LAST Saturday saw many a Morton fan come home from Cappielow happy as the club celebrated its 150th anniversary in style.

But their battling credentials against Raith gave supporters plenty to be positive about as they look to the future too.

Second half strikes from Filip Stuparevic and Michael Garrity saw Ton run out 2-0 winners against the Fifers, moving up to fifth place in the Championship and to within five points of the play-off places.

And Dougie Imrie was understandably delighted to see his side put in the display that they did.

Morton capped off 150 years of history on SaturdayMorton capped off 150 years of history on Saturday (Image: alex craig)

Despite perhaps looking under the cosh for the first 20 minutes or so as Rovers tried to impose themselves on the game, Morton came back out fighting, putting their own sttamp on the game by moving the ball about well and showing that the young team are now beginning to get to grips with when to play football and when to not.

Here are three things we learned from the game...

Imrie's plan bears fruit

Dougie Imrie's plan to see his side become easier on the eye, and move away from the 'big bad physical Morton' trait, looks to be coming to fruition.

The Ton chief is a man with a planThe Ton chief is a man with a plan (Image: alex craig) His side were able to dictate the tempo of the game against the Stark's Park side and move the ball about with relative ease along the backline and into the middle third of the pitch.

That was exemplified by a 17-pass move midway through the first half that eventually saw Niall McGinn force Kevin Dabrowski into a fine save as his effort from the edge of the box looked destined for the bottom left corner.

That being said, Ton showed that they can still mix it up and do it the classic way as well, in a swashbuckling fashion that gets the ball into the final third quickly and then playing from there.

Stuparevic's header might've come from a nicely worked move from a free kick, but Garrity's back to front strike will have brought a wry smile to the Ton chief in the dugout as his plan bore fruit.

Defensive solidity

Morton got their second win of the season on board in back to back home games as they moved up to fifth in the league. That's progress.

Kirk Broadfoot has been a standout in Imrie's defenceKirk Broadfoot has been a standout in Imrie's defence (Image: alex craig) Ton struggled to sit on more than eight points at this point in the campaign, this time last year as they failed to build on an opening day win against Ayr United. But there seems to be more traction in their start to the season this time around.

Their credentials are boosted by their defensive solidity, which when you factor in that eight league games have seen no less than three different central defensive partnerships within that period, only losing one of six home games so far this season as well as keeping four clean sheets in the process, you've got a solid foundation to build from.

This Friday's SPFL Trust Trophy tie against Hamilton Accies will probably see a few changes, one of them enforced as the suspension of Zac Delaney kicking in, but the Cappielow men seem to have instilled a confidence in themselves in the early part of the season.

Fil makes his mark

Who remembers the last striker that Dougie Imrie signed, who scored on his home debut, with a header?

Stuparevic got off the mark quicklyStuparevic got off the mark quickly (Image: alex craig)

Manfred Mann might not be walking down the street to the tune of Filip Stuparevic, but Ton fans will have noticed that Imrie has brought in a striker that can bring it all to his front line.

The big Serbian striker was relentless in his harrying of Raith's defenders, particularly Euan Murray, and did well to be that focal point at the top end of the pitch on his home bow.

While he may be the 'battering ram' that is sometimes needed, he was able to show some quite superb footwork and technical ability, personified by the way he opened the scoring - a fantastic effort, with his back to goal, and managing to glance the ball home from all of 15-yards.

It's a good start, and he must build on that now moving forward.