AFTER a two month exile from home comforts Morton finally return to Cappielow tomorrow as they aim to get their promotion push back on track.

You have to go back to November 26 for their last match on their own patch, so it's fair to say that the team and fans alike will be glad to get back to base.

A combination of cup ties, unkind scheduling and postponements has kept them away from Sinclair Street for what must feel like an eternity.

The emphatic Scottish Cup victory they recorded there over Queen of the South seems a distant memory after a subsequent six game winless streak.

During it they have suffered a penalty shootout loss knocking them out of the SPFL Trust Trophy, collected just two points in the league from a possible 12, suffered from a series of very controversial refereeing decisions, slipped out of the play-off positions and then exited the Scottish Cup via a heavy defeat at Celtic Park.

The visit of Arbroath gives them a chance to draw a line under what has been an unforgiving period and kick on again.

Ton go into the game off the back of their 5-0 loss at Parkhead, a match which will be remembered only for being completely overshadowed by the incompetence of the officials.

Astonishingly, for the third week in a row a penalty kick was awarded against them without a claim being made but this one was the most egregious by a mile, as it was given despite the fact that VAR was in operation.

No one in the 40,000-strong attendance had any inkling something was amiss when the video team intervened to check for a possible handball by Efe Ambrose, with both sets of players baffled.

The fact it took the remote officials two minutes to watch the 'incident' over and over again before eventually passing the buck to the permanently-bewildered looking Kevin Clancy should perhaps have indicated to all concerned that there was no infringement by the player.

Yet the 2,200 Ton fans in the stadium still had that sinking feeling as the hapless whistler trotted over to the screen and reviewed the clip several times himself before pointing to the spot for Aaron Mooy to open the scoring.

The most striking thing is the universal condemnation that has followed the controversy - you will struggle to find a sentient being anywhere in the country that considers Clancy got it right, or who believes he should have been asked to look at in the first place.

Scarcely, if ever, can a refereeing decision have been be so roundly rubbished from all quarters and the fact it was played out live on television just makes it more embarrassing.

How the SFA can stand idly by and watch such a farce play out without repercussions for those involved is truly mindblowing.

At the very least Clancy and company owe Dougie Imrie and his players a private apology, but whether any of the parties involved would do so is doubtful.

Imrie's players had started brightly, carrying the game to the hosts, with the pace and power of Jai Quitongo causing problems down the right flank.

They could even have opened the scoring when Lewis Strapp failed to connect with a Robbie Crawford cutback, but the penalty debacle seemed to knock the wind out of their sails and when they conceded a second goal shortly afterwards the tie was dead and buried.

Ton will be disappointed with the manner of a couple of the goals they conceded, but that aside they have nothing to reproach themselves for, given the way they applied themselves and gave it their all against top quality opposition.

The consolation from the tie is that it drew a much healthier attendance than Ton's previous cup tie visits to Glasgow's east end in 2013, 2016 and 2018.

Between the exit fee, share of the ticket receipts and TV money Morton should bank a healthy six-figure sum which will boost the club's coffers.

On the field, attention now turns back to the business of trying to push back up the table.

Morton have 16 games left to play and 10 of them will be at home - they really have to make that ratio count in their favour.

Since Imrie's arrival just over 12 months ago he has repeatedly stressed his objective of making the ground a 'fortress' and has gone a good way towards achieving that.

The obvious word of warning would be that Arbroath are one of only two teams to win here this season, in what was probably Ton's weakest home performance during the manager's reign.

In fact the Red Lichties have become a bit of a bogey team overall for Morton, who have not got the better of them since January 2020.

Now would be the perfect time to lay that mini hoodoo to rest as they try to clamber into the top four again, but Dick Campbell's players have their own agenda, with only four points separating them from Hamilton at the foot of the table.

They have had a disappointing season so far but will take heart from the creditable showing they put up against Motherwell in the cup last Saturday and will travel with no fear to a venue where they've enjoyed a series of good results, so it is all to play for.