NEW Morton defender Reghan Tumilty was so keen to make his debut he made a 100-mile round journey to sign and capped off his day with a goal.

The right-back made the drive from Stirling to Greenock to sign a one-year deal with Morton on Tuesday, before travelling to Maryhill to play in the evening at Firhill.

The 21-year-old had only scored twice previously, while on loan at Falkirk last season from Ross County. Tumilty’s strike was not enough to spark a comeback for the Ton, with goals from Jack Storer and James Penrice in the first half enough to seal the win for the Jags.

But on a personal note the right-back was happy to complete his exhausting day with a goal and a solid display.
He told the Tele: “I was knackered on Tuesday. I drove through from Stirling to Greenock and back and then to 
Firhill.

“I was in at Hamilton for a couple of weeks and they were just wanting to keep me on trial for another couple of weeks, but that didn’t really appeal to me, and my agent phoned and Morton had a friendly game against Queen’s Park last Tuesday night.

“I played in that, I trained Thursday and Friday and really enjoyed it.

“I only properly met him [McKinnon] last week, but he was a really nice guy, and he made me feel wanted.

“It was not that I wasn’t wanted up at Ross County, but it’s nice to be brought in and be appreciated more.”

Morton were on the back foot during the first half, but after some positional switches and formation changes, the Ton were much stronger in the second period.

The Jags were camped in their own half for much of the second 45, rarely threatening the Greenock side’s goal.

Tumilty believes if they continue to play like they did in the second half, then Morton will be a force to be reckoned with when the league season gets under way in a few weeks time.

He added: “In the first half we weren’t bad. 

“They scored an unbelievable goal and the second one, but we did react really well and we came back fighting.

“Playing like the way we did in the second half, we absolutely bossed the game, we could easily push for the top four.

“But we have to play like that from the start of the game.

“We’re really focusing on the league as the main target. It’s a new fresh team and we’re still gelling.”

The Morton fans were out in numbers again on Tuesday night, with 375 supporters making the midweek game, following on from 431 making the trip at the weekend to Somerset Park.

Tumilty was impressed with the travelling support, having only joined the club a few hours prior.

He said: “There were a lot of fans that turned out on Tuesday and completely backed us.

“I’ve only seen it for a few hours but it was good to see.”