The writing was on the wall, perhaps, when Queens took to the field and unveiled their new and much-maligned all-red away kit. In keeping, by the end Steve Tosh, their veteran midfielder, was left red-faced after being red-carded for two bookings in three minutes, one of them for inexplicable dissent which he later explained as "red mist".

After early chances for Stephen Dobbie and Stewart Kean, both saved by Morton goalkeeper Kevin Cuthbert, it was Tosh who came closest to scoring when he let fly with a terrific 15-yard angled volley in 22 minutes which crashed back off an upright.

Tosh was yellow carded in 66 minutes for dissent and three minutes later saw red from referee Crawford Allan after he launched himself needlessly into a tackle at the edge of the area, after his captain, Jim Thomson, appeared to handle a shot.

Queens manager Gordon Chisholm said: "To be honest, I thought we dominated the first half and were unlucky. When we lost Tosh we were under pressure.

"I thought it was harsh, it wasn't a bad tackle, but he's got enough experience and should know better than to be booked for dissent. He's disappointed with himself. The sending off changed the game."

Davie Irons, the Cappielow manager, said: "That's two games we haven't lost a goal and we can build on that. It's important now we start to create more in the final third."

Morton, encouraged by Tosh's dismissal, almost snatched the winner 10 minutes from time when Iain Russell created space for himself and unleashed a 25-yard left-foot shot which skimmed the top of the crossbar.