THE romance of the Scottish Cup will send Morton into new territory tomorrow — but they will be determined to leave their opponents nursing broken hearts.

Jim Duffy and his men are heading for Edinburgh’s Ainslie Park and a fourth round contest against Spartans which is sure to attract plenty of coverage.

Any tie which pits a Lowland League side at home against SPFL opposition has the national media and broadcasters on giant killing watch and sniffing around for a fairytale ending.

And while it will not necessarily be a hostile atmosphere, the home crowd will certainly be fired up by the chance to see their side take on another outfit from a higher level on home turf.

Their favourites made headlines after they disposed of Barry Ferguson’s Clyde in the last round and they will not want their big adventure to end.

Meanwhile the novelty factor of an away day on uncharted ground should ensure a decent travelling contingent too. So, with all of the traditional ‘magic of the cup’ elements in place, the Greenock men’s immediate look-out will be to avoid becoming the victims of a David v Goliath turn-up for the books.

They go into the game as considerable favourites and have a real chance to progress deep into the competition, given both the nature of this draw and the ties taking place elsewhere.

But you can be sure they will take nothing for granted — the cautionary tale of Clyde and their own manager’s hard headed, feet-on-the-ground approach will ensure that they afford their opponents every respect.

They also have the advantage of being forewarned, having already played Spartans this term.

The two sides met one another at Cappielow in the first round of the Petrofac Training Cup back in July, and it was far from a stroll in the park for the Greenock men.

It took a goal from young development team midfielder Cammy O’Neill to dispose of Dougie Samuel’s side in a scoreline much less emphatic than predicted by most.

While the 1-0 margin of victory was slender there was never really a time when the Greenock men looked in too much danger, save for a couple of half chances the visitors snatched at.

But Spartans will take heart from their showing and believe they can capitalise on being at home this time.

Yet they will face opponents who are in a much better place than they were in the summer. Duffy’s squad is blending together nicely and the injury difficulties which saw stop gap measures like Thomas O’Ware being temporarily forced into attack back in July’s game have now dissipated; the Morton team is an altogether different proposition now.

They also come into the tie as leaders of League One, having maintained their one point lead thanks to a 3-1 victory over Stenhousemuir last Saturday.

It was a result which continued a rich vein of form which has seen them go six games undefeated, with five of those matches ending in victory and only two goals conceded.

Confidence is high in the camp and, as is so often the case, it’s proving to be self-perpetuating with each win adding to the feel-good factor and building a growing sense of momentum.

This shone through like a beacon during the first 45 minutes of last weekend’s game.

Morton put on a super show, with the full backs marauding forward at every opportunity, the midfielders buzzing around to good effect and the team playing some nice attacking football.

Man of the moment was right back Lee Kilday, who grabbed two excellent goals before half-time — the second a particularly composed finish after a neat flick from Jamie McCluskey sent him clear. The scene looked set for a demolition job but a couple of wasted opportunities and a Stenny half-time tactical and mindset switch constrained the hosts’ ability to continue flooding forward, altering the dynamic of the game.

With Derek Gaston limping off injured and young substitute keeper Jamie McGowan having to pick the ball out of the net after a freak goal soon afterwards, Ton were suddenly looking much less assured.

In the end they made the points safe thanks to a rapier-like breakaway started and very smartly finished by substitute Stefan McCluskey, with expert support from the jet heeled Declan McManus. While there was much head scratching amongst the support at the anxious position the team were in following such a dominant first half, in reality it was going to be difficult to maintain that level of initial intensity for 90 minutes.

The important thing for Duffy was that his team was ultimately able to see things through and seal the points.

Morton will hope for a more comfortable closing period tomorrow but they can be under no illusions about the potential pitfalls which await.

Tomorrow’s tie is about getting the fundamentals right.

As long as confidence does not spill over into complacency — and in fairness there’s been no sign that it will with this group of players — then Morton ought to avoid any problems.

If they display the right attitude and application and set a marker down early then they can justify their odds-on favouritism and progress.

Following the sad death this week of legendary sports broadcaster, lifelong Morton fan, former club director and honorary vice president Arthur Montford, the Greenock Telegraph would like to join the club in sending our condolences to his loved ones. For tributes and a full obituary, see today’s page eight.

TEAM LATEST DEREK Gaston picked up a thigh strain in last weekend’s win against Stenhousemuir and had not trained as of yesterday.

Jim Duffy has not ruled the goalkeeper out of being able to take his place between the sticks against Spartans, but he remains a doubt.

Nico Caraux recently received the results of his scan and has not suffered a hernia.

The prognosis was deep bruising in the groin area and he is expected to be out for at least a further fortnight.

This means that development squad shot-stopper Jamie McGowan, pictured, could be in line for his first start, with Under-17s keeper David Thomson on standby for a spot on the bench.

Elsewhere, Joe McKee is expected to be available again after recovering from a problem with his ribs, but Reece Hands (gluteal strain) and Jon Scullion, who will be out for a couple of weeks with an ankle ligament injury, are unavailable.

As per the previous round, top scorer Declan McManus is ineligible to feature for the Ton in the Scottish Cup due to the terms of his loan agreement from Aberdeen.

TRAVEL NOTES THE Albert Hotel Morton Supporters’ bus for tomorrow’s Scottish Cup fourth round tie against Spartans at Ainslie Park, Edinburgh, will leave the hotel at 12.30pm, with pick-ups available en-route. The club are also taking bookings for next Saturday’s League One match against Stranraer, the bus for that one will leave the hotel at noon. To book a seat on any of these buses, phone or text Jim on 07983 600945.

THE Morton Supporters’ Club bus to the Spartans game leaves the club at 1pm. To book a seat phone the club on 01475 888273, email gmsctravelsection@hotmail.com or leave a message on their Twitter page at https://twitter.com/GMSCTravel THE Lighthouse Morton Travel Club bus to the Spartans game will leave from the Lighthouse at 12.30pm.

Any visitors wishing to travel and who want to book a seat can phone or text David on 07719 548046.