REPORT Morton 0 St Mirren 1

The trophy had graced the glass cabinet of the Sinclair Street boardroom for 12 months following a thrilling 4-2 win on enemy territory last July.

It was the first time the Ton had been able to boast local bragging rights since claiming the regional prize back in 2005.

Success seemed to portend a positive season to come, but Allan Moore’s men were brought crashing back to earth seven days later with a shock 1-0 Challenge Cup loss at League Two Annan.

That was nothing in terms of what was in store, however, as they went on to suffer a catastrophic relegation to League One after finishing rock-bottom of the Championship.

The Saints, meanwhile, preserved their position in the top flight with an eighth-place finish, extending their stay there to nine consecutive seasons.

And so it was with two divisions separating the sides — the first time this has been the case since 2006 — that they went into this summer’s final.

Yet the growing gulf between the clubs in terms of league status was not reflected on the field, in the first 45 minutes in particular.

There was no discernible disparity, despite the fact Jim Duffy started with seven new signings in the starting line-up compared to just three new faces in Tommy Craig’s first XI.

The only survivors from last season’s squad to feature from the beginning were Nicolas Caraux, Joe McKee, Thomas O’Ware and Mark Russell.

Stalwart Fouad Bachirou was sat in the stand beside new signing Ricki Lamie, both of whom were ruled out due to hamstring strains.

That meant starts for O’Ware in the centre of midfield and another new signing in Jordan Allan at left-back.

The selection of O’Ware beside Michael Miller was a clear indication of the Ton boss’s intentions, and perhaps a lack of options with Bachirou out.

By selecting two players who are defenders to trade, he had eschewed creativity for positional discipline and solidity in the engine room.

Yet it was the pair’s talent for winning tackles honed by their defensive instincts that proved instrumental to Morton’s best attacking openings.

Stoked by Duffy’s ceaseless encouragement, they pressed high as Saints central midfielders Kenny McLean and John McGinn regularly dropped deep to pick up possession from their centre-halves.

It’s often the case that the player applying pressure does so as a token gesture, never really expecting to steal possession or cut out the upcoming pass.

But O’Ware and Miller went in with a vigour and conviction that intimated their intention was to win the ball or at least force a mistake.

The first such example occurred on 10 minutes when Miller confronted an opponent and prevented him from progressing with a strong standing tackle.

Stefan McCluskey collected the loose ball, strode forward and let fly with a swerving drive that took a deflection on its way to goal before dipping at the last second and landing on the roof of the net.

Ton went even closer on 23 minutes after what felt like a replay of that sequence.

O’Ware was the ball winner this time, quickly feeding Barrowman after robbing McGinn of possession.

The hitman weighed up the situation in a split second and struck for goal from 25 yards. His shot had Marian Kello beaten but clipped the top of the crossbar as it went over, to the visitors’ relief.

But St Mirren punctured this sustained spell of Morton pressure with a rapid counter-attack that almost saw them open the scoring just before the half hour.

Ross Caldwell left Stefan Milojevic trailing with a clever stop-start burst and floated over a cross that found James Marwood hanging in the air at the back post.

The frontman, son of ex-Arsenal and England wideman Brian Marwood, managed to lose Sean Crighton but saw his cushioned header back across goal superbly saved by Caraux.

When Marwood connected, it seemed certain the ball would nestle in the back of the net.

Yet the straining Frenchman somehow managed to shoot out his left arm to make the block.

As revealed in an interview with the Tele last week, Duffy’s side was led out, to the inspirational sound of the Rocky theme tune, by another candidate for the captaincy in Barrowman.

A 29-year-old who has represented 12 clubs, in both Scotland and England, Barrowman’s experience and know-how could prove vital next term. As could his goals.

He is a proven goalscorer at League One level, having claimed 29 goals over the course of the 2007-08 campaign as Ross County won the then Second Division.

And he was presented with another opportunity to find the net in his first Renfrewshire derby thanks to more hard work in the midfield.

Former Celtic kid Miller one again picked the opposition’s pocket by applying pressure high up and shifted the ball forward to Barrowman.

Just like he did six minutes earlier, the striker pushed the ball out in front of himself for a crack at goal from outside the box.

He elected to go low this time, whipping across his body towards the bottom-left corner.

Slovak internationalist Kello was equal to the effort, plunging to his right to push the ball wide.

The visitors were not without their chances, though, and began to turn the screw in the final 10 minutes of the first half.

Only the combination of a crucial last-ditch tackle from Jordan Allan, who’d been having a testing time at full-back, and Caraux’s persistence prevented Marwood from breaking the deadlock.

The home No1 bravely flung himself at the feet of the striker three times only to see the ball continually escape his grasp before he collected at the fourth attempt.

Serb centre-half Milojevic was next to put himself in the line of fire when, on 39 minutes, he refused to budge when McLean drilled a shot straight at him, stooping to block with his head.

McLean was growing in influence and saw Caraux sail to the left to push wide his swinging strike from distance.

But the Frenchman was still required to make one more save before the break, repelling Gregg Wylde’s angled attempt after Marwood had found him handily placed with a cut-back.

Besides that flurry, the feeling that Duffy’s side had given a good account of themselves was reinforced by the fact Craig made a change at the break, replacing Gary Teale with Adam Brown.

Morton made a switch of their own eight minutes after the interval, but this, sadly, was an enforced substitution.

In what is a real blow, the lively McCluskey went down under a robust challenge and went off a forlorn figure, clutching his right arm to his body while shaking his head.

He had suffered a suspected dislocated shoulder and is looking at two to three weeks on the sidelines at the very least.

David McNeil, fresh from signing a new six-month contract, took his place and crafted the most clear cut opportunity of the game with a burst to the bye-line.

His pull-back found Joe McKee unmarked 10 yards out, but the midfielder’s sweetly struck left-footed drive was superbly stopped by Kello low to his left.

The game changed from there on in, with the visitors beginning to exert some dominance with spells of controlled possession while the Ton began to tire on the back of their earlier exertions.

On 65 minutes, Wylde’s stinging strike was fended off by Caraux with a relatively straightforward double-fisted punch clear. It was a sign that the former Rangers winger was coming alive, however.

And crucially so, as it was his run down the left and fizzed cross which found Jason Naismith arriving like an express train on 76 minutes.

The converted right-back slammed home without breaking stride to reclaim the trophy from the side with which he spent the first half of the 2012-13 season on loan.

While a narrow defeat to one’s arch rivals is unlikely to elicit an outpouring of optimism, this performance did offer encouragement for the season ahead.

The signs are that the Ton will be organised, resilient, committed and well drilled — a team with a collective purpose rather than a collection of individuals without purpose like last term.