Morton v Montrose - Match Preview

by Russell Gordon

Cup fever comes to Greenock as League One promotion-chasers Montrose visit Cappielow Park supported by Dalrada Technology for a tie that should prove far more of a test than the convincing victory the ‘Ton recorded over Lowland League Bo’ness United in the last round of the competition. 

With Montrose sitting in fourth place in their division, and eying a stab at the play-offs in May, the trip to Greenock could prove a fine barometer for Stewart Petrie’s men as to the level they’ll hope to be competing against next season. 

With the match not available on the season ticket, individual match tickets are available at the below link: 

Fanbase | Select Ticket (fanbaseclub.com) 

Photo - GBR Photographs.

Squad News 

Dougie Imrie could have a defensive dilemma with Jack Baird again missing out of the draw against Partick at Cappielow last weekend, while Dundee loanee Tyler French was forced to sit out of the previous round’s success against the BUs in the event of him returning to his parent club. 

Given that we’re now well into the transfer window, Dundee boss Tony Docherty’s stance on French’s availability may well have softened, but I’d expect French to sit out, although in the event of Morton progressing, he’d likely to be available for any future tie in the competition, unless we draw Dundee themselves. 

Current Connections  

There are two former Morton players in the visiting squad. Centre back Kerr Waddell enjoyed a loan spell at Cappielow from Dundee in the bizarre 2018-19 season under Raymond McKinnon and subsequently Jonatan Johansson following the former’s controversial departure. 

Waddell proved a popular figure amongst the Morton support, making 22 starts and 6 substitute appearances and scoring twice, in a Scottish Cup replay win at Peterhead and more memorably notching the only goal in a Friday night live TV victory over eventual champions Ross County. 

He was however, injured in a 0-3 defeat by Partick in March, missing out on the run in as Morton charged clear of the relegation zone towards a comfortable fifth placed finish, leaving Falkirk rooted at the bottom of the table and staring at a season (or five) of League One football. 

Waddell was also to find himself in League One the following season, where he has remained ever since, having signed on a permanent deal for the Gable Endies, a surprising move considering his well-documented allegiance to their local rivals, Arbroath. 

A good bit further back, Michael Gardyne had a short spell at Cappielow under his former Celtic youth coach, Jim McInally. Signing on deadline day in August 2007, his spell in Greenock was a brief and uneventful one, leaving in the following window for Ross County, where he had been on loan the previous season, in the January 2008 window after only five months at Morton. 

Gardyne made only ten appearances for Morton, failing to find the net in that time, before enjoying two hugely successful spells in Dingwall, punctured by a move to Dundee United and a loan at Kilmarnock. On finally departing Victoria Park, he joined up at local rivals Inverness Caledonian Thistle, but his time in the Highland Capital was to prove an unhappy one, as he was allegedly forced to leave “for the benefit of dressing room harmony”. I’ll say no more. 

Approaching 38, the veteran has enjoyed a fruitful spell at Montrose since that controversial departure from Thistle. 

Tale of the Tape  

Morton and Montrose haven’t shared a division since way back in 2002-03 when the ‘Ton won the Third Division title as they began their journey back up the divisions post administration. 

Since then, there have been a few meetings in various competitions, most recently in 2021, when Morton visited Links Park for a Challenge Cup tie and progressed on penalties after a turgid afternoon. 

It wasn’t, however, Morton’s only visit to Links Park that year, having fallen to a 1-2 defeat on the east coast in the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final, leaving Morton clinging on desperately for their Championship lives. 

Gary Oliver’s early strike had given the visitors an early lead, but goals from Russell McLean and Graham Webster turned the tie around heading into the second leg. 

When the teams met at Cappielow, the pressure was all on the hosts, on an evening that under normal circumstances would have produced a crackling atmosphere, the match was played out in an eerie atmosphere as we came towards the end of the closed-doors era of Scottish football. 

Oliver was again off the mark early doors, and Morton’s lead was doubled by Cameron Salkeld 20 minutes in to hand them the advantage in the tie. McLean again netted to send the tie into extra time, before Craig McGuffie clipped in a delightful 120^th minute winner to send the few inside Cappielow into raptures and Morton into a final in which they would dispose of Airdrie with relative ease. 

Prior to that, Morton enjoyed a resounding 4-0 League Cup second round victory over Montrose at Cappielow, giving them a tie at Celtic Park in the following round, which proved quite memorable. 

In that league campaign in 2002-03, the ‘Ton collected ten points from the twelve available, but the Scottish Cup doesn’t hold fond recent memories of Montrose. Allan McGraw’s magnificent team of 1996 toiled to a 1-1 draw at Cappielow against the Gable Endies, having taken the lead through Marko Rajamaki, before travelling up to Links Park the following evening for a replay against a team enduring a season similar to that that Edinburgh City are suffering in the same division this term. 

While Morton were overwhelming favourites having been given the second chance, it was the underdogs who prevailed 3-2 after Morton keeper David Wylie was ordered off and replaced in goal by centre back John Anderson, on an evening still remembered fondly in Montrose, and less so in Greenock. 

Against a far better Montrose side this weekend, that evening’s events should serve as a timely warning against complacency, and it should be noted that in the only other Scottish Cup meeting between the clubs, Montrose prevailed with a 3-1 win at Cappielow in 1976. 

Photo - GBR Photographs.

Opposition Analysis  

Montrose are one of the great, unheralded success stories of the introduction of the pyramid to Scottish football. A club whose dire league performances in the noughties and beyond were only overshadowed by hapless East Stirlingshire, they became the first to face the dreaded pyramid play-off in 2015, relying on two late goals from Marvin Andrews and Gary Wood to overcome Brora Rangers and retain their SPFL status. 

Since then though, they’ve got their act together, winning the League Two title in 2018 and remaining in the third tier ever since, threatening promotion in 2021 and 2022 when that semi-final defeat to Morton prevented them advancing to the 2021final and a remarkable 5-6 aggregate defeat to Airdrie denied them the following year. As it stands, they’re sitting in a good place to make another assault on the play-offs this season. 

Pivotal in Montrose’s upturn in fortunes has been manager Stewart Petrie, who has been in situ since 2016, despite seeing his name mentioned several times since for higher profile jobs due to his continued success at Links Park. 

While they are sitting comfortably in the division, recent form has been poor, with Saturday’s 0-1 home defeat by Stirling Albion following up consecutive draws against Alloa, Cove and Annan. A run of one win in seven doesn’t bode well heading into an away tie at a team a division higher. 

I spoke to Montrose fan Blair Ruxton (@BlairRuxton), who gave me his thoughts heading into the tie: 

“When the draw for the fourth round was made, Montrose fans of a certain vintage were quick to point out to me that we were unbeaten against Morton in this competition, with the last tie in 1995-96 being won by Montrose after a replay at Links Park, so there was a sense of optimism. 

However, my head went straight to the moment I watched a Craig McGuffie cross find its way into Alan Fleming’s goal to end Montrose’s promotion hopes in the 2020-21 season on an iPad in the living room with my parents. I certainly know which of these events I’d rather see repeated this weekend. 

Since Stewart Petrie’s arrival at Montrose in 2016, the one thing many Mo fans have craved, in what has otherwise been our most successful period since the nineties, is a good cup run. We are yet to go beyond the fourth round of the cup under Petrie, but nevertheless, the Mo’ faithful will be travelling to Cappielow full of hope. 

Despite not having won a match since the middle of December, performances have been better than the results have suggested, having produced a fantastic comeback to draw against Alloa just before Christmas and held onto a point away to Annan early in the new year despite having been reduced to ten men. 

Although we still find ourselves in the play-off places, the opinion of many has been that we’ve not been at our best this season. Injuries haven’t helped, with Brazilian winger, Matheus Machado, and midfield stalwart, Terry Masson both missing most of the season as well as the recent injury to former Morton defender Kerr Waddell, who looks set to miss the rest of the season. 

Last weekend’s defeat to Stirling Albion wasn’t the ideal preparation, but due to suspensions it did give a chance for 17-year-old Ben Hermiston to start his first game of the season. The young Australian signed his first professional contract with the club prior to the game, having been with the Academy and made an impact from the bench, notching his first goal in that draw with Alloa. 

This week however, should see the return of Kane Hester and another former Morton man, Michael Gardyne, from suspension. Hester has been among the goals since his arrival in the summer from Elgin for a club record fee, and after a brace in the last round, will be determined to add to his tally for the season. Gardyne has, in my opinion, been the standout player this season. Playing deeper and more centrally, his technical ability is second to none. 

With those two coming back into the fold, barring any further injuries, Montrose will feel they couldn’t be better equipped to try and claim their first victory of 2024 and progress to the fifth round of the cup for the first time in Stewart Petrie’s reign. Hopefully the Mo’ faithful will leave Greenock with their head held high having competed well with a team from a higher division. 

And for my prediction? Well, a repeat of 95-96 can’t happen due to the lack of replays, nowadays, so I’ll have to go with the Morton fans receiving a piece of their own medicine courtesy of a 119^th minute winner from a Michael Gardyne cross that sneaks into Ryan Mullen’s net!” 

Photo - GBR Photographs.

What’s Happening Elsewhere? 

Weather permitting, one of the best weekends of any season, as the Premiership clubs join the competition, kicks off on Friday night as League Two bottom dogs Clyde host Aberdeen at their latest temporary lodging in front of the BBC Scotland cameras, with the Dons well aware of the pitfalls of not being on their game for a cup tie after last season’s Darvel debacle. 

The TV fayre continues with, remarkably, an Edinburgh derby that Hibs will be confident of avoiding defeat in, as Spartans host Hearts at Ainslie Park. Elsewhere, Airdrie host 2021 winners St’ Johnstone while Ayr United (who have never won the trophy) host Kelty. League One minnows Falkirk make the short journey to Bonnyrigg Rose, and there’s a nostalgic trip for the Cove fans to face their former Highland League foes, Brora Rangers. 

While Hibs will be delighted not to be losing the Edinburgh derby, they’ll also be pleased the draw handed them a straightforward tie with Raymond McKinnon’s struggling Forfar. Another team who love an easy draw is Inverness, who, after taking care of Cowdenbeath in the last round were handed another home tie against Lowland League opposition in the form of Broomhill, or whatever they’re called this season. 

The only all-Premiership tie takes place at Rugby Park as Dundee look to avoid exceeding Hibs’ run which ended after 114 years without winning the trophy, while struggling Livingston host a Raith Rovers team aiming to spend their way towards replacing them in next season’s Premiership. 

There are a further three ties between Premiership and lower league opposition as Motherwell host Alloa, Partick make the journey to the scene of their hilarious play-off final defeat in Dingwall and St. Mirren host Queen of the South. 

In a shock move, Viaplay have chosen the Old Firm’s ties to broadcast, and they should be titanic battles as Dumbarton host Rangers in the Saturday evening fixture, while Buckie Thistle make the trip to Celtic Park on Sunday for a tie that could change the finances of their club for generations to come. 

In the Championship, Dunfermline and Queen’s Park, both ousted in their derbies in the last round, meet in a fixture re-arranged from the 2^nd of December, a match that may well prove daunting for the injury-hit Pars, given the Spiders’ recent resurgence. 

Betting Guide  

All odds are supplied by McBookie. All odds correct as of 7pm on 18th January 2024 and are subject to change. Please only bet within your means and visit BeGambleAware if you are struggling.  

As the higher division club, Morton head into the match as clear favourites at 8/15, with the visitors priced at 3/1 and the draw at 4/1. 

Robbie Muirhead to score at least two goals is 4/1, while Morton to win at half time and full time is 29/20. 

Match Officials  

Referee- Matthew McDermid takes charge of his second Morton game of the season, having been in the middle of the first of our many victories over Ayr United on the opening day of the league season. 

AR 1- John McCrossan 

AR 2- Brian Christie