View From the Shed: All eyes on Morton in SPFL Trust Trophy

After last month’s visit to Cowdenbeath, Hampden bosses are really treating us to some exotic destinations on our journey in this competition.

Ton got past Cowdenbeath in the last round (Image: Gary Bradley) The club's anniversary celebrations went so well last time out, which means it’s nice to be able to divert our attention from league duty with Morton sitting comfortably in mid-table, since a different set of results could have seen us stewing for a fortnight in the relegation places.

Morton’s excellent victory, along with draws between the bottom two and between Partick and Livingston, as well as defeat for this evening’s opponents at Hampden, gave Ton the best possible outcome from the weekend.

But what was perhaps most pleasing about last weekend was the impressive nature of Morton’s victory over Raith Rovers. While the Fifers started the game well, and probably had the best effort of a fairly even first half when Dylan Easton’s drive crashed off Ryan Mullen’s crossbar, Morton’s blistering start to the second period killed the game off as a contest within ten minutes.

Though the controversy that surrounded the enforced termination of Jay Emmanuel-Thomas’s departure was embarrassing at the time, the knock-on effect of Filip Stuparevic’s arrival to replace him may be the most silver of linings to that dark cloud.

Filip Stuparevic's Morton career got lift off last time out (Image: alex craig) The Serb’s majestic leap to nod home Zac Delaney’s fine cross must’ve pleased Dougie Imrie, who was disappointed to miss out on the permanent signing of Stuparevic to his now parent club Motherwell in the summer.

The return of Michael Garrity was another bonus from a fine afternoon’s work, and while his well-taken second goal was the cherry on top of a fine performance, Morton were noticeably more balanced with Garrity operating on the left-hand side and Owen Moffat moving out right when Garrity replaced Ali Crawford in the first half.

Morton’s standout performer on the day, however, was Cammy Ballantyne. After having such problems with the right back position last season, it’s terrific to have such an accomplished player this time around as an automatic pick week in, week out. Like Ryan Mullen, I'm not sure I fancy the prospect of seeing him in goal though.

Ballantyne wasn’t alone, however: Morton’s defence was impregnable in the second half. At Ayr a fortnight ago, after conceding, I couldn’t see a way back into the match, such was Morton’s lack of attacking prowess.

Ton's defence came out on top (Image: alex craig)

But in both of the most recent home matches, having taken the lead, Imrie’s backline have done a great job of shutting up shop, and lessons certainly appear to have been learned from the Falkirk debacle at the end of August.

Perhaps the only downside from the afternoon was that we didn’t get to see Raith’s quirky cartoon appearing on social media. Oh well!

So, onwards to Hamilton. With Delaney missing through suspension after his red card against Cowdenbeath in the last round, Imrie will have to shuffle his pack.

I suspect Ali Crawford may also miss the trip to his former club after limping off against Raith, but Morgan Boyes should hopefully step back into the back line. The seriousness of Ryan Mullen’s knock is unclear, but Garry Woods could step in, with the regular number one given a week to put the feet up.

Accies, like Morton, have had an inconsistent season so far, and many are unsure what to expect from them.

After the arrival of Nikolay Todorov in the summer, It's been surprising to see the Bulgarian barely feature, but fellow high-profile signing Oli Shaw has been a reliable source of goals for Accies, netting five times this season.

Accies were fortunate to escape with a point from a goalless draw at Cappielow in August. (Image: alex craig) Shaw was among a number of first team regulars rested for Accies’ third round victory over Dundee United B, but whether John Rankin decides to mix his team up as much against a more formidable Morton team remains to be seen, especially since the Lanarkshire men were so fortunate to escape from Cappielow with a point in the second game of the league campaign.

The travelling fans will be able to familiarise themselves with former Ton defenders Sean McGinty, Lee Kilday and Reghan Tumilty.

There have been many moments since McGinty’s departure from Cappielow that both he and we have had our turns to enjoy the other’s misfortune.

Hopefully this time around the bragging rights go to Morton and we advance into the quarter-finals of the competition for the fourth season in a row.