A DEDICATED Morton fan travelled nearly 5,000 miles to see his favourite club play in-person for the first time.

Aaron Morton, 42, from Utah in the United States, started following the Ton around two decades ago after discovering the team had the same name.

Aaron - who says his family has Scottish heritage - made a 'dream come true' trip here with his family for the summer.

The ex-sports journalist and lifelong football fan said: "I've never been out of the USA, but my wife and I have always wanted to travel.

"Coming to Scotland had always been a dream because half my family originated from there.

"This was the first year we had the time, money and no Covid to be able to travel."

They visited London and the Highlands as well as Hampden Park but the highlight for Aaron was a special trip to Cappielow to see Ton play Bonnyrigg Rose.

Aaron said: "One of the first times I watched Morton live over in the States was when Dougie Imrie's penalty beat Celtic in 2013.

"Now through the TonTV service, I watch about 10 games a year.

"I get up in the morning and just stick it on at 8am.

"It's weird being a fan for such a long time and never getting to see your team play live, so when I saw that there was a home game on when we were in Scotland, I knew I had to go.

"We took the train in from Glasgow and right before the first stop and I saw someone else wearing Morton gear for the first time.

"Everyone was very kind.

"The women at the ticket office helped me pick the right tickets for me and my family.

"Once the game started, my 16-year-old daughter said it was like a stadium full of people like me - people who are really into the match.

"Getting this perspective has made me an even bigger fan of the team."

After Aaron shared images of his special day on social media, Ton director Graham Barr invited him for a special tour of the stadium.

Mr Barr said: "We love hearing about and meeting far travelled Morton fans.

"While a lot of us have the same story of Morton being our local team, or the team our family have always supported, it's always exciting to hear stories of people who grow an affiliation with the club in other ways.

"It was really positive to hear how much Aaron enjoyed his day and we hope that he will be able to visit us again in the future.

"We'd would love to have him and his family back at Cappielow."

While Aaron and his family are now back in the States, he hopes that he will be able to return to Cappielow one day and will meantime continue to wave the Ton flag at his home just outside Salt Lake City.

Aaron said: "I play in a few recreation leagues and as I'm a goalkeeper, I have to bring my own kit.

"That suits me fine, as I always get to wear my Morton gear.

"I'm hoping to come back in a couple of years and spend some more time in Scotland.

"We really enjoyed our time there."