Morton 1 - 0 Inverness CT

League Match
Saturday, December 23rd, 2017, 3:00 PM at Cappielow Park, Greenock
Attendance: 1,547
Referee: Colin Steven
Morton Inverness CT

Goalscorers
G Harkins (pen 22) None.

Team Managers
Jim Duffy John Robertson

Starting Eleven
Derek Gaston
Thomas O′Ware
James Michael Doyle
Mark Russell
Luca Gasparotto
Andy Murdoch
Robert Thomson
Michael Tidser
Gary Harkins
Gary Oliver
Jai Quitongo
Mark Ridgers
Coll Donaldson
David Raven
Carl Tremarco
Brad Mckay
Joe Chalmers
Iain Vigurs
Liam Polworth
Jake Mulraney
John Baird
Connor Bell

Bench
Robert McHugh
Scott Tiffoney
Ross Doohan
Ruaridh Langan
Ben Armour
Darren Hynes
Ryan Esson
Gary Warren
Collin Seedorf
Riccardo Calder
Charlie Trafford
Aaron Doran
George Oakley

Substitutions
Robert McHugh -> Jai Quitongo (78)
Scott Tiffoney -> Andy Murdoch (74)
Ben Armour -> Gary Oliver (85)
Collin Seedorf for Connor Bell (26)
George Oakley for John Baird (69)
Charlie Trafford for Jake Mulraney (76)

Bookings
Jai Quitongo (75) John Baird (16)
Iain Vigurs (57)
Liam Polworth (69)
Coll Donaldson (93)

Red Cards
None. David Raven (22)
Appearances & Goals To Date
Mark Ridgers (GK) 21 apps -
Coll Donaldson 15 apps -
Carl Tremarco 125 apps11 goals
Brad Mckay 51 apps3 goals
David Raven 186 apps5 goals
Joe Chalmers 23 apps -
Iain Vigurs 122 apps20 goals
Jake Mulraney 51 apps -
Liam Polworth 138 apps13 goals
John Baird 24 apps3 goals
Connor Bell 19 apps6 goals
Collin Seedorf (sub) 6 apps -
Charlie Trafford (sub) 13 apps -
George Oakley (sub) 21 apps3 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Connor Bell (21 years 166 days)
Oldest Player:David Raven (32 years 296 days)
Average Player Age:26 years 209 days
Domestic Players:7 (63.64 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Connor Bell (21 years 166 days)
Oldest Player:Ryan Esson (37 years 288 days)
Average Player Age:26 years 292 days
Domestic Players:8 (44.44 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

Gary Harkins' penalty was enough for Morton to take all three points against 10-man Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

The midfielder calmly rolled in his sixth goal of the season after David Raven had been dismissed for pulling back Bob Thomson.

Harkins had earlier hit the crossbar with the a free-kick and Thomson almost extended Ton's lead but his header was cleared off the line by Liam Polworth.

The win lifts Morton up to fourth in the Championship.

Caley Thistle had kept 10 clean sheets in their previous 11 games before this trip to Greenock, but looked more fragile early on at Cappielow.

Harkins' effort off the woodwork, as well as great saves by Mark Ridgers from Jai Quitongo and Thomson shots, underlined the hosts superiority.

Raven, who is expected to leave Inverness when his contract expires in January, had few complaints about his dismissal and Harkins was composed as he softly nudged the ball towards the bottom left corner.

The visitors reorganised and were much more steady in the second half, with George Oakley going fairly close with a glancing header, but Morton did enough to get their third win in four matches.

Post-match reactions
Morton manager Jim Duffy: "First half we were terrific. If it wasn't for Mark Ridgers we would have had put the game to bed. He made three unbelievable saves. We knew in the second half that Caley Thistle would make it difficult - their defensive record speaks for itself."

Inverness manager John Robertson: "It was a double whammy (penalty and red card). It was poor defending, David's had a wee tug at him and it's a penalty kick. The new rules say if it is a tug then it's a red card, which I find bizarre. To be fair Morton deserved their lead at that stage."

Match report written by tm4tj



Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. St. Mirren 18 12 2 4 35 22 13 38
2. Dundee Utd 17 11 3 3 25 14 11 36
3. Dunfermline 18 7 5 6 34 24 10 26
4. Queen of the South 17 7 5 5 30 24 6 26
5. Livingston 16 7 5 4 24 21 3 26
6. Inverness CT 17 5 5 7 18 19 -1 20
7. Dumbarton 17 4 7 6 14 21 -7 19
8. Falkirk 16 1 8 7 9 25 -16 11
9. Brechin City 17 0 3 14 12 38 -26 3