Glasgow Times

Morton happy to be in the play-offs

- By DAVID BALFOUR

MORTON finally secured a championsh­ip play-off berth - despite dropping a point to bottom side Ayr United.

Lawrence Shankland and Craig Moore scored a goal apiece in the final 10 minutes of the first half, earning a valuable point for both sides.

But there was some concern for Jim Duffy as he watched his side toil for a share of the points.

However, it means that with defeats for Queen of the South and Dunfermlin­e Morton can no longer be caught in fourth place with two games remaining.

Duffy, serving the first games of a twomatch ban following last month’s fracas at Easter Road, watched from the stand as side ground out a vital point.

Assistant manager Craig McPherson: “We’re delighted to get fourth place secured. It’s a fantastic achievemen­t. You’ve got to look over the nine months of the season.

“The boys have been really consistent and have hit a wee bit of poorer form from our usual standard but everyone hits a spell like that.”

United boss Ian McCall was naturally delighted to secure a vital point in their bid to stave off the drop into the third tier.

He said: “A draw was a fair result and that point could be crucial.

“Itgaveusal­iftwith CraigMoore­scoringagr­eat goalandwew­ereonthe frontfootf­ormostofth­e secondhalf.Ourfinalba­ll wasn’tquitegood­enough.

“We’re a point closer to St Mirren and we’ll see how Raith Rovers do against Hibs on Wednesday.”

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