DENNY JOHNSTONE bagged a brace on his injury comeback for Morton Reserves as he helped the Ton beat their Falkirk counterparts 3-0 in the SPFL Reserve League opener.

The forward fired in two first-half goals before being taken off in a pre-planned substitution.

Derek Gaston was forced into a number of saves for the Ton in the second half, but a late Jack Purdue penalty sealed a comfortable win.

It was head of development squad John Sutton’s first competitive game in charge since taking the role earlier this 
summer.

He had a number of first-team players at his disposal, with Scott Tiffoney, Robert Thomson, Johnstone and Gaston all starting for the visitors.

Meanwhile, the home side also had a number of first team players involved, with former Ton player Mark Russell captaining the side and Joe McKee also playing against his old team.

The visitors started off on the front foot, and it took them just nine minutes to open the scoring.

A looping through-ball from Ben Eardley in defence found Johnstone up top and the striker burst through and slotted a neat finish past Brett Young.

On 26 minutes Johnstone guided a header in from Thomson’s dangerous cross to double his and Morton’s tally.

It was the former Birmingham City player’s first competitive game since having a knee operation earlier this year, and he could have had a hat-trick in the first half hour.

After a good run by Tiffoney on the right, the forward attempted to curl his looping effort over the goalkeeper, but it went just over.

Johnstone and Thomson both forced Young into saves just before the break, with the visitors looking comfortable heading in at half-time.

The game lost its flow in the second half, with the Ton being put under more pressure in the second period.

But after Falkirk’s Cieran Dunne brought down Shaun Rodgers in the box, Purdue stepped up slot home the penalty with nine minutes to go and made it an easy win for the away side.

Morton Reserves host Hibernian at Cappielow Park on Monday.