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Imrie having a go at Lyon in the tele for his comments about leaving through the back door last week. Says although the information wasn't released, Lyon actually left the club in January and got a good payoff to pursue another career and went to Annan again because he could only play for us or them this season. Also says multiple managers gave him a chance and if he looks himself in the mirror and asks himself if he did enough to play for Greenock Morton then deep down he will know the answer. You come at the king then you better not miss

A lot of times by the end of a Morton season I'm mentally drained and ready for it to be over but I'm gutted that this season is over already. Been a while since I looked forward to Saturdays as much as I have this season as I genuinely enjoy watching this team play whether it's the midfield pressing teams in to submission, Quitongo giving fullbacks nightmares, Oakley bullying defenders, Muirhead having his own goal of the season competition, our centrebacks heading every single ball that comes their way or Grimshaw being the most composed man in the stadium most weeks.

They’re fucking insufferable anyway.

Heard Gourley's down there with him

On a serious note though, at what point does it stop becoming funny and becomes par for the course? Back in 2003-04 there was a terribly bitter rivalry between Morton and Airdrie, and at the time, they of course came out on top. But once we were promoted and established ourselves in the second tier, whilst they yo-yoed and eventually settled as a third tier club, the ill-will dissipated. If they come up this year it might return, but I suspect it’ll take a while to reach the levels of the collapse season. Falkirk are now, to all intents and purposes, a League One club. It’s their level, and they’re kidding themselves to suggest otherwise. Why are we laughing at them? They’ve actually had an incredible season- making the play-offs for the first time since relegation 4 (four) years ago and managing to dispose of the behemoths that are Wick Academy, Alloa and Darvel before the monumental shock of toppling Ayr United to reach Hampden is a fantastic effort. Even reaching the semi-finals of the play-offs is a feather on McGlynn’s cap, and managing two goals in a narrow 7-2 defeat is an incredible achievement. The perception that Falkirk have failed this season gives them a status that is completely unmerited. They haven’t failed any more than Montrose or Kelty Hearts have, it’s what they are.

Delighted Imrie is annoyed. Give me a siege mentality created by Imrie and the players over a meaningless award where players vote lazily or for their mates any day.

Dougie was spotted leaving the stadium at the end of the match

Get it right up the horrible cunt.

If only Hamilton or Raith had held on, they wouldn’t have even made the play-offs. On a more serious note though, it might be better for us if the division loses Partick, such is the crest of a wave they’re riding just now. Even with a narrow final defeat, you could see them coming out the traps quickly in an attempt to avoid any danger of being involved at all next season. Ayr, on the other hand- Hibs losing 7-0 to Malmo and Dundee United losing 7-0 to Alkmaar springs to mind with that one, and look where they went from there. Akinyemi will be away in the summer and they’ll take a couple of quid in there, but that result, stand alone and aggregate, is so chastening that it could take a long time for them to get over it. As for the red card, it was foolish for Akinyemi to get involved, and whilst it looked more of a push to the chest than the face, it’s easy to see why a referee as poor as Colin Steven was drawn into issuing a red. But Aaron Muirhead’s behaviour was very much what you’d expect from him- a truly despicable individual who should really be ashamed of himself for his conduct, but will be delighted that his gamesmanship generated the required result. Of all the odious individuals involved with that disease of a club, surely only Brian Graham keeps him in the silver medal position.

Tumilty can fucking do one.

That's a great post. I can sum things up by saying I was over the disappointment almost instantaneously as I can see we're a club on the way up and everyone is pulling in the same direction.

It may well have been true. But Brian Graham is a fkn cunt who plays for that horrible fkn cunt of a club so his opinion on whether the big bad cowshed got on his presious little nerves is fkn irrelevant.

A fucking glorious day. Thats all folks.

Genuinely can’t think of a club with so few redeeming features as that horrible mob. At least Falkirk have got the decency to be absolutely shite.

Wish someone would break that cunt Graham in half.

That's woeful. Good to see they are still dredging our bins though.

Good to flush Hamilton down the pan (a complete nick behind the scenes too - can't see them coming back). Nothing to be concerned about with that Airdrie team either, should be good for 10-12 points regardless of their pantomime villain act. All I need now is Ross County down from the Premiership and whichever team ends up 11th to smash Partick Thistle Family Club in the final.

I’m not convinced with the Hamilton situation. If what Maitland and Rankin have said is true (and it’s a massive “if”) then it’s deplorable behaviour on the part of an individual or two. However, the behaviour of their board has, in my opinion been disgusting, and strikes me as mirroring the actions of Hugh Scott here about 23 years ago. If you look back at our match previews against them in the second half of the season on this site, we stopped asking for an Accies’ contribution because we didn’t want to risk someone being banned from following his team because of comments on this website. There were threats of legal action around Christmas time made to the administrator of their fans’ Facebook page and bans to folk who did make certain, as I’m led to believe, innocuous comments. Their board appear to have antagonised their support for a considerable period just now and while you can only condemn the alleged targeting of women and children, it would be remiss of us not to question the motivation of their board in the running of their club and the truth in those allegations. From an outsider looking in, the gradual shrinking of their support is exactly what their board are after before they pull the plug and profit from the sale of the ground, which must be on fairly valuable land considering it’s proximity to a retail park. And given Colin McGowan’s comments when at Raith Rovers, I’d say it doesn’t hold much water for their board to be lecturing people on their conduct. I obviously don’t know McGowan, Rankin or Maitland personally but this really comes across as a “boy that cried wolf” scenario. If you were to ask me where Hamilton will be in ten years time, I’d say they’ll probably be down with Gretna, Third Lanark, Airdrie and Rangers.

Queens Park also apparently interested in entering a B team to that awful proposal as well. A fucking Queens Park B team. If they want to enter a team to play in tier 5 of Scottish football they're free to drop into it at any time.

Not been a good few days for Partick fans. Terrible wee shame that.

"If I made one mistake they were on my back and they were horrible in that Cowshed" Brings a tear of pride to the eye that does. Never stop booing the shitters and frauds that sometimes play for us

I'm not one who's big on the look of the shirt usually, but for me this is a massive improvement on last season when the plain blue back didn't feel like us at all. Having the hoop look all the way round is a big step in the right direction. I can understand why some might think it's a bit uninspired but I just think it will be really nice to see us playing in a strip that looks more like us. To me it feels like what a Morton kit should look like and I'm happy with that.

Still feel those were harsh. He was getting slaughtered for his disciplinary record at that time when Gillespie and Strapps yellow card records were basically just as bad at that time despite them not being the target for referees. After that week I feel like he controlled himself pretty well throughout the season even though refs were still desperate to come after him for nothing.

Great news. I know that many of us (me included) were doubtful about his injury record and general attitude when he first appeared, but he's been another great example of an insightful Dougie signing. Really solid, and always a significant worry for defences when he runs at them. I'd love to see him continuing to up his game and improve his finishing.

I've just read on the official site that Hugh Strachan has passed away. My condolences to his family. He was a steady and consistent member of that famous 60's team. That line-up is engraved in my memory and rolls of my tongue; Miller/Brown, Boyd, Mallon, Reilly, Kiernan, Strachan, Adamson, Stevenson, Caven, McGraw and Wilson. RIP Hugh and thanks for the memories.

There have been far bigger arseholes than Goodwin rocking up in the away dugout at Cappielow in the last year or so. He hardly played against us in his time at St. Mirren and when he did, guy like Thompson were far more thuggish. He’s hardly Murray, McCall, Campbell, Coyle or Hartley.

That's the neat part, they can't!

Reghan 'Reghan' Tumilty 'Tumilty' (subs: replace obvious nonsense, made-up names) follows Paul Hartley in getting relegated with two separate clubs in the 2022/23 season. Get it right up him.

You can laugh, but it’s absolutely relevant. Should Airdrie go up and Clyde go down, Falkirk will be the longest serving club in that division with the exception of Montrose, who were promoted from League Two the previous year, 2018. Clyde joined Falkirk in League One in 2019, coming up through the play-offs. Airdrie of course, have been stuck there since relegation in 2013, and until now perhaps, are the epitome of League One stalwarts, like ourselves in the Championship. Let’s also remember, Montrose have come closer to getting out of this division at the right end. They only lost their semi-final against us in 2021 to a goal in the last minute of extra time, whilst on Falkirk’s only visit to the play-offs in their time down there, they lost by 5 (five) goals to Airdrie over two legs in a tie that was finished after half an hour of the first leg. League One is exactly where they belong. It isn’t an underachievement at all.

Back From The Brink- Morton’s Third Division Title Win By Russell Gordon In what’s fast approaching our 150th anniversary, Morton have won ten titles across various divisions- more than any other club outside Glasgow’s big two, Hibernian and newly crowned League Two Champions Stirling Albion, both of the latter now sitting alongside us on that figure. Only once have we won the fourth tier title, but having personally witnessed four of those ten successes, it would be fair to say that that title, twenty years ago sits above them all in terms of significance, and for the sheer outpouring of joy it produced on the terraces of Cappielow twenty years ago today. 2002-03 season was seen as the dawn of a new era, Morton having endured a number of false starts in the previous campaign. Having been wrestled from the clutches of the despised Hugh Scott and rescued from administration by Douglas Rae the previous summer, 2001-02 season saw Morton struggle terribly in the unfamiliar surroundings of the Second Division, falling right through to the Third after consecutive relegations as a squad of kids and over-the-hill journeymen toiled throughout before their fate was confirmed after a 3-2 victory at Stenhousemuir in the season’s third last game. There had been some green shoots that season; goalkeeper Craig Coyle’s player of the year performances were enough to suggest he would be an able custodian going forward, and Manager Dave McPherson’s contacts in Australia saw combative midfielder Marco Maisano come in to shore up the midfield. But prior to Derek Collins’ post season testimonial in May 2002, Mr. Rae unveiled a ridiculously ambitious signing for such a level- Stirling Albion talisman Alex Williams was signed for what appeared an exorbitant £50,000. The signing of "Super" Alex Williams was an inspired one, with the hitman bagging 23 league goals and the Bell's Third Division Player of the Year award. As the summer progressed, further additions came in to supplement the squad- Paul Gaughan came in from Hamilton, alongside Finnish under 21 international Jani Uoitinen and Marco’s brother, the mesmeric John Maisano, as Morton made clear their intentions to make a swift return to Scotland’s third tier. Pre-season form was mixed, with comfortable victories over Campbeltown Former Pupils and Fort William on the road before First Division Inverness were dispatched 1-0 at the Caledonian Stadium. Morton came down the road to face more local opposition, playing out disappointing 1-1 draw at Largs Thistle before a 0-1 derby defeat at Love Street. Morton in that era however, weren’t the only club to have suffered financial misery, and it finally caught up on old friends Airdrieonians, for whom the liquidators finally visited in the summer of 2002. The newly formed Airdrie United entered into a vote with 5 others in those days before a functioning pyramid system and were beaten by Gretna, who prior to that season had competed in the lower reaches of the English pyramid system. Gretna got the dream gala day for their first SFL appearance, as a travelling horde of 800 fans travelled down from Inverclyde to the borders for the opening game of the season. And 19 seconds in, their debut in the league got off to the perfect start as Matt Henney latched onto a defensive mix-up to fire former Morton hero Rowan Alexander’s side into the lead and send Morton temporarily to the bottom of the pile in the live table. It didn’t however take long for Warren Hawke to restore parity, and both clubs had to settle for a draw on the season’s opener. Morton followed up with consecutive home victories over Stirling Albion in the Challenge Cup and the league, with Alex Williams starting as he meant to go on against his former employers, notching a double in each game. The Challenge Cup campaign wasn’t to last very long, with a controversial visit to Palmerston to play the Second Division Champions as Morton exited the tournament 0-1, but not without seeing Williams, debutant Dean Matthew Keenan and Colin Reilly ordered off in a particularly bad-tempered affair which saw a serious injury to former ‘Ton ace Sean O’Connor, who took the brunt of Reilly’s robust challenge that resulted in his red. If Morton needed any reminding that the league campaign wouldn’t be plain sailing though, a 2-4 defeat to Peterhead at Balmoor was exactly that reminder. Whilst Queen’s Park were easily dispatched the following week, a trip to East Stirling, with new signing, the returning David Hopkin from Crystal Palace was to prove a massive disappointment. A club who were merely in the division as a result of Scottish football’s closed shop managed to salvage a 1-1 draw from a game that Morton should have been out of sight in. Hardly the preparation required for a League Cup derby against St. Mirren at Cappielow. I’ll try and be brief in relaying my recollections of that game. A Scott Bannerman pearler and a close-range strike from Hopkin put the good guys in a commanding 2-0 lead at the break, but they were pegged back to 2-2 after 90 minutes before red cards for Marco Maisano and Saints’ Brian McGinty opened the game out somewhat and Mark Yardley decided to morph into Archie Gemmill and waltzed through the Morton defence to send the Buddies’ fans into raptures. The withdrawal of Hopkin at half time with an injury that ultimately ended his playing career probably contributed to Morton’s collapse on the day, but it was a good indicator that we were a long way from where we wanted to be. Cliftonhill was to prove an awkward venue for Morton, where they suffered two crushing late defeats. Morton’s bogey team throughout the season was to be Albion Rovers, who were also to prove one of the four contenders for the title as the season progressed. The Wee Rovers sneaked a 1-0 victory at Cappielow as Morton’s difficult run of form continued. But they were to burst into life with consecutive wins at Montrose, at home to early pace-setters East Fife and in Elgin, as a late Williams strike sent the Morton fans down the A9 in fine spirits. But with such an expensively assembled squad, a 0-2 defeat by Stirling Albion and a home draw with Gretna piled the pressure on manager McPherson. The axe would finally fall after a disappointing 1-1 draw with Queen’s Park at Hampden. In truth, Morton were very fortunate to even get a point on the day, as John McCormack’s side dominated. With Morton sitting in fifth place, six points behind East Fife at the top, Rae had little choice but to act. With Hopkin placed in temporary charge, Morton were to again fall to Albion Rovers. Having led through Phil Cannie, goals in the 87th and 90th minutes saw the Monklands side snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. The man tasked with taking Morton through the choppy waters of the Third Division was John McCormack, who was appointed ahead of three consecutive home games which yielded seven points, before a trip to New Bayview to face the league leaders. Morton’s best performance of the season saw East Fife dispatched in style, as goals from Bannerman, Uotinen and a Williams double saw Morton produce perhaps their first statement result of the campaign. The festive period was to prove quiet, as the weather took its grip on the fixture card, but Williams was to prove the hero with the only goal as Peterhead visited over the holiday period. Highland League high-flyers Deveronvale were to prove tricky opponents in the Scottish Cup, as Morton sneaked through to a Third Round tie with Ross County 4-3, having led 4-1 late in the game. David McGregor’s late header was to finally produce three points against Coatbridge’s finest at Cappielow before heading to Dingwall. The First Division side were to suffer the shock of the round as Morton’s 600 travelling fans were singing in the rain thanks in no small part to Alex Williams’ double which took the visitors though 2-1. After the disappointment of losing to St. Mirren earlier in the season, this was a clear indication that Morton were again heading in the right direction. Of course, Morton being Morton though, don’t make things easy for themselves and hit a rotten run of form that would see them exit the cup at home to Second Division Stranraer and drop points against fellow promotion contenders East Fife at Cappielow, and on the road against also rans Elgin and Montrose. Re-enforcements were to arrive though- Ayr United striker Eddie Annand arrived on loan, and young Celtic midfielder Chris Millar joined up with his local club. Form was however, still patchy. Another defeat at Balmoor was a body blow, and the wins were nervy- tight victories over whipping boys East Stirling and a couple of 1-0 wins over Queen’s Park and Montrose got the points but were unconvincing, whilst more points were leaked at home to Stirling Albion in a 2-2 draw Annand was to net in a single goal win against Gretna at Raydale Park, before we headed into the run-in with a trip to Cliftonhill. The thousand or so Morton fans in the crowd were to endure yet more late heartbreak in North Lanarkshire though, as our old adversary from earlier in the season, and from many a Renfrewshire derby, Mark Yardley, scored Rovers’ winner deep into injury time to put what looked like a fatal blow into Morton’s championship challenge. The loss of goal scorer David McGregor to injury for the rest of the season was to make for a horrible afternoon. Make no mistake, Morton were playing for snookers with five games remaining. The margin for error was next to nothing. However, as Elgin came calling the following week, the stars aligned. Robbie Henderson’s goal line clearance at 0-0 was to prove one of the pivotal moments of the season, before substitute Warren Hawke’s late header and a Scott Bannerman penalty delivered the three points. Peterhead, East Fife and Albion all drew away from home against less fancied opposition and all of a sudden, Morton were heading into a mammoth tussle at Bayview in the Easter Weekend. Warren Hawke's second half goal was the difference between the sides as Morton chalked up a crucial win at fellow title-challengers East Fife as the season approached it's conclusion. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the Fifers’ compact ground was filled beyond its modest capacity, with the travelling contingent taking up around three quarters of the official 1997 attendance. Hawke was again the hero as he scrambled home a second half winner from a corner to spark incredible scenes amongst the raucous away support. With East Fife going head-to-head with Peterhead the following week, something had to give, and Morton showed Gretna no mercy- Emilio Bottiglieri’s incredible strike was the pick of the bunch in a 5-0 victory. Peterhead’s 2-0 win at Bayview suggested the wheels were coming off the Fifers’ promotion wagon. But the other promotion contenders, Albion Rovers, were headed to Peterhead on the penultimate game of the season. If results went their way, the trophy was sitting in Balmoor waiting to be presented to the hosts. However, a 0-0 draw did neither team any favours, especially with East Fife returning to form with a routine 4-0 victory at Firs Park. Just up the road in Stirling, another huge travelling support followed Morton and were treated to a 3-0 victory that saw the ‘Ton hit the top of the pile for the first time all season- after 35 games! The irrepressible Williams was to notch yet another double before Uotinen stuck the cherry on the cake. We were now heading into a winner-takes-all decider against the Blue Toon at Cappielow, whilst East Fife hosted Queen’s Park at a sold-out Bayview and Albion hosted East Stirling, hoping for something to give elsewhere. With a healthy contingent coming from the north east, Cappielow was bursting at the seams. An official crowd of 8497 would have struck most in attendance as a conservative estimate, with the only spaces being in place as provisions for segregation and in the away end. Morton released a video to commemorate the title victory, helpfully copied onto YouTube by none other than John Maisano. The only result on the day that was never really in doubt was Albion Rovers’ victory over the bottom side, but nervy affairs played out at both Cappielow and Bayview. With only Morton and Peterhead having the title in their own hands it was unsurprisingly cagey, but after a goalless first half, the visitors were first to crack. Bottiglieri cut inside and lifted the ball towards Annand on the edge of the D, who knocked the ball onto Williams. Uncharacteristically, the prolific striker decided, with his back to goal, to square the ball to the oncoming Scott Bannerman, who stroked the ball past Paul Mathers with aplomb. Cue absolute bedlam. A John Maisano free kick hit the crossbar as Morton searched for a second to put the result beyond doubt, before Morton were forced to start defending deeper as the Blue Toon sought an equaliser. With the clock running down, the visitors’ tempers started to fray, and ex-St. Mirren striker Alex Bone was issued with a second yellow by referee John Rowbotham for dissent. After that, Peterhead huffed and puffed without really threatening, whilst it was John Maisano who had the most clear-cut chance before a last-minute dust-up between the two benches threatened to boil over onto the pitch. When Rowbotham blew his final whistle, Cappielow erupted as fans of all ages embraced and celebrated wildly. Derek Collins and Chairman Douglas Rae collected the trophy from SFL President Peter Donald and hoisted it aloft to the delight of the huge Cappielow crowd before starting the celebrations on the pitch and carrying them long into the Greenock night. As a footnote, a last minute Kenny Deuchar goal against Queen’s Park took East Fife up alongside us, but the story was all about Morton, and how a club that was staring down the barrel just two years previous had been resurrected. There have been two title wins since, both at a higher level, and both satisfying. But none will ever compare to the impact that title had on Morton after such dark days. Things may not always have gone swimmingly in the years that followed, and the Third Division is hardly Morton’s most illustrious achievement, but the memories of how Morton battled back from the brink will last a lifetime. Oh, what a perfect day. Bells Scottish Football League Third Division, 10th May 2003, Cappielow Park. Greenock Morton 1-0 Peterhead Morton: Coyle, Collins, Bottiglieri, Henderson, Gaughan, M. Maisano, Millar, Bannerman, Williams, J. Maisano, Annand. Substitutes: McDonald, Uotinen, Cannie, Hawke, McGurn. Peterhead: Mathers, MacDonald, McSkimming, Raeside, Perry, Bain, Tindal, Stewart, Cameron, Bone, Roddie. Substitutes: Johnston, Simpson, McLean, Burns, Farqhuar. Goals: Bannerman (54) Referee: John Rowbotham Attendance: 8497. Thanks to Leon Mooney (@mooneyleon) for the images, taken from his Twitter account with permission.

Seems like this whole back of a fag packet plan is going to fail now. All thanks to fans of diddy teams up and down the country voicing their displeasure with it. Feels good to know we've still got the power to stop any sham plans the two bigots try to railroad through, and don't ever let them forget it.

Well no. They should have scored 2 because that's all they managed to score. They absolutely failed to put 10 men to the sword and finish the tie which could (and hopefully should come back to bite them). Also mods, please...

It's blue and white hoops I don't know how bespoke that can get tbh. 150th anniversary top is coming out next season now as well. For sure the club could have communicated better that this would be another off the shelf number and nothing to do with the anniversary like Gordon Ritchie (I'm sure it was) had mentioned but in terms of a Morton kit it's more than fine, especially given we've retro kits and a new third kit available as well.

This season we will be producing our written season review in three parts, alongside a two part episode of Just One Cornetto. The first instalment of Russell Gordon's season review articles can be viewed below.

Only if it’s to pass on GIRFUY from the Ton fans. Using money sent by a Nigerian prince.

Next year is the 150th anniversary of our club (although not of our limited company; if memory serves, that was formed in 1891 and prior to that Morton was run on an unincorporated basis.) I assume the Board has something planned for this, but I don't know what. It is worth reflecting on how big an achievement this is. It was a few years ago that I looked at this but in terms of full-time professional clubs, Morton are one of only 20 worldwide playing the FIFA code founded before 1875. There are of course other part-time and amateur clubs taking the total above 20, not to mention the many rugby and Aussie Rules clubs also older, but two points must be remembered: nobody cares about part-time and amateur clubs; and rugby and Aussie Rules are crap, which is why only sex offenders and Australians watch them. With this established, we must celebrate being one of a tiny number of professional clubs to have survived from the earliest days of our code through to the present day. I'd like a ceremonial burning of some rugby shirts and Queen's Park shorts to start with, but some kind of video retrospective might also be good. Maybe some kind of multi-season membership to the club to kick off the next 150 years? I don't know. There's lots of stuff we can do. But the occasion should not pass without notice.

(Photo- Gary Bradley) Substitutes, Sponsors and Sending Offs… A Review of Morton’s 2022-23 Season, Part One By Russell Gordon So, another season has come and gone, with Morton now looking forward to their eighth successive season in the Championship- the longest of all the division’s members and a club record since league reconstruction in the 1970s. However, this time around was a much more positive experience for most connected to Morton than most of the previous ones in this run of consecutive seasons at least, in spite of the late heartbreak we all endured on that foggy night on the outskirts of Aberdeen. Morton’s season though, was to begin under a cloud of uncertainty- a summer of rumours as to the future of Hamilton Manager Stuart Taylor had a knock-on effect at Cappielow, with Imrie, a fans’ favourite in Hamilton, touted to replace the seemingly doomed Accies’ boss. Whilst now almost unthinkable, given the stories of budgetary constraints at Cappielow over the summer, there were real concerns in the Morton support about Imrie’s future. Although the extension of Lewis Strapp’s deal for another season was terrific news; having lost the likes of Gozie Ugwu, Jack Hamilton and Oisin McEntee from the previous campaign, Morton began their warm-up for the new campaign by visiting an old haunt from yesteryear to play Annan at Gretna, with the League Two side claiming a late 2-2 draw, before a far more encouraging 3-0 victory over David Martindale’s Livingston at Almondvale, thanks in no small part to two fine goals from Michael Garrity. It's fairly obvious that Imrie and Martindale have a good working relationship. Whilst Livingston snapped up the out-of-contract Hamilton and Morton’s Hearts loanee Jamie Brandon, American goalkeeper Brian Schwake and Irish winger Jaze Kabia came in the door from Livi. Queen’s Park’s promotion was also to prove a blessing in disguise, as the Spiders’ free spending policy saw the surplus to requirements Grant Gillespie and Jai Quitongo arrive at Cappielow. Gillespie was eventually awarded the captaincy, with his vice-captain Jack Baird coming in from Ayr to shore up the backline, alongside another Irishman- Motherwell’s Darragh O’Connor, who had spent six months on loan at Queen of the South, and Dumbarton right back Carlo Pigniatello. The Premier Sports Cup campaign started in inauspicious circumstances, with Morton only managing to name a lone substitute in their opening match against League One minnows, Falkirk. The end result was perhaps the most embarrassing in Morton’s recent history, as the underdogs managed to hold their more illustrious opponents to a 0-0 draw before claiming a penalty shoot-out win, much to the delight of their travelling mob. The win was to propel Falkirk to a season of success unparalleled in recent years, as they made the play-off semi final before narrowly losing out 2-7 to Airdrieonians. There’s probably an open-top bus parade going through their town as you read this. If that result was embarrassing, the 0-2 defeat by another League One side, Clyde was almost as humiliating, as Morton put in a turgid performance and were lucky to come away with only a two-goal defeat. Morton being Morton however, decided to upset the applecart when they visited Premiership Hibernian at Easter Road. Just when we thought we were going to be on the end of a doing in what was proving to be a depressing League Cup campaign, Hibs came along to make us all feel a bit better about life. A terrific rear-guard effort kept Morton in the game before Grant Gillespie converted a second half penalty that looked to have given the visitors all three points before Euan Henderson levelled late on to take us to another penalty shoot-out. This time, Morton were to prove victorious with Hibs missing three of their spot kicks. The drama didn’t end there though, as it turned out that Hibs Manager Lee Johnson, who had been critical of the authorities for the lack of a Fourth Official on duty at Easter Road, dropped his own clanger by playing the suspended Rocky Bushiri against the ‘Ton. Morton were subsequently awarded a 3-0 win and as a result were back into the competition, but hoping for favours in their final match against league new-boys Bonnyrigg Rose. It turned out that a 3-1 Cappielow victory wasn’t to prove enough to qualify, with Falkirk beating Clyde to take the sole place in the last sixteen from the group, but Morton could look forward to the season with a bit more optimism than earlier in the month. With Taylor eventually emptied by Accies as the season approached, Imrie was to take his Morton side to New Douglas Park for the season’s opener, and they were to fall behind after only five minutes, as Andy Ryan nodded home from a poorly defended corner. Just before the break, Jaze Kabia was upended by Accies defender Shaun Want, who received a deserved second booking. What wasn’t expected though, was the referee pointing to the spot, as the foul appeared to be a yard or so outside the box. Grant Gillespie though, didn’t stand around and debate the issue, as he levelled matters with aplomb. Unfortunately though, despite playing the full second half against ten men, Morton couldn’t find a breakthrough and had to settle for a point. A breakthrough would again prove hard to come by against League One champions Cove Rangers on their first ever visit to Cappielow, but when it did arrive, it was spectacular. With the teams playing out a tousy affair, it was Jai Quitongo who latched onto a poor defensive header from Cove’s Shay Logan thirteen minutes from time, before spinning and launching a rocket from the edge of the box to give Morton their first three points of the league season. Jai Quitongo's fantastic strike kept the points at Cappielow as Cove Rangers made their first visit to Greenock in August. (Photo- Gary Bradley) Next up was Raith Rovers in Kirkcaldy, and a disappointing 1-2 reverse, with only a late Cammy Blues consolation to show for Morton’s efforts, but the following week was to prove one of the most pivotal of the season, and in Morton’s short period under community ownership. Firstly, it was announced that striker Alexander Easdale was leaving the club to take up a role in his family’s business. It was difficult not to feel sorry for the young striker, who appeared to be really out of his depth playing at such a level, but it raised questions about the involvement of his family, the club’s major sponsors. Two days later though, the club were to announce a sponsorship deal with Dalrada Technology UK, which would see the renaming of the stadium as Cappielow Park supported by Dalrada Technology UK. The deal was to prove a real coup for MCT, and particularly director Sam Robinson, who managed to convince Dalrada CEO Brian Bonar, an ex-pat Morton supporter, that the club were an attractive proposition to attach their brand to. The good news kept coming, as former Ayr United and Partick Thistle midfielder Robbie Crawford joined up for the season to add a bit more quality to the midfield. Things were beginning to take shape ahead of the visit of title favourites, Dundee. Morton were unfortunate not to come away with maximum points, with only the width of a post preventing Jack Baird from winning the match for the home side late on. A first win on the road was to follow as Inverness were dispatched thanks to a late Gillespie penalty, much to the delight of the travelling support, but September would not prove to be a fruitful month. League leaders Ayr United collected three points from Cappielow thanks to goals from the talismanic Dipo Akinyemi and Mark McKenzie, with only a Robbie Muirhead counter to show for Morton’s efforts. There was to be an unplanned week off as all fixtures were postponed due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II, but in that time, another new arrival came into Cappielow- former Motherwell full back Liam Grimshaw. Grimshaw wasn’t to enjoy the most successful of debuts as Morton were to suffer a second successive home defeat, this time to an Arbroath side who were suffering a bit of a hangover after their heroics in the previous campaign. To add to Morton’s frustrations, Jai Quitongo picked up his second red card of the season (having previously seen red against Falkirk) when wrestling the ball from Red Lichties’ keeper Derek Gaston after Lewis McGrattan had netted a late consolation. The SPFL Trust Trophy campaign kicked off with Ayr’s second visit to Cappielow of the month, and a happier ending. With both teams playing much changed line-ups, Lewis McGregor gave Morton an early lead before Josh Mullin restored parity just before the break. A farcical second half saw Quitongo again see red, alongside Jack Baird and Ayr’s Paul Smith as referee Craig Napier completely lost control of a match that wasn’t even terribly bad tempered. Morton however, were to prevail on penalties, with Ayr skipper, and Cowshed “favourite” Sean McGinty being the only man who failed to convert and a place in the next round beckoned. A trip to Firhill was to follow, and with it came the low point of Morton’s season. With Quitongo and Baird suspended, it came as a surprise to see Morton take the lead against the in-form Jags, thanks to an absolute howitzer of a free kick from Robbie Muirhead. That was to be the last of the joy from the weekend though, as goals from Brian Graham and Kevin Holt gave Partick a half time lead against the makeshift defence, and Graham also found time to smash his flying elbow into the face of Lewis Strapp, remarkably escaping unpunished, not for the last time this season. Three further goals in the second half and a missed Holt penalty completed a chastening afternoon for Morton who were hamstrung by Grant Gillespie’s early booking leaving him walking on eggshells for almost the entirety of the match. It left Imrie and Morton licking their wounds with the midweek visit to another in form “Glasgow” club, Queen’s Park approaching in midweek, as we caught up with the postponed fixture from the monarch’s passing. They didn’t lick their wounds for long though, as Jaze Kabia topped off his best performance in a Morton jersey with first half goal, which Muirhead added to in the second. A late Spiders fightback saw Malachai Boateng pull one back, but Morton were to emerge with the points with a special mention for Darragh O’Connor putting his head in where it hurts to ensure all three points headed west. Jaze Kabia's opening goal set Morton on their way to a morale boosting three points as they dispatched big-spending Queen's Park at Ochilview. (Photo- Gary Bradley) Hamilton’s unbeaten record at Cappielow stretched back to 1999, but was blown to smithereens within 23 minutes. An early headed goal from Baird, an easy finish from Kabia after Gillespie’s raking pass cut through the Accies defence like a hot knife through melting butter and an incredible team goal that was finished off by Gillespie gave the hosts a commanding lead, with Muirhead adding another couple in the second half to put some gloss on a fine win. And it was to be three in three the following week, with Gillespie’s injury time penalty sending Raith back to the kingdom empty handed. Another goalless draw against Dundee, this time at Dens, was certainly a point gained rather than two dropped, especially with Grimshaw filling in at centre back for the injured O’Connor, taken off against Raith the previous week. Morton would need a more long-term solution, however. That was to come in the shape of Nigerian international Efe Ambrose, the former Celtic and Hibs centre back, who had endured a difficult time at a Dunfermline side who would ultimately be relegated last term, with Ambrose seeing red in their decisive play-off semi-final second leg. The affable defender came in for BBC Scotland’s first visit to Cappielow, and enjoyed a man-of-the-match performance against the hapless Highlanders as Morton ran out resounding 4-0 winners. Muirhead’s early goal owed more to Mark Ridgers’ butter fingers in the rain than anything else, but the keeper looked to have made amends by saving Gillespie’s penalty a few minutes later, only for Gills to convert the rebound. A David Carson own goal rounded off a terrific first half, before Cammy Blues put the icing on the cake late on with the goal of the game after a fine one-two with McGrattan. Four clean sheets and thirteen points from fifteen saw Imrie claim his first Glen’s Vodka Manager of the Month award, and onward to Somerset Park it was. A familiar sight at Cappielow throughout the season was that of Grant Gillespie celebrating, this time after knocking in the rebound from his penalty in the rout of Inverness. (Photo- Gary Bradley) There did however, appear to be one stumbling block to continuing the feel-good factor, though. Ambrose’s red card for Dunfermline in last season’s play-off semi-final would of course have led to a suspension, which hadn’t apparently been served, but it turned out that he had been registered prior to the Dens Park draw before being unveiled as a Morton player. This new era of competence behind the scenes was becoming disconcerting! The Morton defence wasn’t to prove impregnable much longer though, as Ayr’s Arsenal loanee Alex Kirk gave the hosts a third minute lead, but Jai Quitongo levelled soon after, nodding home from a corner as the sides saw out a 1-1 draw. One real positive to take from the game was how quiet Ambrose kept the normally irrepressible Akinyemi. Revenge was sweet as a Partick side enduring their worst run of the season were defeated at Cappielow. An Ambrose header gave Morton a first half lead, before being hauled back by Anton Dowds. However, a fine move involving Quitongo and Strapp was finished off brilliantly by Cammy Blues, who kept the points in Greenock, and sent Tarquin and Felix home to sulk into their Belhaven Bests. With the World Cup kicking off in Qatar, it was business as usual in the Scottish Championship as a late Robbie Crawford goal gave Morton all three points from their first visit to Balmoral Stadium after Cove looked to have salvaged a draw minutes from time, and it was now six wins from eight undefeated ahead of the Scottish Cup visit of Queen of the South. The first senior goal of Alex King's career was one to remember, as he finished off a mazy run in style to secure a 4-1 Scottish Cup success over Queen of the South. (Photo- Gary Bradley) A tricky tie against familiar opponents was made all the more difficult when Queens’ boss Willie Gibson’s son Lewis grabbed a first half equaliser after Robbie Muirhead opened the scoring, but the big striker was to pull another majestic free kick out of his locker to restore Morton’s lead, before a late Gillespie penalty and an Alex King wonder goal finally put the tie to bed. Terrific stuff, hopefully we could get a favourable draw and embark on a decent cup run. Who did we get? Celtic away. Smashing, cheers…

Despite missing out on the playoffs as results elsewhere did not go our way, it has been an incredible season following Morton. Producing content this season, as we have watched the club flourish both on and off the pitch, has been an absolute pleasure and I’d like to take a moment to thank everyone involved. A massive thank you to everyone who reads our articles, listens to Just One Cornetto, posts on the Forum and shares our social media posts. Your positive feedback means the world to us. This season we have provided an extended match preview for every match, an Away Day Guide for every away game, as well as a match reaction podcast for every match. I’d like to offer my thanks to a few people in particular; - Russell Gordon and Craig Dunning for their outstanding articles, podcast contributions and editing throughout the season. - Our Just One Cornetto panellists, who very generously donate their time to discuss all things Morton. - Gary Bradley at GBR Photographs for his excellent match photography. Gary’s photos add much needed colour to our articles. - All the opposition supporters who have contributed to our match previews this season. - Everyone who has appeared in a podcast interview this season. In particular, all of the staff, volunteers and participants who featured as part of our Morton in the Community interviews as we celebrated the tenth year of the charity. - Titan Spirits and The Tail o’ the Bank Credit Union for their incredible support this season. It’s been a joy to watch Titan flourish and establish a successful product that centres around Inverclyde’s incredible scenery. In tough financial times, having a local credit union with the tireless dedication to the local community that the TOTB staff gives the people of Inverclyde more financial security. Led by Dougie Imrie and MCT, the future looks bright at Cappielow, and TheMortonForum will be there every step of the way. Here’s hoping to another successful season. Thanks, Dean.

Piss easy for me.

Ferrie is honestly laughable. Boy is absolutely pish. Only two teams in the league to concede more goals than Queens Park are Hamilton & Cove!

If proving the doubters wrong motivates them both, it's fine with me

Common sense prevails.

"As this is our first batch order with Matchwinner, please allow 4-6 weeks for orders to be ready with home delivery and collection from the stadium available to choose from." Estimated delivery is some time in June. Wouldn't expect anything to change until they fulfil the first batch.

The only positives I'm taking from this is that it's definitely a 'Morton' kit and the continued successful partnership with Dalrada. I for one welcome our Dalrada overlords.

Jai signed up till June 2024

I'm the opposite, forgot he was ever at Berwick. I'll grudgingly accept your apology.

I think it's only fair if Muirhead scores 150 goals next season.

We don't 'need' Miller under contract. You might 'want' Miller under contract for next season but those two things are not the same.