MORTON lie just potentially 90 minutes away from a day in the April sun at the national stadium in Glasgow.

It’s a great time to be a fan in the Sinclair Street terraces after Dougie Imrie’s men emulated the run that saw Benny Rooney’s side go within a goal of the top of the then Scottish Premiership back in 1980/81, between the beginning of December and the end of February.

In that time there have been giants slain and banana skins firmly avoided in a mixture of both professional and domineering performances in Inverclyde in front of a packed crowd from all four corners of the UK.

While their league exploits has seen Ton turn Tannadice into their own playground their cup antics have seen them make the early season injury and form woes turn into a near-distant memory, with fears of a relegation battle firmly eradicated.

In fact, their first 2024 Scottish Gas Men’s Scottish Cup tie was the game that kicked that remarkable run off and, even if they were up against lowly opposition from three divisions below, it seemed to suggest that the mojo of a swashbuckling Dougie Imrie side was about to return.

Morton 4, Bo’ness United 0: November 23, 2023

Dougie Imrie’s men were drawn against the Lowland League side, who’d overcome former junior outfit Luncarty in the second round.

Bo’ness, former junior stalwarts themselves, presented a bit of a throwback for Imrie, who’d come through the ranks at Lanark United.

A younger Imrie had gone toe-to-toe with the BU’s in his younger days, who were spearheaded by current gaffer Stuart Hunter, so he knew what the Lowland League side were capable of this time around.

Bo’ness did show up well at Cappielow on a horrible November afternoon, but they just didn’t have enough in the right moments to keep out George Oakley, Jack Bearne, Robbie Muirhead and Logan O’Boy, who put the icing on the cake with a classy finish on his first team debut.

It was a game that Ton should’ve won comfortably, on paper, but after a torrid run of form the way they eased through in the end looked to show that the tide was turning for a defiant side.

Morton 2, Montrose 0: January 20, 2024

For their efforts, Ton were handed a fourth round tie at home to League One side Montrose, led by long-standing boss Stewart Petrie.

The Links Park outfit were a familiar face for many a Ton fan, but a relative unknown for pre-contract arrival Jordan Davies who was paraded at half-time of the fixture.

Mo had faced off against Ton three times in the last three four seasons, twice in the relegation play-offs in the shortened Covid season and then in the SPFL Trust Trophy a matter of week’s later in the new campaign.

Both ties were overseen by Gus McPherson, Imrie’s predecessor, but despite falling at Links Park in the first leg of the play-off semi-finals that famous wonderstrike from Craig McGuffie was still vivid in people’s minds. So sweet.

Again, when the part-timer’s came to Inverclyde this wasn’t about knocking up cricket scores, this was about getting the job done. And Ton did just that even if it wasn’t in the prettiest of circumstances.

Two separate strikes in the opening ten minutes of both halves were enough to get Imrie’s men into the fifth round, but they did make hard work of this one.

Grant Gillespie’s penalty inside the opening five minutes before George Oakley’s header just after the restart of the second half was what settled this one, making it ten games undefeated in all competitions. Now this is where things get interesting.

Morton 2, Motherwell 1: Friday, February 9, 2024

Ton were handed a third home tie of the tournament in January’s draw, when they were drawn alongside familiar foe Motherwell. This was the tenth time in ten years that the pair had come out alongside each other in cup competitions - however this was only the second time that the game had graced the Cappielow turf. Paging Alex Samuel.

That tie in 2015 saw the end of now Northern Ireland boss, Iain Barraclough. In any other season it could’ve seen Stuart Kettlewell lose his position too, but with the form that Morton were in, the ‘shock’ that was about to follow was only a shock on paper.

Ton’s form had seen everyone within Inverclyde quietly confident that they could turn the Steelmen over, 12 games unbeaten was about to turn into thirteen. But it wasn’t foreseen that it was going to be quite as comfortable as what had quite transpired.

Imrie’s men bullied the Fir Park side on and off the park as the former Accies man got his day against his old foes.

It was a day that ‘Well never really quite seemed up for it, between Bevis Mugabi being knocked out in the warm-up and Scotland No.3 Liam Kelly having the poorest of warm-ups.

The 5,000-plus within Cappielow were treated to a Morton performance that we’ve become accustomed too, under Imrie.

Robbie Muirhead’s in-swinging corner with little over half an hour in had Kelly flapping. He might’ve knocked it off the back of Harry Paton, but the passage showed just how frail and on the ropes the men in Claret and Amber were.

Ton’s battering ram frontman George Oakley’s third goal of the competition after the break, saw him power through the Premiership side’s backline and through Kelly with a fine strike from eighteen yards, in a move that summed up what his side were all about. Morton fans were beginning to dream.

The delirium within the Cowshed didn’t stop once, even when ‘Well sub Jack Vale halved arrears with two minutes of normal time to play and Ton forced their name in the hat for the Scottish Cup Quarter-Finals for the first time since 2016, I wonder where Marvin Compper is now…

Morton ? Hearts ? Monday, March 11, 2024

So here we are, present day. We’re now only a matter of hours away from kick off and the third best team in Scotland making their way down to Inverclyde with a three and a half thousand strong support following behind.

One time Morton front man and now Scotland national side-cert Lawrence Shankland lie between Imrie’s side and their day at Hampden.

The multi-million pound linked striker has been on top form this season and helped the Premiership side ease their way past Airdrieonians in the last round, but at Cappielow, Morton will fancy their chances.

Does anyone remember Steven Naismith’s last trip to Sinclair Street? I might’ve only been a tot, but it’s a day Chris Templeman and many a Ton fan remembers extremely fondly. So… are we ready to do it all again?