MORTON travelled to the league leaders in Perth for a showdown with high-flying St. Johnstone.
Although the pair were two of the three unbeaten teams left heading into the weekend’s action, the Perth side were in a vastly superior position to Imrie’s side having won all of their games.
On the contrary, Morton had conspired to draw their first three match-ups–making a positive display even more important.
The early indications were that former Ton loanee, Josh McPake, would cause problems down the flank, but Imrie’s men began the game pressing the pace-setters high, winning the ball back through Brophy who set up Iain Wilson to strike wide of the target.
Both teams threatened from set-pieces, with the most presentable chance falling to the Perth side on the rebound from a corner as Zak Delaney prevented Reghan Tumilty from tapping in to an open net.
But before long, Morton took the lead through an Eamonn Brophy wonder- strike.
Youngster, Kerr Robertson, found a pocket of space on the left on the ball, before Brophy peeled off the front line and came short for possession.
After picking up the ball no less than 30 yards from goal, the striker turned and unleashed a venomous shot that nestled in the far top corner to give the Ton the lead.
The Saints nearly provided an instant response, though, as Adama Sidibeh’s diving header had James Storer scrambling, and the stopper would have been relieved to see the effort drop just over the bar.
Morton continued to threaten as Nathan Shaw showed Matty Foulds a clean pair of heels, before Michael O’Halloran burst through on goal and shot wide.
St. Johnstone followed up with a pair of curling efforts from the right-hand side, one coming from McPake and the other from a Stevie Mallan free-kick, both of which were slightly off target.
But the tide began to turn, and McPake’s influence only grew as the second-half wore on, as the winger cut inside on at least three occasions to fire shots at goal–hitting the post on one occasion–before finally breaching the defence with a lovely reverse into the near side to level things up.
It was a frustrating way for the Ton to concede, with McPake’s continual forays inside allowing ample warning before he found the net, but with so little time left in the 90 Morton preserved their unbeaten start and ensured they were the first team to take points off of Simo Valakari’s side this season.
The draw ensured both sides became the only teams outwith the Premiership to remain unbeaten after Raith Rovers’ defeat to Partick Thistle ended their unbeaten run, with the Fifers coming to Cappielow on Saturday, September 6, looking to get back on track.
