REPORT: Stenhousemuir 2 Morton 3

But it was fringe forward Stefan McCluskey who went some way to overshadowing the experienced striker’s homecoming with his best performance in Ton colours.

The former Clyde man was handed the No9 shirt with Declan McManus back at Aberdeen, Andy Barrowan out with a tight hamstring, and MacDonald judged to be a little short of match sharpness.

And in what was his first start since he was sent off in the shock 2-1 Scottish Cup loss to Lowland League Spartans, the 24-year-old grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

He was instrumental in his side picking up a massive three points that moved them above Forfar Athletic into second and kept them on the heels of League One leaders Stranraer.

As well as crucially drawing his side level two minutes after they had fallen behind, the younger McCluskey sibling also set up Thomas O’Ware and Ross Caldwell for Ton’s other goals.

Now the challenge for him is to continue to show this type of form to retain his starting place in the face of increasing competition from new signings MacDonald and Caldwell, and skipper Barrowman.

For there can be no doubt that it will be a real challenge to keep MacDonald in particular out of the starting line-up.

On Saturday manager Jim Duffy decided the 34-year-old’s lack of recent game time meant the sensible option was to list him as a substitute and bring him on later in the game.

But there were starts for fellow new boys Caldwell and goalkeeper Grant Adam, both of whom also put pen to paper on Friday, agreeing deals until the end of the season.

And after a slow start in which the hosts made a positive impression, Caldwell began to pose problems as the Ton looked to get him in behind Stenhousemuir’s high defensive line.

The problem, though, was that the ball regularly skidded off an artificial surface that had been rendered greasy by a coating of snow and rain and out of play.

But there were also more familiar issues on show as Ton struggled to find a quality final ball to match their promising approach play.

Just as he did against Airdrie last weekend, Joe McKee dissected the centre-half and left-back with a scalpel-like pass for the overlapping Lee Kilday to collect close to the bye-line.

Right-back Kilday pulled the ball back towards the edge of six-yard box where McManus had handily placed himself against the Diamonds, although he swept straight at keeper Andrew McNeil.

However, Caldwell had the benefit of just one training session with his new team-mates prior to the match and didn’t read the cut-back.

Towards the end of the half, Kilday found himself in a similar situation but with the previous outcome in mind, fizzed over a cross with which Caldwell just failed to connect.

Despite their territorial dominance, their only shot on target came on 15 minutes when a sturdy standing tackle from Michael Miller broke kindly for Stefan McCluskey.

The forward scampered clear down the inside-right channel and rifled off a low drive that Stenny keeper Greg Fleming blocked at his left post.

McKee did go close right on the stroke of half-time but saw his fierce rising drive just clear the crossbar after Jamie McCluskey had teed him up with a free-kick on the left corner of the box.

The hosts weren’t much of an attacking force, with Sean Dickson’s side-foot volley from a Kris Faulds cross that flew over the top the closest they came to breaking the deadlock.

But it was Scott Booth’s side who ignited what would turn out to be a sizzling second half by opening the scoring.

For Duffy’s men there was an all too familiar feel about events as they conceded shortly after half-time for the fourth time in six matches, with another ex-player scoring to add insult to injury.

It was five minutes after the restart when Colin McMenamin reacted quickest to follow in and rifle through Adam’s legs after the keeper had parried Dickson’s initial shot from 20 yards.

The chant “Peaso! There’s only one Peaso!” quickly went up from the away support, calling for the introduction of the talisman.

But before the echoes even had time to fade away, the visitors had hit back to level within two minutes of falling behind.

Stefan McCluskey was the scorer, darting to the near post to gleefully turn home brother Jamie’s low cross from the left after Caldwell had sent the older sibling clear with a clever reverse pass.

A much-needed surge of confidence flowed right through this young Ton team like an electrical current, with the McCluskey brothers particularly charged.

The pair combined to create their side’s second goal, expertly converted by O’Ware on 59 minutes.

Picking up possession under pressure with his back to goal in the left-back position, Jamie McCluskey threw a trademark step over to fool his opponent and drive infield out of trouble.

Without even appearing to look up to see where he was, the former Hibs winger instinctively swept a high, hanging pass back out to the left wing where it dropped right at Stefan’s feet.

It was a fantastic demonstration of the 27-year-old’s technical ability and drew rapturous appreciation from a group of young kids from a local boys’ club sat in front of the press box.

Stefan then pushed the ball inside to O’Ware who, showing the prowess that saw him deployed as a striker earlier in the season, allowed the ball to run through his path before pulling a calculated finish back across his body and past Fleming into the bottom-left corner.

The relatives were starting together for just the fourth time this season - and in their careers - and they looked as though they were relishing every second of the opportunity.

They linked up to carve out Morton’s third goal, which arrived on 63 minutes and completed a blistering 11-minute spell. On this occasion, Jamie, who was almost afforded a free role as he drifted all over the pitch to orchestrate Ton’s attacking play, slipped the ball to Stefan as he pulled away down the right flank.

He then picked out debutant Caldwell with a low cross which left the 21-year-old hitman the relatively straightforward task of guiding into the net with a neat side-footed finish.

Ton continued to turn on the style but found home keeper Fleming in impressive form as he prevented them from adding to their lead with a string of fine saves.

He denied McKee with a fine reflex save after the midfielder, deployed on the right to good effect on Saturday, worked a clever exchange with Stefan McCluskey to burrow into the box.

Scotland Under-21 cap Fleming mirrored that stop by plunging to block a similar effort from the ex-Shotts Bon Accord striker after the ball broke kindly for him on the right side of the box this time.

MacDonald was introduced to the action to a hero’s reception on 78 minutes and showed flashes of the ability that earned him adulation in his previous spell.

One flick-on from an Adam punt put Stefan McCluskey away down the left, from where his low drive was deflected narrowly wide.

In the second minute of injury time, he sent over a pin-point cross from the left which McKee met with a bullet header that looked destined for the net until Fleming produced another special parry.

Before then, though, Ton were left facing an anxious finish after Sean Crighton was penalised for a perplexing handball inside the box and McMenamin coolly converted the resultant spot-kick.

Stenny skipper Ross McMillan, a Greenock native, came within inches of getting on the end of Fraser Eddington’s whipped cross to score a dramatic stoppage-time equaliser. Fortunately for the Ton, the only damage incurred by the late spot-kick was that it took some of the gloss off a much-merited victory.

In a recent match preview, I wrote about how I looked into the faces of shell-shocked players and fans after the Spartans defeat and sensed the result would knock a young side out of kilter.

Saturday was at the opposite end of spectrum. As the players filtered out of the main stand and into the night as a sudden snowstorm engulfed Ochilview there was a real euphoria about them.

The return of MacDonald is a real coup. It has provided a shot in arm, particularly to the morale of the Cappielow faithful still reeling from the loss of top scorer McManus.

And if the likes of Stefan McCluskey can continue to step up to the plate as he did so impressively here, Saturday could well prove a turning point after a six-week sticky spell.