Greenock Morton fell to promotion favourites Partick Thistle in a gritty opening day affair last Saturday that proved to be more of a contest than predicted.
Preseason preparations could not have gone much worse for the Ton, with no wins and no goals in their League Cup group stage campaign, which included a humbling at the hands of Lowland League Linlithgow Rose.
However, a much-improved performance from Ian Murray’s threadbare squad gave the Cowshed faithful optimism despite a late Tsoanelo Letsosa dagger condemning his team to a tenth consecutive competitive game without a win, a run which stretches back to March of last season.
On the performance, Murray said: “Really proud of them today, albeit we lose the game again and it’s a horrible feeling. But overall, I can’t ask for any more in terms of the application, the endeavour and the work rate that we put in.
“I can always be pernickety and ask for better quality, especially going forward, but in terms of the game, I take so many positives from it.
“Thistle for me are favourites for the league, so to limit them in the first half to not much [was great]. I know Mackay-Steven hits one off the bar, I thought that was going in.
“Second half, they turned the screw on us a little bit towards the end of the game looking for that second goal, but we never gave in and we always felt we might have a half-chance in us, but it wasn’t to be.”
But a key weakness still runs through the Morton team – a lack of bodies in the door, with multiple 16-year-olds being utilised to bolster the matchday squad.
It was a far cry from what the Glaswegians had to offer, a key worry for Murray before the game.
He said: “Our main concern today was the 65-70 minute mark when we’re hanging in the game and trying to get that goal, but then you look at the benches and the attacking options they have, we knew the last 20/25 minutes were going to be really difficult. That proved to be the case, but to a man I thought our players gave absolutely everything.
“We are thin on the ground in terms of players and we’ve picked up a couple more injuries today.
“We’re down to the bare bones with four 16-year-olds on the bench today and Dean [Black] starting the game, so it’s very hard.
“These guys are sitting in their bedroom playing on their computers Monday to Friday and then they’re playing Championship football on the Saturday at 16. It’s a fairytale for them and it’s great for us as a football club that we can blood young players in these tough times.”
The Ton gaffer was full of praise for makeshift right back, Black, who featured heavily in preseason and held his own for 90 minutes against the Jags at only 16 years old.
On Dean Black, Murray added: “I thought he was man of the match today.
“I thought he was outstanding and I told him that after the game, how he recovered from giving away two penalties in two games. For a centre midfielder to go in to the opening day of the Championship against the favourites and put in a performance like that, him and his family should be really proud. For me, to see him bounce back from a difficult introduction to first-team football was just as pleasing as the whole team performance because he’s a really good lad, he works really hard, and he deserves all the plaudits that he’ll get.”
But Black’s opportunity in the first-team fold may only have come around due to a lack of funds at the club and things could soon change with a minority investment proposal getting the go-ahead from the club.
Estrella Football Group has been locked in talks with the Cappielow hierarchy for months and, now that a deal has been struck, the proposal will go to majority shareholders Morton Club Together (MCT) this month for approval.
It’s a major positive for Ian Murray and his staff, who admitted that the off-season has been far from ideal at the club.
On the Estrella deal, he said: “We’re dying to get that one over the line and get some sort of funding because we do need it, we can’t keep going on like this for the remaining 35 games – relying on young players.
“We’ll get away with it for a little bit, but we do need reinforcements. If we pick up injuries six/seven weeks down the line, when these kids are back at school, remember, then we need a bit of cash. Hopefully we get that over the line and it’s positive going forward.”
But before reinforcements can come in, the Sinclair Street side face the daunting task of travelling to Ochilview this weekend.
Murray’s men have previous with Stenhousemuir, falling 4-0 to them last season in the gaffer’s first game in charge in the Scottish Cup, and with the part-time side coming up through the play-offs last season, many see it as a relegation six-pointer already.
But Stenny have started well this campaign, topping their League Cup group over Partick Thistle and Livingston and drawing 1-1 with Raith Rovers on the opening day, and new manager Marvin Bartley poses a different style of play to that of departed Gary Naysmith.
With investment still some time away, and bodies thin on the ground for Ian Murray, it remains to be seen whether the club can afford to cast aside a golden opportunity to get points on the board against a relegation rival.
