MORTON will take an away following with them for the first time in a year and half tomorrow as they make the trip to Lanarkshire to face Hamilton Accies.

When the travelling support made two trips in quick succession to Dumfries and Inverness back at the end of February/beginning of March 2020 little did anyone realise they would be the last for such a long time.

There was a sense of relief, and anticipation, after Accies announced earlier this week that they would permit 300 Ton fans entry this weekend.

It's another important step towards getting football matches in this country back to normal and hopefully Morton will be able to follow suit soon enough and open up the gates to everyone rather than just home fans.

They will also be hoping that the other restrictions applied locally by Inverclyde Council will be relaxed by the time they face Queen of the South on August 21, as there is little doubt attendances are suffering.

The sparse crowd against Clyde could be explained away by it still being summer time and a cup tie which was a dead rubber, but to only draw 800 people for the opening day of the league campaign last Saturday has to be a concern.

There can be little doubt that early arrival times, checks, dedicated row allocations, facemasks, limited catering and staggered exits are putting some people off from returning to games and so the sooner these strictures are removed the better.

It was a shame the attendance was 700 short of the permitted 1,500 capacity, as those who were inside the stadium were treated to an entertaining spectacle between Ton and Dunfermline.

The 2-2 result was a fair reflection of the game and it offered encouragement for the campaign ahead.

Morton went into it with a well-documented under-strength squad and it's to their credit that not only were they competitive, but passed the visitors off the park for large spells of the first half.

With a change in formation to three at the back they were bright and breezy, got the ball down and moved it well on the lush green surface restored to its former glory by groundsman Mark Farrell, after a year where his pristine park was churned up by training sessions and left looking more like a ploughed field.

The second half was a struggle as threadbare Ton understandably ran out of steam a bit, but they showed good character to get themselves back into the game after going 2-1 down, with a moment to remember for young local lad Lewis McGrattan scoring his first goal.

Individually and collectively, the Greenock men were excellent during the first period, rarely troubled by Peter Grant's hotly-tipped outfit and full of attacking purpose at the other end.

The most eye-catching display came from new striker Gozie Ugwu, who was deservedly named man of the match.

The big frontman caused havoc for his former club's central defenders, giving them a torrid time as he displayed some lovely touches as well as strength and power, plus no little bravery at the aerial challenge which won the spot kick.

Ugwu looks like a real asset who will give the team the kind of focal point it has lacked over the last couple of seasons.

Oliver also impressed in his new deep-lying role, working tremendously hard throughout and having much more of an influential role on the proceedings.

At the back Alan Lithgow again strolled through the game and already looks set to become a key man for manager Gus MacPherson, who will also have been pleased with the contributions of his other two summer signings, goalkeeper Jack Hamilton and the returning Mark Russell, who slotted back in straight away after coming on as a second half sub.

What he'll be less pleased about is that it seems another week is about to pass without any further new recruits joining the club.

He has stressed the need for patience but even his own must be at the stage of being tested now, especially after a second half against the Pars which only underlined the need to give the existing player pool a helping hand.

While the window remains open until the end of the month, ideally the new faces will arrive before then so they can settle and play their part, if not by tomorrow then certainly over the next fortnight between now and the Queen of the South game.

Before then it's newly relegated Accies and a first visit there on league business since the infamous 10-2 debacle of 2014.

It will be interesting to see how Brian Rice and his team respond after the disappointment of the drop.

Their rebuild has been much more modest than that of Kilmarnock and they remain fully committed to their policy of bringing young players through, with a smattering of older heads to help them along.

Just like his opposite number, Rice has not completed his summer signing activity and was expecting at least one new arrival in time for tomorrow's game.

They had a rollercoaster of an opening day at Raith Rovers, finding themselves 4-0 down midway through the second half only to produce an astonishing comeback and level the game deep into injury time.

It was a turnaround which shows they have plenty of grit, but in what looks sure to be a close-fought tussle, Ton will look to see if they can capitalise on the defensive shortcomings which left them with that mountain to climb in the first place.