Declan McManus scored twice as Greenock Morton beat Stranraer 2-0 to climb to the top of the Scottish League One table.

The home side were given an early warning by McManus, who used space on the edge of the box to send a powerful effort just over the crossbar.

Stranraer improved as the first half progressed, but it was Morton who were gifted the opportunity to break the deadlock when Peter MacDonald went down in the box under a challenge from Steven Bell.

McManus accepted the responsibility from 12 yards to slot home the penalty with just five minutes remaining before the break.

Stranraer struggled to respond to the setback and they conceded a second goal before the interval when McManus found the space to head home from a Ross Forbes cross.

Morton were living dangerously for long spells of the second half, and they were fortunate not to concede at least once as William Gibson and Chris Aitken fired wide from promising positions.

Despite the pressure on their defence, it looked as though Morton would earn a comfortable victory until Ricki Lamie was shown a straight red card for a dangerous tackle on Daniel Stoney.

However, the visitors managed to survive the onslaught in the final 13 minutes to secure a win which moves them ahead of Forfar on goal difference, and there was more frustration for Stranraer when Aitken was sent off in stoppage time for an elbow on McManus.