St Johnstone boss Derek McInnes claimed his side’s extra quality saw them through a tricky Co-op Cup second-round tie against Morton.

Scott Dobie, making his first start for Saints, gave the home side the interval lead with a header after 22 minutes and 10 minutes from the end Murray Davidson sealed the Scottish Premier League side’s passage through to the next round.

McInnes was pleased with the way his players prevented any real possibility of a cup upset.

“I’m happy to be through into the next round,” the former Morton midfielder said.

“We knew how difficult it was going to be against Morton, who are a good First Division side.

“Morton put us under pressure at times but our players showed a good attitude throughout.

“We defended well when we had to, controlled the game and the quality we had came through and got us the goals.

“So it’s good to get through because we want to go as far as we can in this competition.

“We’ve been in a few semi finals of cup competitions in recent years and we want to do that again and more.”

Morton boss Allan Moore watched his side put up a sterling effort only to fall short.

“I am delighted with the performance but disappointed to go out of the cup,” the former St Johnstone winger said.

“St Johnstone scored against the run of play and then the game opened up and when they got the second goal, it killed it.

“But we put on a good show and played some good football.

“We lacked a cutting edge and our final ball in to the box was poor although the St Johnstone keeper had a couple of good saves to make.”

St Johnstone manager Derek McInnes accused Steven Anderson of letting down his team-mates after his red card in the 1-1 draw at Hearts.

The visitors were reduced to 10 men in the 74th minute when the defender recklessly clattered into the back of Suso Santana on the touchline.

The sending off forced the visitors to adopt a defensive approach but they successfully held on to claim a point from their opening fixture of the Scottish Premier League season.

McInnes had no complaints with referee Stevie O’Reilly’s decision to brandish a red card and insists Anderson must learn to keep a cool head in future.

McInnes said: “The sending off changed everything, I need to see it again but it was a stupid challenge, I’m not going to defend it; it was a really stupid challenge from Steven Anderson.

“It’s something he’ll have to learn from because it put his team-mates right up against it and they answered it.

“He should be down about it. He’s not a kid anymore, he needs to be better than that in getting involved in that tackle. The boy was not going anywhere.

“We’ve got a lot of trust and faith in him and he was playing well but he made the referee make a decision and he has to learn from it.”

Hearts went ahead in the 44th minute when Calum Elliot nodded home Lee Wallace’s near-post cross but the away team were level within seconds when debutant Sam Parkin nodded in Cleveland Taylor’s delivery.

McInnes added: “We knew there is enough resilience, the fact we bounced back so quickly.

“It epitomised what we were all about last season, we never knew when we were beaten. I thought we had a goal in us after we went behind.”

Hearts were looking to lay a marker against St Johnstone in manager Jim Jefferies’ first full season since returning to Tynecastle.

Debutants Kevin Kyle and Stephen Elliott were afforded a rapturous welcome when they came off the bench in the 65th minute.

However Jefferies was disappointed his side did not convert their possession into goals to get the season off to a flying start.

Jefferies said: “I think we were the team that looked like we could win the game. And I’ve seen it a thousand times when someone gets sent off, they sit in.

“They knocked it up front looking to stem the flow.

“For me, with the number of players we’ve had out, there were lots of positives. I felt we were the most dominant side out there. That’s credit to the boys that came in and did well.”

McInnes hopes defender Danny Grainger’s knee injury does not prove serious. The left-back collided with the post as he headed the ball out of Elliot’s reach in the first half.

McInnes said: “It’s blown up so it’s a concern. Because of the impact it might be more superficial with the swelling and hopefully not too much damage to the ligament.”

St Johnstone manager Derek McInnes is hoping to sign goalkeeper Peter Enckelman.

The former Aston Villa and Cardiff keeper featured as a trialist in Saturday’s challenge game against Real Valladolid at McDiarmid Park and has expressed a desire to join the Perth club.

The 33-year-old Finn, capped 12 times for his country, is a free agent after being released by Cardiff.

“Talks will continue today with the hope of a quick agreement,” read a statement on the club’s official website.

Scottish Cup finalists Ross County have been drawn at home to St Mirren in the Co-op Cup second round, while Aberdeen must go to Alloa.

County have been handed another chance to take a top-flight scalp after being paired with Danny Lennon’s Buddies.

The Dingwall outfit, who beat SPL sides Hamilton, Hibernian and Celtic in cup competition last season, face Lennon’s new-look Saints at Victoria Park later this month.

Hearts have been handed a home tie against Elgin City in the draw, which features the SPL clubs who did not qualify for European football.

Mark McGhee’s much-changed Aberdeen squad face a tough trip to Alloa, last season’s Irn-Bru Second Division runners-up.

The Dons were knocked out of the cups by Dundee and Raith Rovers last season and face a hard game on Recreation Park’s artificial surface to avoid another shock.

Raith have another chance to cause an upset after being drawn at home to Hamilton and Inverness have been drawn at home against Peterhead.

Mixu Paatelainen’s first cup match in charge of Kilmarnock will come at home against Airdrie, while St Johnstone boss Derek McInnes faces one of his former clubs, Morton, at McDiarmid Park.

The seeded draw should ensure that most if not all SPL clubs move into the last 16, where Rangers, Celtic, Dundee United, Hibernian and Motherwell join the action.

But Hearts boss Jim Jefferies has already warned his players against complacency when they face the team that finished second bottom of the Third Division last term.

Jefferies told heartsfc.co.uk: “In any cup competition you want to have home advantage so in that respect it’s a good draw for us.

“However, it will be Elgin’s cup final so we certainly cannot afford to underestimate them.”

Co-operative Insurance Cup second-round draw: Kilmarnock v Airdrie, Brechin v Dundee, Hearts v Elgin City, Alloa v Aberdeen, St Johnstone v Morton, Ross County v St Mirren, Inverness v Peterhead, Partick Thistle v Falkirk, Queen of the South v Forfar, Raith Rovers v Hamilton, Dunfermline v Clyde.

Ties to be played on August 24/25.

St Johnstone manager Derek McInnes has revealed the club will not be signing Stuart Duff despite his appearance against Bolton on Monday.

Duff, who was released by Aberdeen at the end of last season, lined up at right-back in a 2-0 friendly defeat at McDiarmid Park.

The 28-year-old has been training with Saints but McInnes is unable to offer him a deal with the club.

“I couldn’t go anywhere with it even if I wanted to,” the St Johnstone boss told the club’s official website.

“I’ve offered Stuart training facilities which helps him and he is helping us by playing when required.

“Dave Mackay is injured and Liam Caddis was feeling a bit leggy after his game against Manchester United and so Stuart helped us out.”