REPORT: Morton 2 Airdrie 1

But it is hard to think of a more appropriate description of Saturday’s match at Cappielow in which Morton came from behind at the break to beat basement boys Airdrie by two goals to one.

That is not to say that the visitors dominated the first half and the hosts the second, but rather there was a stark improvement in the Ton’s performance after the break.

Despite a positive opening 10 minutes in which Declan McManus and Robbie Crawford worked visiting goalkeeper Andrew McNeil, the Diamonds took a surprise lead against the run of play.

And in stunning style, too, when Liam Watt crashed a thunderous volley past Derek Gaston from 22 yards after a Jamie Bain free-kick cannoned off the wall and broke perfectly for a first-time hit.

Gary Bollan’s side went into the encounter propping up the table after failing to win any of their first six competitive fixtures or even score a goal on league duty.

The Diamonds’ first strike of the League One campaign rocked Jim Duffy’s side, who threatened to buckle under the weight of a series of set-pieces.

After scoring on 15 minutes, Airdrie flooded the Ton box with a flurry of long throws, free-kicks and corners.

Two minutes after breaking the deadlock, goalscorer Watt curled in a free-kick which Rangers loanee Luca Gasparotto attacked aggressively at the far post but headed narrowly over the top.

That was the closest they came to scoring, though, as Ton emerged from their 10-minute wobble unscathed.

But they still seemed a group gripped by nerves; a fragile young team struggling to turn the tide back in their favour.

Fans grew frustrated as centre-halves Thomas O’Ware — back in defence with Stefan Milojevic out injured and Andy Barrowman available again — and Sean Crighton swapped passes.

The problem was not the ball retention but rather that the exchanges lacked real purpose and the build-up never progressed further than the full-backs or deep-lying playmaker Joe McKee.

And the Cappielow crowd’s agitation grew when Reece Hands slipped and presented Kyle Richford with possession and a golden opportunity to run at a rapidly retreating Ton defence.

To the English midfielder’s relief, Richford’s powerful 25-yard strike cleared Derek Gaston’s crossbar and only troubled those gathered on the Sinclair Street terracing.

Ton were struggling to get strikers Barrowman and McManus involved but did at least manage a few speculative shots on goal from the midfield as the half drew to a close.

Energetic Irishman Conor Pepper, who later won the sponsors’ man of the match award, was first to try his luck but skewed high and wide after going for goal with his weaker left foot.

Robbie Crawford went much closer when, on 36 minutes, he cut in off the left flank and pulled a low shot a whisker wide of the upright.

Despite these small, green shoots of recovery it was evident changes were needed at the break if the Ton were to have any chance of turning the game around.

Duffy’s solution was to tweak the shape of the midfield and add width by replacing Hands with fit-again wideman Jamie McCluskey.

As part of the change, the Ton boss dropped the narrow midfield diamond he had set out with at kick-off and instead played a flat four.

The midfield was weighted towards the right, with McCluskey hugging the touchline and Crawford asked to play narrow on the opposite side, effectively making up a three in the centre.

It made a discernible difference and the hosts found themselves on level terms within six minutes of the restart. The move began with McCluskey and ended with McKee bending a pass round a corner and into the path of Barrowman as he broke into the box.

And the experienced hitman didn’t miss a beat as he swept home a convincing finish from 15 yards to score his first goal for the club and give an indication of what they have been missing.

Aberdeen loanee McManus has largely shouldered the responsibility for goals in the 29-year-old’s injury-enforced absence, earning himself a Scotland Under-21 call-up in the process.

And he came within a few feet of marking his return from international duty by scoring his seventh goal of the season.

He darted to the near post and found that Crawford was on his wavelength when the midfielder used the outside of his right foot to pick out his run with an intelligently modified cross from the left. McManus stooped to head the centre towards goal but got too much on his connection and sent it spinning wide.

Although he would not find the net, the 20-year-old was tenacious and intent on testing the Diamonds defence to the limit. At times, rangy centre-half Ben Richards-Everton played like a panicked chicken asked to protect his coup against a fox.

After picking up a first-half caution for clattering into the back of McKee, the Englishman – on loan at Airdrie from Partick Thistle – was fortunate not to be punished further.

On more than one occasion he pawed at McManus as the pair tussled only to receive the benefit of the doubt from referee Kevin Graham.

While their side’s unconvincing play had drawn the Ton supporters’ ire in the first half, the man in the middle was at the centre of their consternation in the second half. Awarding a foul against 5ft 8in Pepper for jumping to win a header and then failing to blow when Richards-Everton ploughed into Barrowman to head clear did little to aid his cause.

But the feeling of injustice was swept away on a wave of euphoria when Morton completed the comeback by taking the lead on 68 minutes.

McKee had put in a polished performance at the heart of the midfield.

He was always available to take possession, impressive in his distribution and disciplined and competitive in a defensive sense.

A criticism that has been levelled at him is that he too often plays it safe — but he was more willing to express himself and gamble on getting forward after the break.

And after pushing into the final third and hurting the opposition with his part in the equaliser, he did so again by supporting play on the edge of the box. After receiving the ball he shifted the ball outside a defender and rifled in a low drive that McNeil repelled low to his right.

The ball broke back into the goalmouth and sensing an opportunity to score his second of the afternoon, Barrowman came lunging in to make a desperate attempt to convert the rebound.

His touch inadvertently stunned the ball dead and allowed Crawford to rush in and slam home to fire Duffy’s men in front.

After sampling the celebrations, Crawford looked hungry to add to his tally and peppered McNeil’s goal in the remaining 20 minutes.

Despite going close, he never quite managed to stretch Ton’s lead.

Airdrie, on the other hand, offered little as an attacking force and never looked much like troubling the underworked Gaston at the other end.

Although they did not get the opportunity to celebrate a third goal, the Cappielow crowd was given cause to indulge in some schadenfreude at Marc Fitzpatrick’s expense.

The left-back, who played in the centre of midfield for Airdrie on Saturday, was never popular with the Ton support in his solitary season with the club last term.

And so his prolonged failure to realise a late throw-in had gone against him, and the subsequent temper tantrum that saw him punch the ball away in anger, was met with much amusement.

But the real satisfaction was taken from an improved second half outing and a victory that ended a run of three consecutive defeats and sent the Ton to within one point of Dunfermline at the top of the table.