DEREK Gaston has admitted it was an emotional experience playing at Cappielow for the first time since his departure from Morton. 

Gaston was one of 24 players to leave the club in the summer after seven years between the sticks where he made 180 appearances. 

He revealed that returning to Cappielow with Arbroath was the first fixture that he looked for when he signed for the Red Lichties in the summer.

He told the Tele: “It was good to come back to Cappielow — it was the first fixture that I looked out for when they were released.

“I was delighted to come back down and play. It obviously wasn’t the result that we were looking for, but it was still good to be back to see some familiar faces.

“I thought it was an exact replica of the game up at Gayfield but only this time Morton got the goal early on. 

“They managed the game very well, which is what we did up there, so we can’t complain.

“It was a bit strange coming back into the ground and turning left into the away dressing room instead of the home one and even things like warming up on the other side of the pitch that I usually did when I was here felt weird.

“I’ve come down and watched a few games this season when Arbroath haven’t been playing and I always check the results and how the likes of Bob McHugh and Midge [Chris Millar] are doing and I’ll continue to do that.”