Raith Rovers1Reynolds 31Morton1Di Giacomo 38

Raith Rovers manager John McGlynn watched his side pass up an opportunity to go top of the First Division and then warned his already hard-pressed squad they face a long and taxing season ahead.

Having had to make massive cutbacks over the summer, McGlynn faces a daunting challenge to repeat of the highs of last season when they pushed Fife rivals Dunfermline all the way in the First Division title race.

To their credit they have started the league campaign well, but after a below-par second 45 minutes against Morton, McGlynn confessed he will have to accept the rough with the smooth over the course of a campaign which he reckons is already testing the staying power of his players just three games in.

He said: “That’s probably the first 45 minutes where I can say I’m disappointed with the team’s performance. But I’ve got to be realistic, we’re asking the same players to go out and play every single minute of every game. The boys are human and it was an average 45 minutes in the second half.

“But we didn’t crumble or disappear. We hung in there and fought as a team and overall it was probably a fair point.”

Rovers did look to be heading for a third straight victory when on-loan St Johnstone teenager Stephen Reynolds snatched the lead on the half-hour mark when he raced on to John Baird’s deft through ball and rolled a ricochet off Morton keeper Colin Stewart into the empty net.

However, the lead lasted just seven minutes as Paul Di Giacomo rifled a drive across David McGurn after seizing on a loose ball.

Morton manager Allan Moore said: “They looked dead on their feet but we didn’t create enough opportunities in the second half and overall it was a fair result.”