MATCH STATS
STAR MAN: LEWIS STRAPP. His remarkable energy saw him atone for an unfortunate og by popping-up to score the winner.
MORTON 3
Oliver (83), Blues (85), Strapp (88)
AYR UNITED 2
Strapp (og 32), Smith (74)
MORTON came back from the dead with three goals in the final seven minutes to seal a sensational win as ten-man United lost the plot.
Trailing by two goals, the hosts looked to be out of it despite being a man to the good following Aaron Muirhead’s red card.
But Gary Oliver grabbed a lifeline on 83 minutes, the substitute showing great composure to collect a loose ball inside the area and curl home.
Ton were level when Patrick Reading inexplicably headed straight to Cameron Blues who fired emphatically home.
Morton completed an incredible spell of three goals in five minutes when Lewis Strapp, who had earlier given Ayr the lead with an og, headed Brian Mclean’s excellent cross firmly home to spark wild scenes on the touchline.
Cappielow boss David Hopkin declared: “Even when we went two goals down I thought we had a chance and we scored three fantastic goals. It was a great performance, great work-rate and that’s the mentality I’m trying to instil at this football club.”
Amid atrocious conditions, both sides deserve credit for producing an entertaining encounter.
Ayr dominated the first-half and notched a fortuitous opener when Cammy Smith’s cross was cruelly deflected high into his own net by Strapp.
The context of the game changed when Muirhead was sent off on 52 minutes for a reckless challenge on Josh Mcpake.
Despite being a man short, the Honest Men managed to stretch their lead when Smith drove in from the left and skipped past Markus Fjortoft before firing low into the bottom corner beyond Aidan Mcmanus.
Instead of throwing in the towel Morton dug deep to produce their amazing comeback and leave United boss Mark Kerr reeling.
Kerr said: “They were launching balls into the box and we need to deal with it better – it was bad positioning. We don’t deserve it because of how hard we worked but we do deserve it for not doing our job right for a short period.”