Greenock Morton 0-1 Raith Rovers

Whilst the top tier remained on ice due to the season’s first international break, the heat was turning up in the Championship, particularly at Cappielow, where unbeaten Greenock Morton hosted second-placed Raith Rovers.

Both sides had shown promise in the early stages of the campaign. Morton had drawn all four of their opening fixtures in what has been a tumultuous start, marked by devastating off-field tragedy and mounting on-field frustration.

Raith, meanwhile, had taken two wins from their first three after an opening-day draw with Queen’s Park, though they came into this one on the back of a defeat away to Partick Thistle.

Dougie Imrie restored Owen Moffat and Aaron Comrie to his starting line-up, while Rovers boss Barry Robson kept faith with the side that had featured at Firhill.

That included the experienced former Hibernian duo Paul Hanlon and Lewis Stevenson, each enjoying something of a late-career renaissance in Kirkcaldy.

The match began cagily, littered with misplaced passes and early offside calls. The visitors carved out the first clear chance, Dylan Easton picked out inside the area only to fire straight at Ton keeper James Storer.

At the other end, Iain Wilson forced Josh Rae into a superb stop from a free kick, the Rovers goalkeeper tipping the effort over the bar.

It was otherwise a poor spectacle, with little to separate the sides.

The home support bracing themselves for what looked like a fifth consecutive league draw as the teams went in at the interval.

Imrie responded at the restart by making a change, withdrawing the struggling Kerr Robertson and introducing captain Grant Gillespie in midfield as he looked to seize control of the contest.

Yet it was the visitors who struck first. A long clearance from Rae was misjudged by the Morton defence, allowing Easton to nip in ahead of the onrushing Storer and glance a header into the corner.

His finish sparking celebrations among the travelling support packed into the terracing behind the goal.

With ten minutes remaining, and Morton quickly running out of ideas, the hosts were handed a lifeline.

Josh Mullin was shown a straight red card for a reckless, shin-high challenge on substitute Michael Garrity right on the byline.

Gillespie would test Rae with a free header from a corner, and a penalty shout for a tackle on Tomi Adeloye waved away by referee Lloyd Wilson.

Despite the numerical advantage, Morton couldn’t find a way through, their attacks breaking down in frustration as Raith dug in to protect their lead with some game management tactics.

The visitors saw out the final minutes with composure, grinding out a valuable three points on the road.

For Imrie’s side it was another afternoon of exasperation, five games played, four draws, and now their unbeaten run finally broken.

For Robson and Raith, however, it was a statement victory that keeps them right on the heels of early pace-setters St Johnstone.

Morton

Storer 6; Comrie 4 (McKay 4), Moore 6, Longridge 5, Delaney 5; Shaw 5, I. Wilson 7, Robertson 5 (Gillespie 4), Blues 5 (Adeloye 5), Moffat 4 (Garrity, 5); Brophy 4

Subs not used: Murdoch; Ballantyne, Corr, Hart, Murphy

Raith

Rae 8; Doherty 6, Fordyce 6, Hanlon 6; Mullin 4, Matthews 6, Brown 6, Bryne 6, Stevenson 7; Easton 8 (Vaughan 5), McMullan 6 (Hamilton 5)

Subs not used: Glavin; Rowe, E. Wilson, O’Connor, Montagu, Hannah, Raeside

Att: 2,004