REPORT: Brechin 1 Morton 1

In one of Scottish football’s more romantic if less salubrious lower league settings, two committed teams battled it out for the points on a poor pitch.

It wasn’t pretty, nor one for the beautiful game’s purists, but 90 minutes of wholehearted action made for an engaging contest which saw the spoils shared.

For Morton, there would have been a mix of emotions at full-time. They would have been disappointed not to have taken all three points after leading with just over 10 minutes to go.

On the other hand, they had taken a point at the home of a Brechin side they had lost to here in comprehensive fashion back in October.

Ray McKinnon’s men were also unbeaten in 11 league matches heading into the game, earning him the League One Manager of the Month award for January, and finished the game strongly.

So while a draw at Glebe Park wasn’t exactly the desired outcome before kick-off, neither was it a disaster afterwards.

Ton were also without their talisman, Peter MacDonald. The experienced striker had scored three goals in his last three starts, two of which were crucial to his team claiming four points.

His absence made the return of Declan McManus on loan from Aberdeen all the more significant, and the Scotland Under-21 cap went straight into Jim Duffy’s side.

There were also starts for Conor Pepper and Michael Miller in midfield, with Joe McKee and Ricki Lamie — whose place in defence was taken by Thomas O’Ware — making way.

While the hosts are currently on the crest of a wave, Ton too are in the midst of a decent run of results having gone five undefeated.

They were clearing raring to go on Saturday, emerging from the tunnel two minutes ahead of kick-off and pacing about like caged tigers waiting on their opponents and the officials.

Their strong start proved it was more than posturing. Within three minutes they had carved out an opening via a swift attack down the left involving Ross Forbes, Stefan McCluskey, and McManus.

The on-loan Aberdeen forward received possession in a central position on the edge of the box and unselfishly pushed the ball into the path of his new strike partner Ross Caldwell.

A confident Caldwell side-footed a powerful, first-time effort at goal which home keeper Graeme Smith did well to turn over the top, even if the finish was a little central.

McCluskey was proving an effective attacking outlet down the left, and he fed McManus for a snapshot inside the box on 12 minutes. Smith scrambled low to save this time.

Derek Gaston had to be alert in the visitors’ goal, too, darting off his line to make a smart block at the feet of Craig Storie, another Aberdeen loanee who was slipped in by Ryan Ferguson.

It was a fairly even game at the midway point in the first half, with Forbes and Craig Molloy influential figures leading the battle for midfield supremacy for their respective sides.

The teams continued to trade blows in front of goal, with Ton going closest to scoring on 24 minutes when Pepper’s cross floated over Smith and crashed off the face of the crossbar.

Yet within a minute, Brechin had carved out an opening of their own as they seized on a momentary lapse by Morton. A simple Colin Hamilton throw-in and a Ferguson feint were enough to dissect the whole Ton midfield, and the Brechin No10 then threaded a pass in behind for ex-Cappielow youth Alan Trouten.

But just as he had on the opposite side earlier, Gaston read the danger, charged forward and got his considerable frame in the way of Trouten’s prodded finish.

McManus and Pepper both had chances to pick out Caldwell with crosses from either flank as the half wound down.

However, the first was too close to Smith who pounced to smother, before later claiming with ease after the hitman failed to properly connect on Pepper’s fizzed cross from the right.

It was a fairly even and keenly contested first 45 minutes, but the encounter would only truly come to life after the break.

And it was the Ton who opened the scoring in controversial fashion on 54 minutes after referee Euan Anderson awarded them a penalty.

Forbes fired a free-kick into Gary Fusco’s stomach, and as the ball dropped down McManus nipped in first and flicked around the Brechin No6 before he could complete his attempted clearance. Ton’s top scorer was sent sprawling and whistler Anderson pointed to the spot, sparking a furious reaction from the home dugout, stand, and directors’ box.

The press bench is situated in the main stand, next to the home directors and behind the technical area, and from that vantage point it was unclear how much contact there was.

So it was hard to fathom out how the home contingent could be so certain it was the wrong decision.

Nevertheless, Caldwell stepped up and side-footed a firm effort beyond Smith’s dive and low into the bottom-right corner to take his tally to three goals in four starts and one sub appearance.

The goal initially rattled the hosts, and only proactive goalkeeping from Smith prevented McManus from getting on the end of Forbes’ pass in behind, even if he did get away with a shanked clearance.

But they regained their composure, particularly after a double change made by McKinnon on 62 minutes.

The Brechin boss brought on Robert Thomson and one-time Ton trialist Ewan McNeil in place of Storie and Ferguson. Until then Sean Crighton and O’Ware had been dominant, ceding no ground to a diminutive strikeforce on a pitch that necessitated a more back-to-front approach.

But 6ft 2in targetman Thomson was a totally different proposition, and Crighton had been booked for a tussle with him within four minutes.

It was a sign of things to come in a myriad of ways. A meaty second half saw Anderson flash a total of eight yellow cards, five of which were shown to Greenock men.

And as well as Ton regularly gifting the opposition dangerous free-kicks around the edge of the box in the final half hour, Thomson’s aerial prowess and the quality of Bobby Barr’s delivery offered a prescient warning.

On this occasion, Barr swung over a free-kick which flashed narrowly wide of Gaston’s left-hand post after missing everyone.

The livewire former Livingston winger was always a threat, but he really seemed to spark in the final 20 minutes.

On 73 minutes, he drew the save of the match from Gaston when he cut in off the left flank and unleashed a searing, right-footed strike that the Ton skipper acrobatically flipped over the bar. Then, six minutes later, he was fouled by Lee Kilday wide on the left for the free-kick that he himself would deliver to assist his side’s leveller.

Wrapping his right foot around the ball, Barr fired into the box and found Thomson, who head-flicked on over Gaston off the underside of the crossbar and into the net to make it 1-1.

The momentum was with the hosts, and they spent the final 10 minutes relentlessly pursuing a winner.

It was backs to the wall stuff for a Ton side that would have to come through a hat-trick of late scares before clinching their point.

Only a crucial, last-ditch intervention by sub Ricki Lamie prevented Trouten from touching the ball over the line after Paul McLean had slipped the ball past Gaston and between the posts.

That near miss occurred on 82 minutes. Around 100 seconds later an offside flag denied Trouten his 13th goal of the season after he poked a McLauchlan knock down under Gaston.

When Lamie gave away a foul 20 yards out to the right of the box, there was a sense of foreboding given Barr’s earlier set-pieces.

To his clear disgust, he was passed over in favour of a direct shot at goal from Hamilton, who had sent a harmless effort into Gaston’s grateful grasp from a similar position in the first half.

The left-back failed to even hit the target this time, clearing the crossbar at the Cemetery End to ensure the match would end in stalemate.

It was a second half that got the pulse racing but it was more an affair of the heart for the passionate, dyed-in-the-wool supporter than a match the refined footballing aesthete could fall in love with.