MORTON 1 Salkeld (10) ALLOA 0
Alloa boss Peter Grant launched a scathing attack on ref Alan Newlands. Both sides finished with ten men in a highly-charged opening Championship game.
“Anyone at the game saw we should have had penalty. I asked him at half-time and the excuse he gave was ridiculous,” said Grant. “He was really poor and I will never go to a referee’s meeting again. What we are told and what happened out there today were two different things.
“I know I’m going to get into trouble and I don’t care. It was a stone wall penalty kick and anyone who says anything else doesn’t know football.
“I’m embarrassed to be talking about the referee but he will get football stopped.”
Morton might have gone behind after just five minutes when Lee Connelly held off Markus Fjortoft, only to be hauled to the ground. Remarkably referee Newlands waved away furious penalty claims.
Ton went in front after 10 minutes when a long ball by Josh Mcpake was controlled superbly by Cameron Salkeld, who rounded goalkeeper Reece Willison and tapped the ball home.
Morton almost added a second in 33 minutes when teenager Mcpake’s effort swept past the far post.
Ton continued to impress after the restart and in 55 minutes Salkeld fired over a cross which Kalvin Orsi side-footed past.
Alloa were reduced to ten men on the hour when Hetherington was red-carded for a trip on the outstanding Mcpake.
Mcpake himself was the second player to see red in 74 minutes when referee Newlands adjudged he had dived after a challenge from John Robertson. He had been booked in the first half.
Alloa came closest to drawing level in 78 minutes when Alan Trouten headed a Raymond Grant cross against the bar. Five minutes from time the Wasps passed up another glorious opportunity when substitute Liam Buchanan sent a close range flashing header just over.
Ton boss David Hopkin said: “We went with strength and height and it paid dividends.
“Mcpake shouldn’t have been sent off. It wasn’t a dive, it was a penalty.”