JONATAN Johansson praised Gary Oliver’s impact on his return to action as he reached a century of appearances for Morton.

The striker reached the landmark achievement when he returned to the starting line-up in the 1-1 draw against Ayr United on Tuesday.

The forward played well up front and went close to scoring on several occasions, and was one of the standout performers at Somerset Park.

The 23-year-old has had a tough time with injuries recently, having broken his collarbone back in November against Peterhead.

He made a brief comeback in January with two late appearances off the bench against East Fife and Dunfermline Athletic.

But the former Queen of the South and Hearts player then damaged his ankle ligaments in training and has been sidelined since. Morton have been light on forwards in recent weeks, with Oliver, Bob McHugh and Denny Johnstone all out.

And Johansson was happy with the striker’s contribution on his return.

He told the Tele: “It was great for him to reach 100 appearances.

“The last time he started was against Peterhead in the cup, when he broke his collarbone. He tried to come back but he had a couple of ankle injuries.

“I’ve been looking to bring him back in as he’s been a good player for us and I thought he did great on Tuesday, and I felt he deserved a goal.”