Morton finally got back to winning ways on Saturday with a 3-1
victory over Stranraer. However, while the result was met with
relief and applause from the fans, many question marks still
remain hanging over certain areas of the pitch, like celestial
incarnations of the boneheaded errors that still plague Morton's
back third.
Concerns loomed large during the week-long internet buildup to
the game. The usual negativity and overreaction prevailed, even
amongst level-headed raconteurs of genius such as the Morton-Mad
staff. But spirits couldn't help but be raised upon arrival at
Cappielow at 2:30. I almost cracked a stauner looking at the
state of the pitch; it was improved even on last year. The
groundskeeper was awarded with a trophy for winning last year's
Best Pitch in the League award, with Crawford Rae also present
for overseeing the upgrades to the main stand. It seemed the
chemistry was right on Saturday - at least someone connected
with Morton finished last season with some silverware.
With all the speculation over formation, McCormack surprised us
all by producing a lineup that was potent in attack and
ununusally robust in midfield. A 3-4-3 took to the pitch, with
Millar in the middle of midfield (a change many fans had been
clamouring for), and a three-pronged attack of Williams, Hawke
and Walker.
It certainly didn't take long for this attacking formation to
reap dividends. We were only five minutes in when McCulloch and
Williams were linking up well on the left side of the pitch,
only for Williams to fire a poor finish past the post. Walker
followed up soon after with another off-target attempt, but in
the 9th minute Jim McAllister surprised everyone with a 25 yard
shot into the top left hand corner of the net, putting Morton
1-0 up.
An early lead delighted the crowd, but all was not well.
McCluskey, still settling in to his new role as captain,
faltered at many high balls throughout the game, and Greacen was
prone to the occasional poor turn or mis-hit clearance.
McCulloch was not omnipresent at the left side of central
defence, but over the course of ninety minutes he did certainly
show himself to be not only our best defender, but also
brilliant going forward.
It was just as well that so much attacking play was taking
place, as Stranraer had chances too. Play opened up on the right
towards the Wee Dublin end on many occasions, and in the 16th
minute Stranraer received the first of many free heading
opportunities. Thankfully, they spurned these great chances,
which was a leitmotif for the rest of the game from both sides.
Case in point: after a hilarious defensive mixup in the 20th
minute, Jason Walker was given the chance of a lifetime and
contrived to slam the ball into the side netting.
It took another 20 minutes for Morton to add to their lead, and
in characteristic fashion it was a bit of a stramash that
brought the goal. A golden opportunity fell to McCluskey, who,
eschewing the time-honoured tradition of hoofing the ball into
the top left, instead opted for a meek toe-poke out towards the
right-hand corner flag. Thankfully, this came off the
outstretched leg of a Stranraer defender, putting the 'Ton 2-0
up and giving the opportunistic defender his first competitive
Morton goal (he claimed it, the tannoy gave him it, who am I to
argue?)
Morton went into the break the better side, but it was by no
means certain that they'd go in without losing their customary
early goal. Stranraer were gifted two chances on the stroke of
halftime following McCulloch and McCluskey allowing a break down
the right to result in yet another clear header. The second
chance followed swiftly after, but McCluskey recovered well to
launch a convincing tackle at the oncoming Stranraer #7 before
he played in a short cross to the awaiting number 10.
After the interval, things continued much in the same vein: a
well-taken Stranraer free kick narrowly cleared the crossbar,
and the visitors looked dangerous with attacking runs into
plenty of vacant Morton territory. It was little surprise when a
goal did come for the Stair Park club, although the
circumstances were certainly regrettable: a rather innocuous free kick floated harmlessly into the box, where it should have been cleared or met by the advancing keeper. Rather, it was met by the feet of a poorly-marked Henderson, who rolled the ball under Coyle and brought the Stranraer deficit down to one.
However, their buoyant attack was to prove fruitless as Morton responded instantly. Canny veteran Warren Hawke won a penalty out near the goal line, which was duly converted by a characteristically determined-looking Alex Williams. Williams may have fluffed his goalmouth chances on Saturday but his penalty was textbook work, thumped in to the right of the keeper's leftward dive.
The game finished 3-1, but if another game with so many gifted chances finishes as such all season, I'll be amazed. Morton had their chances, a 82nd minute run by a sprightly Paul Walker nearly reaped goalward rewards, and Scott Bannerman's battling prescense in midfield more than once freed the Morton attack to create chances. But it was Stranraer who had the best of the opportunities. In the 68th minute, Coyle dealt terribly with a high ball, spilling it off behind his near post, and with the ball played centre towards the Stranraer number 10, a goal seemed inevitable. Amazingly, Coyle's agility and a rare moment of defensive decisiveness aided the ball harmlessly towards the goal line for a corner. Not two minutes later, a similar counter attack resulted in Coyle putting the ball out for a corner, and Stranraer looked dangerous still.
However, the game tailed off into mediocrity as Stranraer's number 5 assumed a feral state, lashing out at Hawke and others like a cat to a ball of yarn. A well-deserved booking ensued, but for all Stranraer's fight, they were left to rue missed chances, and as the formidable frame of Colin Hardie ground to a halt and blew for full time, the three points stayed in Greenok.
Overall, a decent performance from Morton, but certainly not worth getting carried away over. Had Stranraer's number 10 been slightly less incompetent the game could easily have finished 3-4, but by the same token, messrs. Williams and Walker had their chances to set the score to 7-4. Much work needs to be done to strengthen a still-shaky defence in time for the visit of Gretna tonight, but it's hoped that a full 90 minutes with a back three will steady the nerves in time for tonight's game. In a season that's already seen many tactical alterations and player changes made, a bit of stability should help Morton greatly this evening.