It’s now just one win in six for Arbroath after Morton left Gayfield with all three points in a match that saw both sides end with ten men.
Grant Gillespie put the Ton ahead from the spot before a Charlie Dewar own goal gave them some breathing room and despite Jacob MacIntyre’s clever finish halving the deficit, the Greenock side held on to their 2-1 lead to claim a first victory of the campaign.
Arbroath began the game strongly and went close to opening the scoring after four minutes when the returning Gavin Reilly took aim with a shot that forced Elyh Harrison to get down low to make a save.
Things began to go wrong for the Lichties just 10 minutes in however, when Scott Constable took far too long to release the ball, allowing Gillespie to nip in and steal it, with the midfielder then hauling the visiting captain to the floor, leaving the referee no option but to award the penalty and send Constable off as the last man.
Gillespie stood up and brushed himself down before coolly slotting the ball into the corner from the spot as Morton edged in front.
Michael Garrity tried his luck moments later with the away side looking to make their man advantage count early on, but his shot was dragged harmlessly wide.
Arbroath looked to get themselves sorted back into some sort of shape and found it tough at first to make much of an impact up the pitch, but they were handed a lifeline just before the half hour mark.
Reilly did well to judge the bounce of the ball and get in behind Christopher Cupps who, in a very similar fashion to Constable, wrestled the Lichties’ striker to the floor and was also shown a straight red card, despite protests from the Morton players that Jackson Longridge was providing cover behind him. Michael McKenna then sent the resulting free kick over the bar.
Play was halted as the clock ticked into the 38th minute of the match with a number of Arbroath fans gesturing for help on the terracing due to a fan requiring medical treatment. This was duly provided by club doctors and the medical staff present as referee Cameron Stirling took both sides off the field of play.
After a lengthy delay of almost an hour and consultations with the SPFL, the match was eventually restarted to play the remainder of the first half before a shortened half time break. All at Arbroath Football Club wish the affected supporter all the best in his recovery.
In the remaining seven minutes of a first half that ended just as most games around the country were coming to a close, both sides came close to finding the net with a deflected Arbroath free kick causing some bother for Harrison, before Callum Sandilands sent a shot just over for Morton, despite McKenna being down with a head knock in the middle of the park.
The Lichties passed up a great chance to equalise early in the second half when Tom Beadling rose highest in the area to send a header towards goal, but it was straight at Harrison, and that miss would prove costly soon after.
Cammy Ballantyne slotted a perfect pass through for Sandilands who reached the byline before drilling a ball across goal that came off the unfortunate Dewar and into his own net.
Arbroath roared straight back into the game immediately though when McKenna sent MacIntyre through on goal, with the on-loan Hibs man lobbing the ball over the onrushing Harrison to get the Lichties back to within one.
Frustratingly though for the hosts, they created no real clear-cut chances despite dominating possession in the last half an hour, with a curling effort from distance from Ryan Dow as close as they would come.
In fact, it was Morton who really should have added another when Garrity was sent in on goal, only to see his shot come back off the post before firing the rebound over. The forward won’t have been too bothered in the end though, as the Ton held on for their first win of the season at the tenth attempt.
Arbroath: McAdams; Watson, Dewar (Daly, 64’), Beadling, Mackie (Paterson, 57’); Constable, Reid; MacIntyre, McKenna, Dow; Reilly (Winter, 63’)
Morton: Harrison; Ballantyne, Cupps, Longridge, Okike; Gillespie, Wilson; Sandilands (Cochrane, 88’), Robertson (Croker, 31’), Borso (Bashir, 69’); Garrity (Gorman, 88’)
Attendance: 1,104 (94 away fans)
