View from the Shed: Raith can't crash Morton celebrations

The Stark's Park outfit finally ended Falkirk’s long unbeaten league run in Kirkcaldy last weekend, whilst we mark our 150th anniversary with a day of celebrations about all things Morton.

Ton gear up for another home clash as Raith make the trip to Cappielow (Image: Gary Bradley) But after another disappointing result on the road last weekend Morton are now faced with a fixture list this month which mostly incorporates the teams in and around the bottom half of the table.

Rather than looking up the table, as I optimistically suggested we might be able to do with a win at Somerset Park, Morton will have to ensure they are collecting points in order to keep others at arm’s length.

Saturday’s controversial defeat down the coast was frustrating in the extreme, given the nature of Jay Henderson’s double-touch penalty being awarded as a goal by the hapless Colin Steven, and the lack of any real difference in quality between the sides despite Ayr’s considerable resources. 

And although Morton defended reasonably well, it only took one moment of madness from captain Jack Baird and the points were gone.

Henderson's penalty has dominated discussions for days (Image: Duncan Bryceland)It can’t be forgotten that Morton were thankful for an incredible Ryan Mullen save from Henderson’s stinging volley shortly before falling behind, and though Morton could have collected a point, they never really looked like collecting any more than that, such was their lack of a threat going forward.

I hate having to constantly allude to our lack of firepower, but after praising Lamar Reynolds last week, his performance on Saturday, along with that of the largely anonymous Niall McGinn, felt like another backwards step.

It goes without saying that patience should be exercised with new signing Filip Stuparevic, given his lack of game time prior to arriving at Morton, but I suspect the big Serb will replace Reynolds for the visit of Raith.

A lot of hopes are being pinned on Stuparevic (Image: Gary Bradley)With Morton having scored only five league goals this season, four of them coming from defenders and only an Owen Moffat penalty at Livingston being the exception, I can’t be alone in pinning all my hopes on Stuparevic hitting the ground running, given how much our other strikers are struggling for form.

Raith of course, are another club with considerable financial muscle, and with that comes expectations, as Ian Murray found when he fell by the sword after losing his opening game of the season at Airdrie, eventually being replaced by former Sheffield United defender Neil Collins.

They do only find themselves a point ahead of Morton however, with home wins over Partick and Falkirk and a draw with Hamilton.

Like Morton, the Fifers will be hoping to kick-start their season with a Cappielow victory, but with the high-profile arrivals of Hibernian legends Paul Hanlon and Lewis Stevenson, as well as Kieran Freeman from St Patrick’s Athletic and ex-Airdrieonians Assistant Callum Fordyce - Raith’s backers, fronted by ex-Morton flop Andy Barrowman, will be demanding they climb the table sooner rather than later.

Raith have found the going tough as well this season (Image: alex craig)

After last weekend’s penalty controversy, the chances of similar are at least reduced by the absence of Raith’s Lewis Vaughan, who will be missing well into the new year with a hamstring injury.

While the long-serving hitman has had more than his fair share of injury woes throughout his career, his misdemeanour in the early stages of last season still firmly lodged in the minds of many at Cappielow.

From a Morton perspective, hopefully we’ll see the return of Morgan Boyes to the squad, who was a notable absentee last weekend after his fine performance against Airdrie a fortnight ago, while it surely can’t be too long before we see Dylan Corr and the lesser-spotted Nathan Shaw approach fitness.

Cappielow will see a larger than usual crowd this weekend, with a thousand tickets distributed to schools and community groups to join us in celebrating the club’s landmark anniversary.

It would be great to see the team put on a show to entice some of these potential fans along more often and ensure the weekend’s celebrations don’t only revolve round cutting some cake!