Morton 1 - 2 Inverness CT

League Match
Saturday, April 1st, 2023, 3:00 PM at Cappielow Park, Greenock
Attendance: 1,958
Referee: David Dickenson
Morton Inverness CT

Goalscorers
Grant Gillespie (69) Pen Scott Allardice (54)
David Carson (88)

Team Managers
Dougie Imrie Billy Dodds

Starting Eleven
Brian Schwake
Liam Grimshaw
Jack Baird
Darrah O'Connor
Calum Waters
Grant Gillespie
Cameron Blues
Robbie Crawford
Ali Crawford
Robbie Muirhead
George Oakley
Mark Ridgers
Cameron Harper
Robbie Deas
Zak Delaney
Sean Welsh
David Carson
Scott Allardice
Aaron Doran
Jay Henderson
Nathan Shaw
Billy Mckay

Bench
Carlo Pignatiello
Ally Roy
Jai Quitongo
Calvin Miller
Efe Ambrose
Lewis McGrattan
Michael Garrity
Lawton Green
Alex King
Cameron Mackay
Ben Woods
Lewis Hyde
Steven Boyd
Daniel Mackay
Austin Samuels

Substitutions
Calvin Miller -> Cameron Blues (45)
Jai Quitongo -> Alister Crawford (58)
Lewis McGrattan -> Grant Gillespie (77)
Austin Samuels for Jay Henderson (11)
Steven Boyd for Aaron Doran (74)
Daniel Mackay for Billy Mckay (77)

Bookings
Grant Gillespie (52)
Darragh O'Connor (63)
Robbie Crawford (72)
David Carson (76)
Daniel Mackay (79)
Austin Samuels (90)

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Mark Ridgers (GK) 229 apps -
Cameron Harper 110 apps8 goals
Robbie Deas 106 apps2 goals
Zak Delaney 32 apps -
Aaron Doran 364 apps53 goals
Sean Welsh 127 apps16 goals
David Carson 133 apps2 goals
Scott Allardice 92 apps6 goals
Billy Mckay 238 apps96 goals
Jay Henderson 15 apps3 goals
Nathan Shaw 36 apps6 goals
Austin Samuels (sub) 35 apps6 goals
Steven Boyd (sub) 35 apps1 goal
Daniel Mackay (sub) 90 apps15 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Jay Henderson (21 years 44 days)
Oldest Player:Billy Mckay (34 years 169 days)
Average Player Age:26 years 262 days
Domestic Players:6 (54.55 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Ben Woods (20 years 191 days)
Oldest Player:Billy Mckay (34 years 169 days)
Average Player Age:25 years 82 days
Domestic Players:10 (58.82 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

Vital three points at Morton

Danny Devine was missing again along with Roddy MacGregor and Walllace Duffy for this vital clash at Cappielow which could define our season. That left us with a sparse bench. For Morton, Brian Schwake was given the gloves despite his blunder against Arbroath and condemnation from his gaffer. George Oakley started up front against his old club.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It goes from bad to worse. Ten minutes gone and our most productive player recently Jay Henderson limped off with an ankle injury to be replaced by Austin Samuels.

George Oakley and Nathan Shaw exchanged efforts once the game resumed and Mark Ridgers did well to parry a shot from Calum Waters as the hosts looked to take charge of proceedings. Cammy Harper had a pop from a tight angle saved and Robbie Muirhead brought Ridgers into action again as he saved low down. Sean Welsh was sending probing balls into the box almost picking out Aaron Doran and then providing an opportunity for Robbie Deas which the keeper held onto. Best chance of the first half fell to Ali Crawford who failed to convert when it looked easier to score.

HALF TIME 0-0

Welsh shot over after the restart, however, in the fifty-fourth minute Scott Allardice opened the scoring with a tremendous half-volley, drilling a precision shot low into the bottom corner from outside the box. Aaron Doran appeared to be fouled in the box by Schwake two minutes later, but nothing given by David Dickenson. He's not the real deal methinks. Harper then saw Schwake save his free kick from distance before Oakley's effort was matched by Ridgers at the other end. Ridgers was involved minutes later again, but this time it was giving away a disputed penalty after bringing down Muirhead. Grant Gillespie scored from the spot to level the game with over twenty minutes remaining. Robbie Muirhead shot over as Morton tried to get their noses in front. He had a shot blocked by Zak Delaney after this and with five minutes left he hit the bar with a long range free kick from around 38 yards. Some strike and a let off for the Caley Jags. After that break, David Carson popped up with the winner in the 88th minute to take a valuable three points North. Nathan Shaw did well to win the ball in his own half before sending a long diagonal ball forward that was helped onto Carson by Boyd for the wee man to finish well from inside the box after a great run forward.

That win moves us to within a point of fifth placed Morton.

Match report written by tm4tj



Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Queens Park 31 16 6 9 58 41 17 54
2. Dundee 30 15 8 7 54 32 22 53
3. Ayr United 31 14 7 10 56 40 16 49
4. Partick Thistle 31 14 6 11 54 40 14 48
5. Morton 30 11 10 9 42 37 5 43
6. Inverness CT 30 11 9 10 42 42 0 42
7. Raith Rovers 29 11 8 10 41 37 4 41
8. Arbroath 30 6 13 11 28 41 -13 31
9. Cove Rangers 31 6 8 17 34 70 -36 26
10. Hamilton Academical 29 6 7 16 25 54 -29 25