumbarton with a much-merited victory.

And they built on that display with an equally admirable outing against the West Lothian outfit as they managed to ward off the looming spectre of relegation for another week at least.

It has been a welcome improvement, especially for those fans who continue to turn out and spend their hard-earned cash to support their side.

But the nature of the performances will have left the very same Cappielow regulars questioning why these displays haven’t been produced before now.

The Cowshed faithful will also have been left wistfully wondering what might have been if they had managed them even one month earlier.

As it is, they are not yet mathematically relegated. However, it would require something approaching a miracle for Morton to finish ahead of ninth-placed Cowdenbeath.

To be precise, the Blue Brazil would need to lose all four of their remaining fixtures while the Greenock men won all four of theirs. Putting that in further perspective, they meet title-chasing trio Dundee, Hamilton Accies, and Falkirk and three of those four matches. A truly titanic task.

Manager Shiels admitted he and his squad accepted relegation as an inevitability after the defeat away at Cowdenbeath last month.

In that respect, he has begun to look towards next season, returning to his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation.

He went with same starting XI which disposed of the Sons, with the man under the microscope this week, O’Connor, included on the bench in the only change to the matchday squad.

The continuity helped them pick up where they left off in midweek, David Robertson setting the tone with a stinging shot on the bounce which Darren Jamieson flew to his left to save.

Former Dundee United midfielder Robertson was running himself into the ground, putting pressure on Livingston deep in their own half, as were his team-mates.

And it was from that sustained duress the visitors were placed under that Morton would open the scoring on 14 minutes, with Dougie Imrie netting his eighth goal of the campaign.

Livingston’s attempts to pass out from the back saw them surrender possession under pressure, allowing Scott Taggart to push into space down the right and pull back for Imrie.

From a central position 15 yards out, Imrie lashed an unstoppable effort into the right-hand side of the net with such power that it left Jamieson rooted to the spot. Like Robertson, Imrie had the look of a man on mission to ensure no blade of grass on Mark Farrell’s pristine pitch went untouched by his boots.

This was best illustrated by the skipper when he suddenly materialised from out of nowhere to throw himself in front of a Danny Denholm shot from 12 yards. It was a vital intervention.

His next contribution could not have possibly been further removed from that lunging block in his own box.

When he found himself back in the thick of the action again on the half-hour, it was at the other end and on the opposite flank.

Rowan Vine picked out his incisive, angled run in off the right flank with a perfectly-weighted pass which he took in his stride before firing off a rising strike that Jamieson clutched above his head. That opportunity came about as a result of Robertson closing down former Ton trialist Simon Mensing as he attempted to bring the ball out from the back. And their continuing relentless pursuit of the ball was pivotal in limiting the effectiveness of Livingston playmaker Burton O’Brien.

The ex-St Mirren midfielder acts as a quarter back for the Almondvale outfit, strutting around in his own half spraying passes out to team-mates on the flanks as though shelling peas with his left foot.

It was testament to Ton’s efforts that O’Brien, so often a standout against Morton, was nullified and his little impact on proceedings.

However, that is not to suggest the Cappielow club’s efforts were all about stifling the visitors; they also passed the ball well and controlled the vast majority of the first 45 minutes.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger values possession with progression: the philosophy that with ball retention there must also be the aim to penetrate further forward.

And, unlike earlier in Shiels’ tenure, Morton’s possession was punctuated with incisive passages of thrust and imagination in the final third on Saturday, none more so than at the second goal.

Taking possession on the left of the box, Rangers loanee Barrie McKay quickly slipped the ball inside to Vine, span off his man and darted directly into the box. Vine was on the same wavelength and sliced open the visitors’ defence with a perfectly weighted return pass through a gap in the back four.

McKay eased ahead of his marker, left Callum Fordyce on his backside by feigning to shoot and then wrapped his foot around the ball to whip in at the near post and fool Jamieson.

It was a delightful goal and came at an ideal time - one minute into first-half stoppage time - in the match.

Ton appeared to tire in the second period, allowing Livingston, rejuvenated by a double change at the interval, to force their way back into proceedings.

However, the Almondvale outfit could not find a way past sponsors’ man of the match Derek Gaston.

The big goalkeeper was in inspirational form, making two strong blocks to thwart lively Livi striker Marc McNulty in dangerous one-on-one situations.

The first came when ex-Ton man Kyle Wilkie, a half-time replacement for Denholm, threaded a pass between Thomas O’Ware and Darren Cole. Gaston had read the situation before it unfolded, however, and charged off his line to close down McNulty and get a crucial touch has the striker attempted to stab past him.

Livingston fashioned the second with a real route one move, as Danny Mullen flicked on Slovenia Under-21 cap Nejc Mevlja’s measured long ball.

With McNulty bearing down on him again and closer to goal, albeit from a tighter angle, the 26-year-old Ton custodian cut an imposing figure as he made himself big to make the block. At the other end, Jamieson was more of a spectator in the second period but was forced into a fine save when he plunged to his right to push away Imrie’s low finish.

Club captain Imrie then found himself filling in at left-back for a 15-minute spell after Marc Fitzpatrick twisted his right ankle in a tackle on the hour.

After a discussion on the touchline with his gaffer, Imrie went to full-back with development squad teenager Mark Russell deployed further forward in midfield.

The Ton boss, who was calling for greater energy from his side, would later switch the pair around as he attempted to address Livingston’s second-half supremacy. John McGlynn’s men had the momentum and continued to carve out openings, but they hadn’t reckoned with Gaston sustaining his heroics between the sticks.

On 68 minutes, he demonstrated stunning reactions to block Kyle Jacobs’ close-range strike and then claw the ball to safety following a stramash at a corner. But Gaston’s own personal favourite came when he flew to his left to repel Livi player-assistant manager Mark Burchill’s fierce snapshot 10 minutes later.

It was a jaw-dropping stop that earned the 26-year-old consecutive clean sheets for the first time this term.

It also ensured his side would manage successive Championship victories for the first time too. It’s just a pity that their upturn in form looks to have come too late in the day.