Almost nine months to the day since his cruciate injury and against the very same opposition, Morton’s Jai Quitongo came off the bench to net a last-minute winner against Dunfermline and draw a line under a nightmare period in his career.

Ahead of Saturday’s clash, the striker recalled the tears which dogged his road to recovery and insisted he had moved on from the nightmare that started at East End Park last December.

And as he broke free of his man to coolly slot under Sean Murdoch with just seconds remaining, the outpouring of emotion that followed was confirmation that the 19-year-old had come full-circle on the incident he feared would ruin him.

Known as the son of ex-St Mirren star Jose, the frontman was keen to pay tribute to another family member after completing Ton’s comeback from two goals down to seal an unlikely 3-2 home victory over the Pars.

“It was good for my mum to see me today, she was the driving force while I was injured,” Quitongo revealed.

“She actually wasn’t going to come because it was against Dunfermline the injury happened, she’s superstitious.

“But she was here along with my brother, his girlfriend and my mate Ryan, so it’s good I’ve sent her home happy.”

Quitongo was dropped to the bench following the Greenock men’s 1-0 defeat to Livingston a fortnight ago, and he watched on as his team-mates conceded twice in what will have been a frustrating first period for manager Jim Duffy.

A fine solo effort from Joe Cardle and a Kallum Higginbotham penalty put Allan Johnston’s men firmly in control at the break, before a Robert Thomson strike and an inch-perfect free-kick from Gary Harkins levelled the scores.

And as super-sub Quitongo stepped forward to bag the winner, the roof came off Cappielow and the striker’s shirt soon followed.

“I’m always winding up the boys and telling them that I’m the biggest in the team and they all go crazy, so that’s why I took the shirt off,” he said, laughing as he recalled his Cristiano Ronaldo-esque celebration.

“But, overall, coming from 2-0 down it was great character shown from everybody and I think we deserved it in the end.

“The manager spoke to us at half-time and asked for a bit of belief because we know we have it in us.

“He’s made the substitutions and he’s got it right because Jeebsy [Gary Harkins] scored and then I’ve got the winner. I’ve been out for a long time and I’m grateful for every minute I get, and you can’t get any better than this.”

Duffy remained modest about his influence afterwards but his side looked dead and buried at the break.

A win lifts them up to fifth following a classic encounter in a Championship season which has already had its share of thrillers.

“It was a fantastic game of football,” Duffy said. “We threw caution to the wind in the second-half and you’re always looking for a bit of good fortune when you get a last minute winner like that.

“Jai’s only 19 so he’s a long way short of the finished article at that age, but he’s got pace and he’s got power.

“Everybody makes a contribution to the team and I’m sure Jai will get even better as the season progresses, he’s got fantastic potential.”