Ton 3-2 Falkirk

[Tonsilitis]

The ball was at least a foot outside the box. The stand side linesman had a shocker. How he didnt see the Avatar fall and handle the ball when the the ref gave a foul against us is beyond me.

Other thoughts on the game.

Thought O Brian had another poor game. Doesn't really offer that much.

Stewart came off his line and looked like a goalkeeper but why he didn't punt it up the park when their goalkeeper was up for their corner?!

Smyth in midfield doesn't work

Fitzharris played well but would have liked to see him take on his man on the outside.

Their number 10 was the most dangerous man on the park.

Really exciting game which we deserved to win.

Thought the penalty was soft but summed up the ref who was just appalling.

Really annoyed that the Partick game is on Friday

Great fighting spirit and I will say it again. If a mediocre team like Raith can almost win the league last season then a talented Morton team can definitely win it. Its all about belief.

Their number 10 was the second most dangerous player after Peaso who tormented their defence all afternoon!

 

Amidst the euphoria about winning,am I the only one who has serious concerns about our defence? In the first half our back line hardly won a header and in the second, they only improved because they stopped trying for the first all and focussed on picking up the second ball which worked better. I worry that we do not defend well enough as a team and only our attacking options is keeping us on top! We don't look nearly as solid as we were the first few games!

[jimbobton]

Their number 10 was the second most dangerous player after Peaso who tormented their defence all afternoon!

 

Amidst the euphoria about winning,am I the only one who has serious concerns about our defence? In the first half our back line hardly won a header and in the second, they only improved because they stopped trying for the first all and focussed on picking up the second ball which worked better. I worry that we do not defend well enough as a team and only our attacking options is keeping us on top! We don't look nearly as solid as we were the first few games!

Smyth has to return to defence.

[centralTON]

Their number 10 was the second most dangerous player after Peaso who tormented their defence all afternoon!

 

Amidst the euphoria about winning,am I the only one who has serious concerns about our defence? In the first half our back line hardly won a header and in the second, they only improved because they stopped trying for the first all and focussed on picking up the second ball which worked better. I worry that we do not defend well enough as a team and only our attacking options is keeping us on top! We don't look nearly as solid as we were the first few games!

 

 

Aye, I texted my Falkirk supporting Bro-in-law to ask him who the no. 10 was, Higginbotham, very impressed by him. The big no.9 was a dissapointment, I was led to believe that he was the best striker in the league, by my friends and family (in-laws) through here.

[cornbeef]

Aye, I texted my Falkirk supporting Bro-in-law to ask him who the no. 10 was, Higginbotham, very impressed by him. The big no.9 was a dissapointment, I was led to believe that he was the best striker in the league, by my friends and family (in-laws) through here.

 

 

The no 10 was impressive today. Farid (no 9) does use his body well and has great timing and will trouble most defences (has done in fact ,including Rangers of course ) The more I think about it...that was a great three points today (also considering we were missing Tids and DiGiac)

[samo18]

mostly agree with everything that has been said.

 

Great overall team performance to come out and rally like that in the second half, although in fairness i thought we maybe sneaked the first half performance-wise anyway. When Weatherston scored their second i thought it was going to be the 4-0 Queens game from last season all over again.

 

got two wee points though...

 

1 - yes Obri is putting in some reasonable performances, but 9 times out of 10 he doesn't beat his man and it's bloody frustrating to watch! Credit to him for his defensive side of play but he'd get so much more credit if he went by his man at least once in a game!

 

2 - has anyone noticed how pish Ross Forsyth is yet? As the game went on today i spotted it more and more, because we've been played so well and getting good results, his below par performances haven't really been getting noticed! Especially today, he got ripped a new one by Higginbotham and his distribution of the ball is pretty poor considering the amount of time other players find him with it. Most of our play seems to go down the left hand side, which for me, is really annoying when the two left hand sided players are the worst in terms of quality our team has to offer!

[centralTON]

mostly agree with everything that has been said.

 

Great overall team performance to come out and rally like that in the second half, although in fairness i thought we maybe sneaked the first half performance-wise anyway. When Weatherston scored their second i thought it was going to be the 4-0 Queens game from last season all over again.

 

got two wee points though...

 

1 - yes Obri is putting in some reasonable performances, but 9 times out of 10 he doesn't beat his man and it's bloody frustrating to watch! Credit to him for his defensive side of play but he'd get so much more credit if he went by his man at least once in a game!

 

2 - has anyone noticed how pish Ross Forsyth is yet? As the game went on today i spotted it more and more, because we've been played so well and getting good results, his below par performances haven't really been getting noticed! Especially today, he got ripped a new one by Higginbotham and his distribution of the ball is pretty poor considering the amount of time other players find him with it. Most of our play seems to go down the left hand side, which for me, is really annoying when the two left hand sided players are the worst in terms of quality our team has to offer!

 

Samo, you are in Linlithgow, Stubaws is in Bo'ness, we are in Grangemouth, the Giovanaccis are in Denny (I think). Surely there are enough of us in the Central belt that we could all travel together, no?

 

Maybe wishful thinking.

 

Edit to add, are you the guy who works at Grangemouth Sports Complex?

 

If not, that's another 'Ton fan through here.

[Toby]

Thoroughly enjoyed the game yesterday- with every passing week, with the exception of last week's abomination there seems to be a growing belief that this team is onto something.

 

It's been slim pickings in the time I've been watching Morton, but I'd go as far as to say MacDonald is the best striker I've ever seen in a Morton jersey. Yet again, outstanding. Ran the Falkirk defence ragged all day, cracking first goal and an expertly taken penalty. My man of the match though was Bachirou, who I thought gave his best performance in a Morton jersey. Could be wrong, but was yesterday the first time he's not had Jenkins or Tidser beside him? He certainly took on the extra responsibility and thrived on it, in spite of being kicked black and blue with no protection from the officials, especially in the first half. Stewart could've done better with the second goal, but I was pleased to see how he reacted to it by not letting his head go down. Much better with cross balls and his kicking was also much improved. Was also pleased with Ross Forsyth. As the game wore on and Falkirk started to turn the screw, he seemed to appear everywhere and was a lot more assured than he has been at some points this season.

 

From Falkirk's point of view, I got talking to one of their fans on the train through who said to me after the game that they actually played better at Cappielow than against Rangers, so we can take a bit of kudos from that!! El Allagui was quiet considering the hype he's had and I'd say their star man was the big guy that came off the bench in the first half, Bennett- a loan signing from Bolton I believe. I'd like to think he'll not be there long after January.

 

One more mention for a guy that played a blinder- InverAlly picking A Little Less Conversation for the tannoy at full time. Wonder who that was dedictated to .

[bigdoc1874]

Thoroughly enjoyed the game yesterday- with every passing week, with the exception of last week's abomination there seems to be a growing belief that this team is onto something.

 

It's been slim pickings in the time I've been watching Morton, but I'd go as far as to say MacDonald is the best striker I've ever seen in a Morton jersey. Yet again, outstanding. Ran the Falkirk defence ragged all day, cracking first goal and an expertly taken penalty. My man of the match though was Bachirou, who I thought gave his best performance in a Morton jersey. Could be wrong, but was yesterday the first time he's not had Jenkins or Tidser beside him? He certainly took on the extra responsibility and thrived on it, in spite of being kicked black and blue with no protection from the officials, especially in the first half. Stewart could've done better with the second goal, but I was pleased to see how he reacted to it by not letting his head go down. Much better with cross balls and his kicking was also much improved. Was also pleased with Ross Forsyth. As the game wore on and Falkirk started to turn the screw, he seemed to appear everywhere and was a lot more assured than he has been at some points this season.

 

From Falkirk's point of view, I got talking to one of their fans on the train through who said to me after the game that they actually played better at Cappielow than against Rangers, so we can take a bit of kudos from that!! El Allagui was quiet considering the hype he's had and I'd say their star man was the big guy that came off the bench in the first half, Bennett- a loan signing from Bolton I believe. I'd like to think he'll not be there long after January.

 

One more mention for a guy that played a blinder- InverAlly picking A Little Less Conversation for the tannoy at full time. Wonder who that was dedictated to .

 

I thought he was gash gave away the pen, let our strikers behind him a few times and his passing was woeful, its a funny old game.

[jamgmfc]

Samo, you are in Linlithgow, Stubaws is in Bo'ness, we are in Grangemouth, the Giovanaccis are in Denny (I think). Surely there are enough of us in the Central belt that we could all travel together, no?

 

Maybe wishful thinking.

 

Edit to add, are you the guy who works at Grangemouth Sports Complex?

 

If not, that's another 'Ton fan through here.

 

Its my brother that works in grangemouth sports complex, cant imagine there being two who work there anyway. He aint been to a Morton game in years now. He stays in Hallglen, i stay in Grangemouth and go to quite a few games during the season with my dad who now stays in bainsford.

 

So yeh there seems to be quite a few who stay in the falkirk area. Which makes this an even better result for us as we have slagging rights for the next few weeks etc. Also won a few quid off quite a few workmates

[cornbeef]

I thought he was gash gave away the pen, let our strikers behind him a few times and his passing was woeful, its a funny old game.

 

 

He definitely won a few balls at the back and he looked very assured in his forays up the park including a half decent effort on goal. Gash is a bit harsh surely. I think theres a quality player in there.

 

 

[Tonsilitis]

I thought he was gash gave away the pen, let our strikers behind him a few times and his passing was woeful, its a funny old game.

I thought for a centre back he was pretty assured carrying the ball forward. As a defender, I thought he was mediocre at best. He was repeatedly wrong-sided by our forwards and was very clumsy for our penalty.

 

There might be a player there but he has still a bit to learn! Evans is a better prospect!

[centralTON]

Its my brother that works in grangemouth sports complex, cant imagine there being two who work there anyway. He aint been to a Morton game in years now. He stays in Hallglen, i stay in Grangemouth and go to quite a few games during the season with my dad who now stays in bainsford.

 

So yeh there seems to be quite a few who stay in the falkirk area. Which makes this an even better result for us as we have slagging rights for the next few weeks etc. Also won a few quid off quite a few workmates

 

Ah!... he spotted me with my Morton top on a few weeks ago when I was playing 5's and shouted Mon e Ton. Tell him to come and speak to me next time he sees me.

[garymcc1874]

Bennet looked good going forward for sure, but I thought he was honking at defending.

[Mr.Blue]

Re Smyth in midfield.

Moans and groans everytime the ball came to him and he mis- controlled it or played a stray pass. Lets keep in mind that he is in the team as a midfield enforcer to do the dirty work i.e. get in peoples faces, tackle, break up play which he does well. Cant have everything!!

[stubaws]

Samo, you are in Linlithgow, Stubaws is in Bo'ness, we are in Grangemouth, the Giovanaccis are in Denny (I think). Surely there are enough of us in the Central belt that we could all travel together, no?

 

Maybe wishful thinking.

 

Edit to add, are you the guy who works at Grangemouth Sports Complex?

 

If not, that's another 'Ton fan through here.

 

have a look at bo'ness sports centre 5s pitches tonight and you'll see my morton top proudly on display happy to try to organise travel through if it could work, only issue is i often visit friends and family before/after the games.

 

on the game, great entertainment. i think falkirk were worth a point to be honest but delighted we got all 3 when missing 2 influential players. what more can you say about macdonal - looking like the most complete striker we've had in my time and looks like scoring in every game. it's amazing the difference having a wide man who can actually put a quality ball into the box - take a bow sean fitzharris. only concern is his lack of fitness but hopefully a run of games will see him alright.

 

concern for me is the goals we are losing. it adds to the entertainment but i think smyth should go back to centre half to shore things up.

 

falkirk play nice football and had a great support so fair play to them. number 10 was excellent and the big centre half - although crap in defence - was great going forward. the number 9 dominated our defence and won everything too so delighted we got away with the win.

 

i think the refs performance was summed up by the fact both sets of fans were singing about him. thought our pen was very soft. sorry but the keeper clearly picked up the ball on the line of the box - it wasn't outside at all. the ref missed 5 or 6 hand balls in the game of which about 3 were embarrassingly blatant.

 

good to see the players out on the pitch at the end although the cowshed was very subdued today.

 

bring on partick!

[Rampage Nu Sport]

Like a few on here, I agree that our biggest worry has to be our defence. I've said elsewhere that on balance I think we're better off with Smyth as midfield enforcer, so I'm not keen on him moving back into defence.

 

Both Graham and Forsyth are below par, in my opinion - I'm hoping that we can quite quickly get back to a McCann, Evans, McCaffrey, Forsyth back line. I'd have McKinlay back in a flash, but I know that's not going to happen.

 

Otherwise, yesterday showed that our midfield and striking options are the best for many seasons, and luckily were enough to offset the occasionally ropey defending.

[garymcc1874]

Everyone seems to agree that our biggest problem is the goals we're losing. Well, how many goals did we lose playing Smyth and McCaffrey at the back? Very very little, if any. We're scoring goals - no problems there. What does Smyth add going forward? Nothing. Is his midfield enforcer work actually necessary for the majority of games in this division? No, and we're still conceding plenty with him playing there anyway.

 

It couldn't be any more obvious what we need to do!

[Rampage Nu Sport]

Everyone seems to agree that our biggest problem is the goals we're losing. Well, how many goals did we lose playing Smyth and McCaffrey at the back? Very very little, if any. We're scoring goals - no problems there. What does Smyth add going forward? Nothing. Is his midfield enforcer work actually necessary for the majority of games in this division? No, and we're still conceding plenty with him playing there anyway.

 

It couldn't be any more obvious what we need to do!

I kinda know where you're coming from. But I still think the Tidser+Smyth combination has allowed Tidser to perform at his best. And Smyth did manage to have a few howlers of games at centre back. Smyth certainly isn't intended to offer much going forward - he allows the rest of the midfield to get forward. Scoring goals? Perhaps indirectly that's one of things Smyth is allowing to happen through his midfield role?

 

Horses for courses - sometimes a defensive midfielder is just what's required, but not always of course. Frankly I'm more worried about Graham and Forsyth - compare goals conceded with Graham in defence compared to those without him.

[garymcc1874]

I kinda know where you're coming from. But I still think the Tidser+Smyth combination has allowed Tidser to perform at his best. And Smyth did manage to have a few howlers of games at centre back. Smyth certainly isn't intended to offer much going forward - he allows the rest of the midfield to get forward. Scoring goals? Perhaps indirectly that's one of things Smyth is allowing to happen through his midfield role?

 

Horses for courses - sometimes a defensive midfielder is just what's required, but not always of course. Frankly I'm more worried about Graham and Forsyth - compare goals conceded with Graham in defence compared to those without him.

 

We were scoring plenty of goals at the start of the season as well with Bachirou and Tidser playing together. Those two have to play as far as I'm concerned. Sure, there are times when having a guy like Smyth in the midfield will be necessary - the St Mirren game where it all started for instance (although we did still concede 4 goals then), but I just can't get my head round the fact some people are all for him continuing in the midfield.

 

I agree re: Graham. Undoubtedly dedicated, he reminds me of big Greacen and I really do think he will come good but I'm not convinced as yet. I like Forsyth though and think he's been getting some pretty harsh reviews. I'm still not buying into the Evans as a centre back hype either. I was absolutely terrified when he moved to LCB yesterday. For me, we have to go back to Evans-Smyth-McCaffrey-Forsyth.

 

[big B]

Ref's are supposed to stop play for a booking, and not play advantage. Precisely to stop retaliatory challenges.

No the ref has the dicreation to play advantage the book the player when the ball becomes dead.