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Away Day Guide – Kelty Hearts Photo – Kelty Hearts FC (Facebook) Tickets Tickets can be purchased on the Kelty Hearts website or on the Fanbase Club app. Ticket prices are as follows – Adults £14; Concessions £10; U12s Free (accompanied by a paying adult). Disabled Fan Information The following information is available on the Kelty Hearts website: If you plan to attend a match at New Central Park, Personal Assistants are free with a Person who is Disabled Concession ticket. If any supporters wish to request a seat or wheelchair access for a match, please contact our DAO Ian Thomson for assistance. Ian can be contacted by email at keltyjock@hotmail.com prior to the game and on match days by mobile phone on 07807422321. Ian will be able to offer valuable advice and assistance when it comes to accessible issues relating to stadium and club premises. Parking for fans who are disabled is available in the car park at the Community Centre and access into the ground is by the North entrance. There are 8 wheelchair spaces and 3 seats for personal assistants at the North end of the seated West Stand and an area to the East of the North terracing. These are first come, first served. Supporters must buy a ticket on Fanbase first before requesting a seat. Full access around the pitch, covered enclosures, Pie Huts and toilets are accessible and can be reached using the pathways around the ground. Supporters Buses The Gourock Morton Supporters bus will depart from The Old Wherry Tavern at 12:15pm. Two buses are running with a few seats remaining available. The price will be decided on the day. Message their page on Facebook or contact Mark on 07847847357 to book a space. By Train There are two services an hour to Glasgow Central on the low line, departing Gourock at :08 and :38 every hour, as well as one train an hour on the high line, departing Wemyss Bay at :57 every hour. Travel to Glasgow Central and transfer to Glasgow Queen Street. From Glasgow Queen Street, travel to Haymarket and board a service bound for Cowdenbeath. From Cowdenbeath, the best bet is to travel to the stadium by taxi, with the three-mile trip taking approximately eight minutes by car. Please note that the times scheduled below include a 45 minute layover using the bus between Glasgow Central and Queen Street station. All information taken from the Scotrail website. By Car Use the podcast KY4 0AG for the stadium. From Cappielow, the trip to Kelty via the M8, M80, M876 and A876 takes approximately 1hr 18 mins (67.7 miles). Street parking is available around the stadium. Pre-Match Hostelries in Kelty are thin on the ground, however the Kelty Hearts social club is open from boo. The only viable option outside of this is the The Kings Inn (2 Main St, Kelty KY4 0AA). Photo – Libero Guide

Dean v Louise and Chris v Stuart as the quiz continues.

The first two ties of a Morton quiz competition.

(Photo- Gary Bradley) Fine Margins in the Fog A review of Morton’s 2022-23 Season, Part Three By Russell Gordon With no margin for error, Morton at least had a bit of clarity as to what was required going into the final three games of the season- nine points from nine was the be all and end all. However, they were dealt a midweek blow as Inverness turned round a late deficit at Hamilton, in a game brought forward to accommodate the Highland side’s Scottish Cup semi-final, which was scheduled for the weekend penultimate game of the season. Having taken the lead with only 18 minutes remaining through Hearts loanee Connor Smith, the Accies quickly succumbed to a Nathan Shaw equaliser three minutes later before Billy McKay’s winner two minutes from time did Morton no favours at all. But Morton could only look after themselves, and with the visit of Raith Rovers, the only club in the division by this stage who had nothing to play for, the ‘Ton came out all guns blazing. There was a surprise inclusion in Alex King, who had suffered Imrie’s wrath in the aftermath of the Dens Park draw in which the young midfielder had conceded a free kick late on, which led to the Dark Blues’ late, late equaliser. Alex King's early goal gave Morton the points against Raith Rovers in a tight affair at Cappielow. (Photo- Gary Bradley) But the selection was to prove a wise one, as only a couple of minutes in, King was on the end of Calvin Miller’s pinpoint cross to nod Morton into an early lead. Whilst those outside of Morton and their fanbase may well have looked upon the match as an end-of-season dead rubber, those of us with blue-and-white tinted glasses were holding onto every hope they could, and with little happening in front of their eyes, attention began to focus on events elsewhere. We’d already had the benefit of fellow promotion contenders Ayr and Queen’s Park cancelling each other out in a turgid 0-0 draw on BBC Scotland the night before, but with Dundee taking a point at Inverness there was another bonus for Morton’s play-off ambitions. At the bottom end of the table, Cove’s win at Arbroath kept the Red Lichties looking for points ahead of their penultimate-day trip to Firhill to face Partick. However, Partick were at Hamilton, and again the Accies failure to hold onto a lead was to have ramifications for the good guys. Having gone 2-1 up a minute from time, it looked as though the Maryhill side had dropped three vital points, but Steven Lawless’s 92nd minute goal got them out of jail and salvaged one. With Morton’s game drifting towards a routine home win, Raith’s frustrations came to the boil as two of their main men, Tom Lang and Lewis Vaughan saw red late on. Normally an opponent seeing red is a welcome sign of course, but with the Rovers not laying a glove on Morton anyway, and tasked with a visit to Somerset Park the following week, there were certainly mixed feelings amongst the home support about Raith’s late lack of composure in what wasn’t a dirty game at all. Whilst Morton weren’t going to win the title, they still had a say in who would, and it was expected that if they could again defeat Queen’s Park, the trophy would be heading to Tayside. Relegation threatened Cove Rangers visited Dens for the Friday night game and put in a dogged performance to gain a point from the title favourites, dragging Cove out of the automatic relegation places and leaving Dundee looking on anxiously to events at Cappielow the following day. Confidence amongst the Spiders’ support was high, with comments about “taking care of business” not uncommon in the lead up to a game against a team they had mustered a meagre point from across the previous three meetings. They did however, open the scoring for the third consecutive meeting. Having dominated the first half hour, been denied a penalty when Grant Gillespie was felled in the box and seen Callum Ferrie claw away Robbie Muirhead’s exquisite goal-bound chip, Darragh O’Connor was turned on the half way line, and whilst the attack looked to have fizzled out, Scott Williamson collected the ball out on the left and played it inside to Malachai Boateng, who picked out the bottom corner to give the visitors an undeserved lead. Queen’s Park couldn’t hold on until the break though as Morton went back on the front foot. Calvin Miller came close before Jai Quitongo made mincemeat of right back Marcel Oakley, forcing the hapless defender into hacking him down on the bye line. This time, referee John Beaton had no hesitation and pointed to the spot. After having had problems with penalties recently, it was a relief that Grant Gillespie was, on this occasion on the pitch. The captain made no mistake from the spot, sending the teams in level at the break. Morton started the second half where they left off, with Quitongo tormenting his former club’s defence before Queen’s came into the game forcing a couple of smart saves from Brian Schwake. However, with 25 minutes remaining, Morton took the lead, with George Oakley the architect-in-chief. Centre back Charlie Fox was caught underneath Calum Waters’ clearance; and was turned brilliantly by Oakley on the halfway line. The big striker fed Robbie Crawford, who clipped the ball beautifully over a flailing Ferrie into the net, sending the Cowshed into raptures. Oakley had to be replaced, pulling up in the act of playing the ball through to Crawford, but the action didn’t let up, with both teams exchanging chances and Jai Quitongo perhaps relieved that he wasn’t left to rue a late miss after an otherwise imperious personal performance. Robbie Crawford's terrific winning goal sent Cappielow wild, denting Queen's Park's title ambitions and taking Morton into the final day with high hopes of sneaking into the play-offs. (Photo- Gary Bradley) Elsewhere, Partick and Ayr both recorded routine and expected home wins against relegation-threatened Arbroath and depleted Raith. Morton would go into the final match knowing that, coupled with a win against a Cove side fighting for their lives, there were two possible scenarios which could’ve taken them into the play-offs. Given the lack of motivation, and how their season had petered out, a Raith win against Partick at Stark’s Park was perhaps unlikely, but with both Inverness and Ayr needing a win to secure a play-off place themselves, there were high hopes that they could cancel each other out, allowing Morton to capitalise. Jai Quitongo ran his former club ragged in Morton's 2-1 win over Queen's Park. (Photo- Gary Bradley) With a straight shoot-out for the title between Queen’s Park and Dundee at Ochilview, with the Taysiders holding the upper hand going into the game, at the bottom of the table, Cove knew a result of sorts would be imperative with Hamilton travelling to face fellow strugglers Arbroath at Gayfield. What we didn’t bank on on a night of high drama was Mother Nature’s intervention. With the Morton fans making up the majority of Cove’s biggest crowd of the season, thick fog prevented most in attendance of actually seeing much action. The ‘Ton got off to the perfect start, with Jack Baird heading home from what I believe was a Calvin Miller corner, although I can’t confirm. All was going well, but with conditions worsening, Cove boss Paul Harltey and his bench weren’t slow in getting in the ear of referee Craig Napier to call for an abandonment which would have seen them not only restore parity, but head into a re-arranged fixture knowing exactly what they would have to do to overtake Hamilton and/or Arbroath. Elsewhere, Ayr and Partick both took early first half leads, although Raith levelled, leaving things nicely poised heading into the break. However, Cove threw a spanner into the works by levelling spectacularly through Declan Glass on the cusp of half time. Jack Baird got Morton off to the perfect start with a headed goal in the final day showdown with Cove Rangers. (Photo- Gary Bradley) Things deteriorated further at the break, and Napier delayed a return to action for a further five minutes before finally relenting, perhaps under pressure from the SPFL to complete the game on the night. One man who didn’t complete the game though was Cammy Blues, who collected a second booking for a rash challenge four minutes into the half, much to the chagrin of Dougie Imrie and his bench. With Cove happily holding on to the draw that would have secured them a play-off place at the bottom end of the table, Raith Rovers took the lead, giving a glimmer of hope that Partick could be caught. Partick would quickly equalise before Robbie Muirhead again proved the hero of the hour. Well known as a scorer of spectacular goals, we’ll just have to assume his winner was one out of that repertoire, as all I can recall was seeing the net bugle in the mist. With the rest of the country enthralled by Dundee’s 5-3 win at Ochilview which secured the title, the Morton fans’ attention again turned to their phones for updates from elsewhere, and nine minutes from time, they finally got it. Nathan Shaw equalised for Inverness and we were in the play-offs! For seven minutes at least. Whilst Raith couldn’t get a goal to help Morton out, Ayr could find the net to spoil our fun- Mark McKenzie dispatching a winner that Mark Ridgers really should have thrown his cap on. To rub salt in the wound, Inverness would get a late goal ruled out for offside, and Morton had to play out the final few minutes knowing they were rooted in the Championship regardless of the result, whilst also trying to contain an increasingly desperate Cove, who were ultimately relegated when the final whistle blew. But the sickening sense of emptiness that greeted the Morton fans at the end didn’t stop them appreciating their heroes’ efforts, nor did it stop the squad and staff reciprocating the good wishes from the crowd before the long drive home. Robbie Muirhead's winner in Aberdeen proved to be in vain as results went against Morton on the season's final day. (Photo- Gary Bradley) With Cove going down off the back of their defeat to Morton, Hamilton would follow them in the play-offs. Having fallen 0-3 behind on aggregate in their semi-final tie against Alloa, they recovered to go through to a final against Airdrie amidst fan revolt at their board. Airdrie had comfortably reached the final, hammering League One regulars Falkirk 6-2 at Broomfield (stop laughing at the back, there) before recording a comfortable 1-0 win in Grangemouth. A 1-0 win over Accies in the first leg of the final saw both teams going into the second leg at New Douglas Park with all to play for. It looked as though Accies had salvaged their Championship place, leading 2-0 before Gabby McGill forced extra time, and ultimately penalties. After eleven perfect penalties, Airdrie keeper Josh Rae stopped Daniel O’Reilly’s tame kick to take Airdrie back to the Championship for the first time in a decade, sending Hamilton down to League One for the first time since our annus horribilis of 2003-04. One team who aren’t unfamiliar with the Championship are Dundee United, who dropped like a stone, losing all of their post-split games to return to the second tier after three years. In the play-offs, Partick went through Queen’s Park and Ayr United with ease, racking up sixteen goals across four games to set up a final against Ross County. Things couldn’t have gone any better for the gurning Glaswegians in the first leg, with Aidan Fitzpatrick giving them an early lead, before an early red card for County teenager Dylan Smith. Everyone’s favourite striker, Brain Graham gave the hosts a commanding lead going into the second leg. Partick would add to that before half time in Dingwall, again thanks to Fitzpatrick, and were as good as up. But in a not-at-all-funny turn of events, Graham was adjudged to have handled in the box, allowing Yan Dhanda to reduce the arrears. With Partick still re-organising, ex-Morton striker Alex Samuel squared for Simon Murray to bring them within a goal. That goal would arrive in the 91st minute through George Harmon, taking the match to extra time. You really had to feel sorry for Partick legend Stuart Bannigan, brought on immediately before Murray’s goal, who missed a gilt-edged chance in extra time before missing from the spot along with teammates Kevin Holt and Ross Docherty, as Partick completed a monumental collapse, losing on penalties to the Highlanders. As bottles crashed in Dingwall, glasses were raised in Greenock! There won't be any Morton fans who aren't hoping Liam Grimshaw accepts Morton's contract offer for next season. (Photo- Gary Bradley) Closer to home, there were no great surprises in the retained and released lists, with the loanees returning to their parent clubs, although Calum Waters, released by Kilmarnock has signed a more permanent a deal at Cappielow, along with former Scotland defender Kirk Broadfoot, whilst Liam Grimshaw and Calvin Miller have both been offered terms. Jai Quitongo’s also accepted a one-year deal, while Efe Ambrose, Josh Gemmell, Lawton Green, Reece Lyon, Carlo Pignatiello and Lewis Strapp all move on with our best wishes. We can expect to see some more movement in the transfer market soon one would expect, but with a strong core of the squad already signed, season ticket sales massively up on last season and a growing sense of optimism in the support, the new season can’t come quick enough. It seems strange to be looking forward to a season with such optimism, but that’s what the Dougie effect has given Morton, with praise also due to an administration that is running the club in a way we had been desperate for it to be ran for years. Maybe, just maybe the good times are coming back to Cappielow.

Dean, Chris, Craig and Stephen review the second half of the season, from the trip to Parkhead in the Scottish Cup through to Cove on the last day of the season.

(Photo- Gary Bradley) Dropped Points and Dodgy Penalties A Review of Morton’s 2022-23 Season, Part Two By Russell Gordon With the carrot of a Scottish Cup tie at Celtic Park on the horizon, which would hopefully provide a welcome boost to the coffers, as well as providing the players with an opportunity to perform to a nationwide TV audience, it was back to league business for Morton and a trip up the east coast to face an Arbroath side that were struggling at the wrong end of the table. With Morton enduring a barren spell of nine games without a win in this particular fixture, the visit to Gayfield was surely the perfect opportunity to put that disappointing statistic to bed. As the break approached, Lewis McGrattan took the bull by the horns and drove forward from the halfway line before despatching past Derek Gaston from 18 yards to give the ‘Ton a deserved half time lead. That lead was not however, to last very long, as two minutes after the restart, Arbroath’s David Gold restored parity. Morton would feel aggrieved though, not for the last time in this campaign about a horrific refereeing decision, as official David Dickenson failed to spot a blatant handball from Arbroath’s Ricky Little that should have seen the centre back ordered off and a penalty awarded to the visitors. Alas, it wasn’t to be, but these things even themselves out over the course of a season, don’t they? Lewis McGrattan's fine goal at Arbroath wasn't enough to bag three points was a highlight of the young midfielder's fine season. (Photo- Gary Bradley) There was another break from league action as the SPFL Trust Trophy campaign reached a frustrating conclusion for another season against holders Raith Rovers, as Morton made their first of two December visits to Kirkcaldy. A much-changed side opened the scoring as Alex King pulled another screamer from his repertoire, only for Lewis Vaughan to equalise for the hosts. Morton would exit the competition on penalties, with King and Liam Grimshaw failing to convert in the shoot-out as the hosts advanced 4-2 on spot kicks. That was to be the only bad news of the day though, particularly regarding penalty kicks, as later that evening England captain Harry Kane managed to balloon his own effort into orbit as the Three Lions made it *checks notes* 58 years of hurt in bowing out of the World Cup to eventual runners-up France. Every cloud, I suppose. As events in Qatar grasped the world’s attention, mother nature was the winner as the visit of Queen’s Park a week before Christmas was frozen off, leaving Morton fans having to settle for the mesmeric Messi and Mbappe putting on a show in the greatest World Cup Final of all time for their football fix, before making the return trip to deepest, darkest Fife. With the match moved forward to Friday the 23rd from the original Christmas Eve date, Morton really should have taken an early lead in sodden conditions, as Cammy Blues missed a gilt-edged chance in the third minute to give the visitors the lead. As it turned out, they were lucky not to be three down in no time, with a Raith goal disallowed for a foul on Brian Schwake. The ‘Ton didn’t learn their lesson from that though, as the hosts raced into a two-goal lead, through a 19th minute Schwake own goal and an Aidan Connolly strike two minutes later. Three minutes after that, Jack Baird capitalised on a mix-up in the hosts’ defence before Robbie Muirhead equalised just before the turnaround. An uneventful second half saw neither team take the initiative and it was two more points dropped for Morton. With the January transfer window fast approaching, Imrie started moving players on, with Reece Lyon, who had spent the first half of the season at League Two promotion chasers Annan, extending his stay with the Galabankies. Darren Hynes joined up with Jim Duffy at Clyde, whilst Lewis McGregor went on to play his part in Operation Keep Falkirk Down by signing for fellow League One play-off contenders Airdrie. Alan Lithgow would eventually drop down to the Lowland League, joining up at East Kilbride. There were positive steps involving those currently in the building, with captain Grant Gillespie and his midfield compatriot Robbie Crawford extending their deals until the summer of 2024, whilst Liam Grimshaw, who had been quite magnificent in Morton’s improved run, extending until the end of the season, along with Efe Ambrose. Darragh O’Connor would later extend his stay by another year. Incoming was Glentoran forward Ally Roy on loan, a man of many clubs on these shores who had most recently been at Airdrie and Queen of the South before enduring a disappointing spell in Belfast. With the hotly anticipated new year visit of Ayr United postponed, Morton did give us some good news with the announcement of Calvin Miller’s arrival. The former Celtic kid had previously enjoyed loan spells at Dundee and Ayr, as well as playing in the National League with Chesterfield. The long unbeaten run came to an end at Firhill under controversial circumstances, as referee Alan Muir would have been as well handing his whistle and cards to Partick’s Brian Graham and told him to get on with it, such was the ineptitude of the official’s performance. With Ambrose taken out the equation just before the break by an unpunished flying elbow, Morton fell behind to a Steven Lawless penalty after Grant Gillespie was penalised for handball. Admittedly, the award was reasonably sound, but having seen Rangers defender Conor Goldson not being penalised the previous week, questions about consistency were sure to arise. Six minutes later, Jack Baird levelled for the good guys, but as a series of baffling decisions were awarded to the hosts, frustrations boiled over and Dougie Imrie was eventually sent to the stand for his protests about the referee’s pathetic performance. Whilst we in the decrepit old Firhill stand can’t say for sure what words were spoken by the Morton boss, his punishment certainly wasn’t consistent with the complete lack of action taken against ex-Morton striker Graham, who went unpunished after launching a tirade of abuse at the linesman on a rare occasion that a decision was awarded in the visitors’ favour. Andy Millen did an admirable job in standing for none of the hosts or the officials’ nonsense in Imrie’s enforced absence, but there was an inevitability about their last-minute winner, which was awarded to Ross Docherty, but appeared to come off Baird on the way in. It wasn’t the end of the controversy though, as Ambrose’s replacement, Darragh O’Connor had his jersey blatantly pulled by Partick’s Aaron Muirhead (not one famed for playing football according to the rules) inside the box, and the hapless whistler waved away Morton’s appeals for a penalty. Referee Alan Muir's failure to award Morton a last minute penalty summed up a frustrating day at Firhill as Morton's unbeaten run came to a frustrating end. (Photo- Gary Bradley) Unsavoury scenes were to follow as Graham goaded the visiting support, and ended up being confronted by an unimpressed Grimshaw as the teams left the field. It was quite telling that, despite encroaching onto the field after the final whistle, Imrie suffered no further punishment than the statutory one match ban. Perhaps the official was well aware that the standard of his own performance raised far more questions than the conduct of the Morton boss and chose not to highlight Imrie’s indiscretion. With the manager in the stand for the visit to bottom-of-the table Hamilton Accies, at this point on a run of one point from nine league games, Morton were again on the wrong end of a penalty decision, and this time a farcical one. Novice referee Duncan Williams, one of a new breed that appeared to have been promoted to a level above their capabilities by the drip-down effect of the more experienced officials sitting in VAR studios, penalised Gillespie for clearing the ball and making no contact with his opponent, bizarrely justifying his decision to Imrie by telling him he forgot which team was shooting in which direction. Hamilton’s Andy Winter converted to give the hosts their first win in ten, and leaving Morton licking their wounds ahead of the Scottish Cup trip to Glasgow. Whilst the inexperienced Williams’ failings are more palatable than those of FIFA official Muir at Firhill, one wondered what the media reaction would be to a more high-profile club suffering so badly at the hands of officials. We didn’t have to wait too long to find out, as Morton encountered VAR for the first time, and boy did we come out on the wrong end of that one? There’s no point in kidding ourselves, we were always going to be up against it against Ange Postecoglou’s all-conquering (on these shores at least) side, but after a promising start, VAR official Craig Napier (who had previously had a howler in the SPFL Trust Trophy victory over Ayr) alerted referee Kevin Clancy to a potential handball from Efe Ambrose. What actually happened was that Jack Baird had blocked a shot that rebounded up the back of Ambrose’s arm, unbeknown to the former Celtic defender. In a decision that baffled even the majority of the Celtic support, a crowd well known for crying injustice in their opponents’ favour, Clancy pointed to the spot. Inevitably, Aaron Mooy converted from the spot and any hopes of keeping the champions at bay were extinguished. I needn’t go on with any further details about Celtic’s 5-0 victory, but the major negative to come out of the match was the loss of Lewis Strapp to injury, in what turned out to be his last game in a Morton jersey. We did get some good news, however. After the signing of Turkish striker Nadir Ciftci was aborted by red tape, Inverness striker George Oakley joined up at Cappielow from Inverness, having suffered a frustrating time in the Highlands, and being rumoured not to have had the best of relationships with the notoriously difficult Billy Dodds. Oakley was quick off the mark on his debut, netting after only four minutes against struggling Arbroath. But the Red Lichties belied their position in the table and produced perhaps the best performance Cappielow saw from a visiting team all season, as Colin Hamilton levelled in the second half, with makeshift left back Alex King proving that he is in fact a central midfielder, and Michael McKenna sending the three points back up to Angus with a fantastic 25-yard strike. On this occasion, Morton could have no complaints about the outcome. With cover required for Strapp, Imrie brought in Calum Waters on loan from Kilmarnock as a direct replacement and the full back made a promising debut against Inverness in the Highlands. It was though, to be another hard luck story, but a far more promising performance from Imrie’s men. Calvin Miller opened his Morton account early on, latching onto a misplaced pass to fire the visitors into an early lead, before Billy McKay levelled for the hosts after Schwake had spilled a relatively tame shot from the edge of the box. Morton looked to have won it late on when Robbie Muirhead latched onto a terrific ball up the line from substitute Alex King, and when faced up with Inverness’s Wallace Duffy, breezed past him with ease before dispatching through the legs of Mark Ridgers to give us a 2-1 lead. Five minutes later though, Inverness substitute Ethan Cairns levelled after another defensive mix up and again, Morton had to settle for one point instead of three. With home games against the top two coming up, any promotion ambitions were looking to be very much on the line, as Morton endured their most difficult spell of the season. Morton had been looking forward to a free Saturday due to the cup exploits of Ayr and Queen’s Park meaning that none of the postponed fixtures could be fitted in, but those in office at the Spiders weren’t quite as well versed as our own office bearers on eligibility criteria, resulting in their expulsion from the competition and the reinstatement of Inverness, who they had beaten 2-0, but with the help of Hearts loanee Euan Henderson, who had been signed between the original planned date of the tie and the re-arranged fixture. There was little doubt though that Morton were heading into the game as underdogs, and that theory was reinforced by Grant Savoury, who gave Queen’s a fourteenth minute lead. Enter Callum Ferrie though; the visiting goalkeeper decided to have a couple of minutes of madness, firstly coming out to challenge Jai Quitongo for a ball and laughably failing, allowing George Oakley to level things, before his coup de grace, racing out of his box a couple of minutes later, again falling flat on his face in the challenge with Oakley. The Morton striker was the grateful recipient of such good fortune and finished in style. Jai Quitongo could have twice extended Morton’s lead and Robbie Crawford had a penalty appeal knocked back before the interval, but Jack Baird doubled Morton’s advantage just after the turnaround. Conor Shields reduced the arrears half-way through the second period to make for a nervy ending, but Morton were well worth their win, in spite of the post-match mewling of Spiders’ boss Owen Coyle. A good day was rounded off with the naming of the Main Stand as the Allan McGraw Main Stand, on what was to prove the final appearance at Cappielow of the great man. Having taken care of one of the title favourites, Dundee were next to fall, in front of the BBC Scotland cameras on a memorable evening under the Cappielow lights. An early Jack Baird goal was enough to give Morton another deserved victory against more fancied opponents. Much as Dundee huffed and puffed to get an equaliser, Morton were never severely threatened by the powderpuff Taysiders. Jack Baird's early goal was enough to put Dundee to the sword of a terrific night under the lights at Cappielow. (Photo- Gary Bradley) Of course though, after beating the top two at Cappielow, the visit of a Cove Rangers side who were in freefall was never going to be easy, and it looked for a long time as though Morton would come unstuck against the Aberdonians. Morton had added Ali Crawford to the squad on loan from St. Johnstone, and with Cove leading until the last ten minutes through Leighton McIntosh’s first half goal, Morton finally got the breakthrough as Shay Logan upended Miller in the box. Muirhead’s penalty smashed off the bar but rebounded off the back of the unfortunate Scott Fox and Morton were level. Five minutes from time, a winner arrived as Robbie Crawford stabbed in at the far post amidst chaos in the visitors’ six-yard box to make it three out of three ahead of the trip to Ochilview to visit Queen’s Park. Sad news was to come before the match though, with Allan McGraw’s passing. The former Morton player, coach and manager’s death was met with tributes from across Scottish football and was felt more at Cappielow than anywhere else, such was his magnificent contribution to our fine club. The re-naming of the Main Stand after Morton legend Allan McGraw was a lovely touch, but Mr. McGraw's passing a fortnight later brough a sadness to all connected with Morton. (Photo- Gary Bradley) A large travelling support descended on Ochilview, and should have seen Morton take an early lead, but Ali Crawford fluffed his lines when one-on-one with Callum Ferrie. Queen’s Park didn’t hang around after that and raced into a two-goal lead through captain Tommy Robson and Marcel Oakley. It looked as if they’d muster their first league win over the ‘Ton since 1962, but George Oakley had other ideas, getting on the end of a sublime Robbie Muirhead cross to reduce the arrears just before the hour. Queens’ Stephen Eze then headed home from a corner, but his goal was controversially ruled out and Morton had a lifeline. Given the number of decisions that had gone against us so far this season it was nice to finally get the rub of the green. Oakley again was to prove the scourge of the Glasgow nomads, leaping like a salmon nine minutes from time to connect with a Robbie Crawford cross and rescue a point, to the delight of the travelling faithful. Midweek was to see a terribly disappointing evening though as Ayr visited for the re-arranged new year fixture. Having paid a moving tribute to the late Mr. McGraw, Morton were slow out the traps as Sam Ashford gave the Honest Men an early lead. Robbie Crawford equalised after half an hour, and a minute later Oakley was put though on goal only to narrowly miss before a sickening Schadenfreude moment. Morton had struggled from corners all evening, and Sean McGinty made no mistake in restoring the visitors’ lead, taking great pleasure in reminding the Cowshed how little he appreciated their views on his qualities as a player and as a person. Eventual SPFA Championship Player of the Year Dipo Akinyemi added a third before the interval, and in truth, Morton couldn’t complain about the defeat from a game in which they were second best from the off. Partick Thistle visited Cappielow, with Alan Muir again in the middle in case there was any danger of them losing the game, and the two sides saw out an insipid 0-0 draw that would have got football stopped. After clawing themselves back into the promotion race, this was a week that was a severe setback to those ambitions. But there were more setbacks to come. A Friday night visit to Arbroath saw an absolutely dominant Morton display, but failure to add to George Oakley’s first half opener came back to haunt us, as the Arbroath curse continued. Schwake’s inability to deal with Colin Hamilton’s header across goal resulted in a tap in for Arbroath’s Sean Adarkwa to level. Whilst Schwake’s spell at Morton could overall be deemed a success, the failure to sign suitable back up to take a young keeper out of the firing line when the going got tough was again coming to the fore. There was however, one last chance. Robbie Muirhead’s free kick was handled by Michael McKenna and Morton were awarded a penalty four minutes from time. With regular taker Grant Gillespie already substituted, and Muirhead technically having missed his last spot kick against Cove, the responsibility fell on the shoulders of Ali Crawford to net his first Morton goal. It wasn’t to be. Crawford’s tame penalty was well saved by former ‘Ton hero Derek Gaston, who then scarpered across his goal to save Crawford’s headed effort from the rebound which shouldn’t have given him a chance before Tam O’Brien poked away from the onrushing Robbie Muirhead at the far post. On a pivotal night in Morton’s season, it became apparent that if we didn’t have bad luck, we wouldn’t have had any luck at all. An Inverness side purring from their Scottish Cup reprieve and the softening of their injury woes rocked up at Cappielow smelling blood and came away with the points. Grant Gillespie had levelled from the spot after Scott Allardice’s opener, and when Muirhead’s terrific free kick crashed off Ridgers’ bar, it was apparent that it was again not going to be Morton’s day. What we didn’t bank on though was David Carson’s last minute winner rubbing salt into a now gaping Morton wound. A trip to Somerset Park had the feeling of do-or-die, and again Morton were to come up just short. Calum Waters’ speculative effort had given us a lead before Frankie Musonda equalised for Ayr, but with Morton chasing a winner, they were to contribute to their own downfall. Two bookings in five minutes for George Oakley saw the striker receive his marching orders, and in truth, the over officious Colin Steven broke from his policy to do Oakley a favour by only issuing a second yellow for high tackle on McGinty that really should have seen a straight red. Despite the loss of Oakley, Morton still looked dangerous and could have won it late on with the returning from injury Jai Quitongo looking short of match fitness, but coming close, and it looked as if any play-off chances had now gone, barring a miracle. With Hamilton playing in, and winning the SPFL Trust Trophy final, their visit to Cappielow was postponed, and a Morton side minus Oakley got back on track. After an unconvincing first half, the introductions of Lewis McGrattan and Alex King swung things in Morton’s favour. Gillespie gave Morton the lead after 54 minutes before King’s goal twelve minutes later, after a beautiful pass from McGrattan secured the points. It wouldn’t be harsh on Hamilton to suggest that they could be thankful to goalkeeper Ryan Fulton for preventing a repeat of the October rout on their last visit to Greenock. Alex King's fine finish from a Lewis McGrattan through ball finished off the challenge of Hamilton as Morton seeked to drag their way back into the chase for a play-off place. (Photo- Gary Bradley) With four games remaining, the trip to Dens Park looked a daunting one. With Dundee going for the title, few would have given Morton a chance, but Darragh O’Connor’s spectacular first goal for Morton gave us a surprise lead. Defending cross balls was again to prove a problem all afternoon though, as Dundee’s Luke Hannant levelled fifteen minutes later. On the hour, Robbie Muirhead silenced the majority of the Dens Park crowd and sent the visiting support into raptures with an outstanding free kick to give Morton the lead, and things got even better four minutes later, as Jack Baird nodded Morton into a 3-1 lead from a sublime Miller cross. We couldn’t, could we? Again, it wasn’t to be. Dundee substitute Kwame Thomas reduced the deficit with twenty minutes remaining, and as Morton retreated deeper and deeper, a 94th minute Thomas equaliser, after a scramble in the Morton box, was to sum up Morton’s luck, or failure to see out games from winning positions in the second half of the season. Dundee's gut-wrenching late equaliser sickened everyone involved with Morton, but few would have felt the pain more than manager Dougie Imrie. (Photo- Gary Bradley) After yet another sickening blow, no less than nine points from nine would do, and even then, we were playing for snookers. A season that had offered so much was looking to fizzle out with a whimper.

Dean, Alan, Chris and Craig review the first half of Morton's season, from the League Cup campaign through to January. The panel discuss early season pessimism, Dougie Imrie's recruitment and the importance of cup competitions next season.

(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.

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.

Cove Rangers vs Morton – Match Preview by Dean McKinnon As the curtain falls on a terrific Championship season on the Tail o’ the Bank, Dougie Imrie’s men head north hoping to secure a playoff place. Imrie’s first order of business will be to beat a Cove side who are as desperate to avoid play-offs as their visitors are to be included in them. In a situation much akin to Morton, Cove will be hoping that a win combined with a favourable result from elsewhere will guarantee survival in their debut season in the second tier. After an excellent team performance and result against title contenders Queen’s Park last weekend, The Ton will head into Friday night’s encounter hoping that lady luck can shine upon them as they aim to run the gauntlet of the Premiership promotion play-offs. Photo - GBR Photographs. Squad Update The Ton will continue to be without long term absentee Lewis Strapp, who waved goodbye to the Cappielow faithful following the full time whistle on Saturday. There was concern for combative striker George Oakley, who was withdrawn during the second half with what appeared to be an issue with his hamstring. If Oakley is ruled out, it may trigger a return to the 4-3-3 that Imrie used to great effect earlier in the season. Imrie tweaked his shape during the second half against Queen’s, with Robbie Muirhead being replaced with Blues, and Robbie Crawford being moved into a more advanced role. This tactical shift played a significant role in the aforementioned Crawford scoring Saturday’s audacious winner. Current Connections Connections between the two clubs are rather thin on the ground. Veteran goalkeeper Scott Fox joined The Ton on loan ahead of the relegation play-offs in 2020/21, helping steer Gus MacPherson’s men past Airdrieonians in both legs of the playoff final. Full back Adam Livingstone, who joined on loan from Motherwell, represented Cove Rangers eleven times in their League One campaign last season. Cove gaffer Paul Hartley, who recently returned for a second stint at Cove, spent a short but distinguished loan spell on Sinclair Street in 1999/00, with a stunning free-kick at Love Street the cherry on of his brief time in blue and white. Scott Paterson passed through the revolving door that was the Cappielow dressing room in the midst of the administration saga of 2001. Tale of the Tape Cove Rangers are yet to claim a point against Morton this season. The Aberdeen side made their first ever visit to the Tail o’ the Bank on Matchday 2 of this season. The visitors defended stubbornly, and as the Cowshed faithful began to question if they would find a breakthrough, explosive winger Jai Quitongo’s instinctive turn and finish flew into the net to claim a first win of the season for The Ton. Robbie Crawford opened his Morton account in style as they left the North East with all three points on Matchday 16. Winger Jaze Kabia swept the visitors ahead shortly before half time in a fixture which battled against the wind. Jim McIntyre’s men looked to have snatched a point late on, as a defensive mix-up allowed Leighton McIntosh to tap in at the back post in the 83rd minute. Energetic midfielder Robbie Crawford secured a stunning win for The Ton with a sweet strike from the edge of the area four minutes later, much to the delight of the travelling support. The Ton welcomed Cove to Cappielow Park supported by Dalrada Technology on Matchday 25. Despite the attacking intent from the hosts during the first period, Leighton McIntosh headed his side in front on the brink of half time. The Ton rallied in the late stages, being awarded a penalty with ten minutes left on the clock. Robbie Muirhead’s thunderous penalty deflected off of Scott Fox and into the net. In a similar ending to the reverse fixture, Robbie Crawford sent Cappielow into ecstasy, poking the ball home from close range with a few minutes left to keep The Ton’s hopes of the top four alive. Photo - GBR Photographs. Opposition Analysis Cove’s debut season in the Championship has certainly proven to be a baptism of fire. The part time side have battled it out with Hamilton and Arbroath this season for Championship survival, and now require a win on Friday to have any hope of avoiding the relegation play-offs. They have resurrected their form in the last couple of weeks after Raith hitting them for six, falling 3-0 to Ayr United and Partick breaching their defence on five occasions. They secured a critical 1-0 win against Arbroath a fortnight ago, followed up with a credible 0-0 draw at Dens Park last Friday night. I spoke to Cove Rangers Head of Media and Communications, and BBC Sportsound Open All Mics host Richard Gordon, who spoke of the nerves in the hosts’ camp ahead of Friday’s showdown - “Our last meeting at Cappielow set the scene for the next couple of months. Cove were of course 1-0 up that afternoon, but conceded two late goals, and that defeat was followed by five more on the spin. The growing injury list did not help. With Fraser Fyvie and Brody Paterson ruled out for the season, we also lost Blair Yule and Miko Virtanen long term, and soon after Michael O'Halloran and Leighton McIntosh were added to the casualties. That has meant manager Paul Hartley being unable to fill his bench in weeks, often having just four or five fit options. Despite that, the players dug deep and recorded what might prove to be a massive win at Gayfield a fortnight ago, makeshift striker Morgyn Neill securing the points with a late header. With the squad still stretched to its limit, the side followed that up with a backs-to-the-wall ninety minutes at Dens Park, the outstanding defensive performance earning a 0-0 draw against title chasing Dundee. That point moved us ahead of Hamilton, and into the play-off place ahead of what is sure to be a nerve-wracking final ninety minutes of the season.” What’s Happening Elsewhere? There’s no way around it, Morton still need a snooker to reach the play-offs. The most likely route for The Ton to secure fourth place would be for Inverness and Ayr to draw in the Highlands. This, coupled with a Morton win, would place The Ton on 57 points, with Caley Thistle and Ayr both finishing on 56 points. If Raith topple Partick Thistle, this along with a Morton win would secure a place in the play-offs. If both sides draw in Kirkcaldy, combined with a Morton win and a twelve goal swing in The Ton’s favour all come to fruition, fourth place will be secured. Photo - GBR Photographs. Betting Guide All match odds are provided by McBookie. Odds are correct as of 6pm on 3rd May 2023 and are subject to change. Please only bet within your means and visit BeGambleAware if you are struggling. Dougie Imrie’s men head into this tie as favourites, although being priced higher than evens at 6/5. The hosts are 9/5 to claim a valuable three points, with the draw chalked at 5/2. If you fancy a relatively relaxed evening for the visitors, you can back Morton to be winning at half time and at full time at 13/5. If you feel overly optimistic, you can back Morton to win alongside Inverness and Ayr to draw as a double, with £10 returning £74.80. Match Officials Referee – Craig Napier AR1 – Gordon Crawford AR2 – Paul McAvinue

Away Day Guide – Cove Rangers (19th November) Image - Cove Rangers FC Tickets Adult – Stand £15. Ground £13. Concession (OAPs and 12-17s) – Stand £10. Ground £8. U12s – Free. Tickets can be purchased online or at the stadium on matchday. Click the link to purchase tickets. Disabled Fan Information Balmoral Stadium has two spaces for wheelchair users and helpers, with usual admission fees applying. Bookings for disabled fans, including disabled parking in the stadium carpark, can be made by contacting the club on 01224 392111 or info@coverangersfc.com. Supporters Buses The Gourock Morton Supporters bus will depart from Gourock Train Station at 3.30pm. Three buses are running and all are currently FULL. The price will be decided on the day. Message their page on Facebook or contact Mark on 07847847357 to book a space. By Train There are two services an hour to Glasgow Central on the low line, departing Gourock at :08 and :38 every hour, as well as one train an hour on the high line, departing Wemyss Bay at :57 every hour. Travel to Glasgow Central and transfer to Glasgow Queen Street. From Queen Street, services operate on the Glasgow-Aberdeen line. Please note that a return journey to Glasgow can’t be made on Friday night after the game. All info taken from the ScotRail website. By Car Use the postcode AB10 1ZT for the stadium. The stadium car park has limited availability, there is also street parking available in the industrial estate adjacent to the stadium. The estimated journey time from Cappielow 3 hrs 8 minutes (165 miles) via the M80, A9 and A90. Pre-Match Bars in the vicinity of the stadium are few and far between. The Wellington Hotel Bar and Grill (Wellington Rd, Nigg, Aberdeen AB12 3GH) is around a 15 minute walk (0.8 miles) from the stadium. The best bet for a pre-match refreshment would be heading towards the city center The stadium is a 10-15 minute taxi journey (3.2 miles) from the city center. Photo – Aberdeen CAMRA.

Dean and Stephen discuss yesterday's outstanding win, take stock over the difference this season has made to the club and preview next week's trip to Cove. Dean also chats with Brian McLaughlin, Morton in the Community's CEO.

Dean and Stephen discuss yesterday's outstanding win, take stock over the difference this season has made to the club and preview next week's trip to Cove. Dean also chats with Brian McLaughlin, Morton in the Community's CEO.

Morton v Queen’s Park – Match Preview by Russell Gordon Whilst it feels like we’ve been saying for weeks now that Morton were using their last chance to remain in the race for the play-offs, remarkably, as we head into the penultimate weekend of the season, we’ve still got a fighting chance. Last Saturday’s narrow win over Raith Rovers coincided with fellow contenders Inverness, Partick and Ayr United all dropping points in a weekend in which only Morton and bottom feeders Cove Rangers picked up maximum points. With Dundee hosting the Aberdeen side in Friday night’s BBC Scotland fixture, the visit of title-chasing Queen’s Park to Cappielow Park supported by Dalrada Technology takes on an extra significance as the Spiders’ failure to take maximum points could see the trophy head to Tayside before the Dark Blues visit Larbert next Friday. Photo - GBR Photographs. Squad News Imrie has intimated that Jai Quitongo will be assessed and could make an appearance, whilst Lewis Strapp and Ally Roy will miss the remainder of the season, and have likely played their final games for Morton. Alex King’s surprise inclusion on Saturday proved an inspired move as the young midfielder’s early headed goal was enough to beat the Fife side, and will provide a headache for the boss as he mulls over his midfield with regulars Grant Gillespie and Cammy Blues again fit and available. George Oakley will hope to add to his tally of four against the “Glasgow” club, having scored doubles in the last two games against Saturday’s visitors. Current Connections There are a number of ex-Spiders in the Morton ranks- Grant Gillespie and Jai Quitongo took the step down the divisions to join Raymond McKinnon’s revolution. Fortunately for them, it was to prove a more successful one than those at Morton and particularly Falkirk, as they enjoyed two consecutive promotions- the first of which was under Raymond, with the League Two title pocketed for good measure. Morton Assistant Manager Andy Millen closed out his lengthy career with the Spiders in 2011, eventually retiring from playing at the ripe old age of 45. In the Queen’s squad, Josh McPake had a very brief spell at Morton under another of our hapless ex-gaffers, David Hopkin, before getting out as soon as he possibly could. Lee Kilday had a more celebrated spell on the Tail o’ the Bank, bagging a League One title in 2015 and enjoying a further three relatively successful seasons in the Championship before heading off to Queen of the South and subsequently Queen’s Park alongside Gillespie and Quitongo. Tale of the Tape The head-to-head makes for good reading. Morton have collected seven points from a possible nine so far this season against the league’s moneyed new boys. In October, Morton quickly exorcised the ghosts of their 1-5 Firhill drubbing the previous Saturday by recording a shock 2-1 midweek win over Owen Coyle’s expensively assembled side. Robbie Muirhead added to Jaze Kabia’s goal to give the good guys a commanding lead before Malachai Boateng reduced the arrears, but the hosts fell short in their attempts to salvage a draw. With the festive fixture at Cappielow postponed until February, Morton were to record another victory when the match eventually came around. After falling behind to an early Grant Savoury strike, a first-half George Oakley double and a Jack Baird goal just after half time again gave the ‘Ton a firm grip on the game. Queen’s however were to again peg them back- Conor Shields’ goal 23 minutes from time though wasn’t enough, and Coyle’s side were again to leave empty handed. Three weeks later, Morton returned to Ochilview, and made a better job of getting back into a game than Queen’s had in the previous two encounters. With “the hosts” comfortably leading through Tommy Robson and Marcel Oakley, another fine Oakley double was enough to earn Morton a share of the spoils. Queen’s Park’s last victory over Morton was in a Challenge Cup tie in 2016, whilst they’ve failed to beat Morton in the last thirteen league games, stretching back to April 1962. Photo - GBR Photographs. Opposition Analysis As I previously mentioned, the visitors’ mindset heading into the match will likely be influenced by proceedings at Dens Park on Friday night. Should Dundee win as expected, the pressure is on the Spiders to get that elusive victory over Morton in order that they can take the title race to a final day showdown in Larbert. A defeat would arithmetically secure the Dark Blues the title, whilst a draw would effectively do the same, given that their goal difference is currently ten goals better than our visitors, and that could only be extended with such a scenario. A draw at Dens would see Queen’s leapfrog Dundee by a couple of points in the event of an away win at Cappielow whilst the draw in both would of course produce the status quo. A Cove win would see Queen’s go two clear with a Cappielow win, and go level on points with Dundee with a draw. Queen’s Park though, have been unconvincing in recent weeks- one win in five, a narrow 1-0 success over relegation threatened Hamilton, is not the form of potential champions. Their draw at Ayr went down well in these parts, and in truth, neither deserved any more than that from a very nervy affair. Prior to that, defeats against Arbroath, Raith Rovers and a particularly chastening drubbing at Partick struck a real blow to their promotion hopes. Ex-Morton defender Kilday collected an injury against Ayr and was replaced by teenager Alex Bannon, so could miss out on meeting up with his former employers. I spoke to Queen’s Park fan David Blair (@RealDavieBear) of the Spiders Talk Podcast (@SpidersTalkPod), who is well aware of the significance of his side’s visit to the Clyde Riviera. “The Scottish Championship never fails to deliver on drama, and this season has been no different. I don’t think that it’s too biased to say that Queen’s Park, with odds as long as 50/1 to win the title back in June, have exceeded all expectations in our first trip back into the second tier of the Scottish pyramid system in around 40 years. And incredibly, with two games left to go, we are still in with a chance of winning the whole thing. Win the last two games and we win the league. Simple as that, right? Wrong. We had been immune to the extended poor run of form that has struck every other team to some extent this season, but ours began back in mid-March where we struggled to victories over Cove Rangers and Inverness (the former only thanks to a late own goal), before three brutal defeats in a row to Arbroath, Raith Rovers and Partick Thistle. We have since stopped the rot with a win over Hamilton followed by last week’s draw against Ayr, but some concerns still remain. Only one goal scored in the last five games means we have lost the goal difference advantage that we held in the title race, and we need to see more of the early season magic from the likes of Grant Savoury and Dom Thomas in these last two “cup finals” to get back to scoring ways. We have been better defensively recently, but we come into this week with a couple of injury concerns to Lee Kilday, who had to be substituted in the 0-0 draw at Somerset Park, and Jack Thomson, who was eventually subbed off after receiving a bloody face from a strong 50/50 challenge in the same fixture. And those are two players you don’t want to be without for a massive game like this Saturday. We have not done well against Morton this season, but I think in the previous two meetings there have been signs of improvement for Queen’s Park. Last time at Cappielow, a first half minute of madness from the otherwise reliable Callum Ferrie put us on the back foot, but we did improve in the last half hour of that game and just couldn’t take advantage of the pressure we created. And in the 2-2 game at Ochilview, I still wonder what referee Mike Roncone saw to disallow Stephen Eze’s header that would’ve made it 3-1 on the day. When that was disallowed, I just knew that George Oakley would find a late equaliser… Tensions amongst the travelling support will almost certainly be high as, with Dundee taking on Cove on Friday night, we know we need to at least match their result to take the league title to a final day showdown. But we can’t forget Morton are still fighting for the play-offs themselves, and a point won’t be good enough for them either. I think all being said, it sets this week’s game to be an absolute belter, and I hope it’s a case of better late than never to get our first win over Morton this season.” Photo - GBR Photographs. What’s Happening Elsewhere? Enough of the connotations for Queen’s Park though, what about Morton, and the teams we’re competing with for fourth place and a crack at the play-offs? Let’s take a look at each of the teams we could still catch… Inverness Caledonian Thistle- Morton sit four points behind the Highland side with a game in hand. With Inverness otherwise occupied in the Scottish Cup semi-final, a win would take us within a point of them ahead of their last day clash with Ayr United. Maximum points would see Morton finish above both in the event of a draw. We can forget catching Inverness should they best Ayr next Friday. Partick Thistle- With Partick sitting two clear of Morton, the chances of catching them are more realistic. Kris Doolan’s men have what would look to most like a relatively straight-forward last couple of games at home to Arbroath and away to Raith Rovers. The fixture against a Raith team with nothing to play for is more of a concern however, as Arbroath’s shock defeat to Cove could force their hand. A win over Cove would have allowed them the luxury of playing out the season under no pressure, but hopefully that defeat can inspire them to secure their safety by picking up a result (preferably a win) at Firhill. Two draws from Partick’s final two games would be nice, but we’d take a win and a defeat for them. A win and a draw from these two games for Partick would make it unlikely that Morton would catch them, given Partick’s superior goal difference. Ayr United- The Honest Men currently sit a point ahead of Morton, and are also outsiders to make the top four. Whilst I’ve already discussed their trip to Inverness, Saturday’s visit of Raith Rovers concerns me. As well as having nothing to play for, Rovers will be without the suspended Tom Lang and Lewis Vaughan for the trip to Somerset Park, following their orderings off at Cappielow last Saturday. Of course, while Morton are looking for favours elsewhere, yielding six points from our final two games is essential. With Inverness and Ayr facing off on the final day, two wins will see us finish above at least one of the two, but Partick Thistle are the ones for the watching, as we’re unlikely to catch both Ayr and Inverness. It should be remembered that Cove will go into the final game needing a win regardless of results elsewhere, but hopefully a rub of the green elsewhere coupled with a home win at Cappielow will make the picture a bit clearer at 5pm on Saturday. We’re looking towards you, Raith and Arbroath. Do your stuff… Betting Guide All odds are supplied by McBookie. All odds correct as of 7am on 28th April 2023 and are subject to change. Please only bet within your means and visit BeGambleAware if you are struggling. Home advantage perhaps makes Morton the favourites going into the match at 5/4, whilst Queen’s Park are 15/8. The draw is 23/10. George Oakley to repeat the feat of the last two meetings by scoring at least a double is 10/1, whilst Morton to keep a clean sheet is 9/4. Match Officials Referee- John Beaton AR 1- Graeme Stewart AR 2- Elliot Husband Powton

Craig, Alan, Chris and Ewan discuss Morton's win over Raith and look forward to the rest of the season. Dean interviews Stuart and Stephen from Morton In The Community's Team Talk initiative.

Craig, Alan, Chris and Ewan discuss Morton's win over Raith and look forward to the rest of the season. Dean interviews Stuart and Stephen from Morton In The Community's Team Talk initiative.

Morton v Raith Rovers – Match Preview by Russell Gordon With Inverness snatching a late win at Hamilton in midweek ahead of the visit of title favourites Dundee, and Ayr hosting Queen’s Park in the TV game on Friday night, the mathematicians will be needed to come to the fore as Raith Rovers visit Cappielow Park supported by Dalrada Technology with Morton hanging onto their hopes of making the Premiership play-offs by a thread. With Dundee’s Kwame Thomas popping up right on cue to pocket a point for the home side last week, Morton are looking at the table and hoping for snookers as they hope to remain in the frame for promotion. Photo - GBR Photographs. Squad News Lewis Strapp will again be on the sidelines, whilst having listened to Dougie Imrie’s post-match interview, we could perhaps expect some changes, with Alex King in particular feeling the wrath of the manager having conceded the free kick that led to Dundee’s late leveller. Jai Quitongo missed out last weekend and could again sit out, but the return of Cammy Blues on Saturday was a welcome one. As always, there will be question marks as to who of McGrattan, Ali Crawford and Miller makes the starting eleven. Whilst it may prove an unpopular opinion, Crawford’s late cameo at Dens was one of his more encouraging performances in a Morton shirt, although that might point towards the St. Johnstone loanee appearing from the bench. Current Connections Morton captain Grant Gillespie spent a season with the Fifers in 2018-19, scoring twice in 29 appearances, whilst Assistant Manager Andy Millen can of course count the Rovers amongst his extensive list of former employers. There’s nobody in the Raith squad who have ever had the honour of representing Morton, and the closest link we’ve got is Ross Millen, who is the son of Andy. Tale of the Tape It’s honours even in the league with a win apiece and a festive draw at Stark’s Park, and penalty shoot-out victory for Raith in the SPFL Trust Trophy. Morton visited the Kingdom in August and came away with their first defeat of the season as goals from Liam Dick and Aidan Connolly gave the hosts a commanding lead, before a late Cammy Blues header made for an interesting last ten minutes, but was to prove to no avail. When Raith visited Greenock in October, Morton were to leave it late to emerge victorious, Grant Gillespie dispatching an injury time penalty after Jai Quitongo was cynically hauled down when bearing in on goal by Rovers’ Kieran Ngwenya. Rovers’ boss Ian Murray disagreed with the referee’s decision and his post-match outburst was to prove almost as entertaining as the late drama. Morton followed up that win with two visits to Kirkcaldy- firstly drawing 1-1 in the SPFL Trust Trophy before that penalty shoot-out exit. An Alex King howitzer just after the break was cancelled out by Lewis Vaughan, whilst misses from King and Liam Grimshaw saw Morton exit the tournament 2-4 after the penalty competition. As Christmas approached, it was Morton who were handing out the gifts as Connolly doubled the hosts lead after a Brian Schwake own goal in appalling conditions had opened the scoring for the hosts. Parity was restored before the break through Jack Baird and Robbie Muirhead, but try as they might, the ‘Ton couldn’t finish the job in the second period. Photo - GBR Photographs. Opposition Analysis Raith are the only club in the division with nothing to play for- stuck in no-man’s land without any prospect of making the promotion play-offs, but miles clear of the relegation ones. However, a run of four games without a victory, three of them defeats, doesn’t bode well for the Fifers against a Morton side for whom nothing but maximum points will do. Having lost the Trust Trophy Final to Hamilton Accies at the end of last month, they followed that up by beating title challengers Queen’s Park, but have since fallen off a cliff, with consecutive defeats to their cup final conquerors, Inverness and Dundee in recent weeks, before being held at home by Arbroath. With rumours of investment coming in from those currently propping up Kelty Hearts, Raith give the impression of a club for whom the season’s end can’t come soon enough. I spoke to Raith fan and A View From The Terrace panellist Shaughan McGuigan (@ShaughanM) who wasn’t terribly enthused about his visit to Cappielow this weekend. “Normally when previewing an encounter between these teams, there’s something of interest to cling to, to shine a light on and explore a little more thoroughly. Maybe the game is important, maybe a player is on a hot streak of form, or, and this is my personal favourite, there’s something or someone I can point and laugh at. However, to say I’m struggling on this occasion would be something of an understatement. Indeed, the only time I became passionate about this encounter was when I realised it was the third last game of the campaign when I had in my head that it was the penultimate one. Suffice to say the end of the season can’t come soon enough. That very much wasn’t my line of thinking just a couple of weeks ago. A goal up with around half an hour to go against a rancid Hamilton team, I was losing myself and googling the play-off dates to see what ones I might need to leave work early to make the away leg. Half an hour later, I was walking up Pratt Street in a huff, and wondering if all these dead rubbers could be called “in-season” friendlies. All that’s left to discuss from those of a Rovers persuasion is which of the out of contract players we’d like to keep for the next campaign- the footballing equivalent of Snog, Marry, Avoid, with the added element that the players are playing the same game in their own kitchens, weighing up which offer from a mediocre Championship club they should accept, or worse, even worse, sign for Falkirk. Of course, Morton can still, theoretically at least, get into the play-offs, although those hopes look forlorn at best. Not because I don’t think you’ll have enough to get all three points against a side that are on the beach to such a degree they’ll potentially take to the pitch in flip flops on Saturday. No, the main issue is that our last two games are against Partick and Ayr, sides you’d hope to usurp for that fourth spot, so I regret to inform you they’ll be getting the same feet up experience from ourselves are you’ll experience this weekend. Still, I do enjoy visiting a grounds with a big crane in the background, so I’ll look forward to frequenting again next season.” Photo - GBR Photographs. Betting Guide All odds are supplied by McBookie. All odds correct as of 7am on 21st April 2023 and are subject to change. Please only bet within your means and visit BeGambleAware if you are struggling. Morton are the even money favourites, with Raith priced at 5/2 and the draw at 11/5. Robbie Muirhead to score the final goal of the game is 6/1, whilst the draw at half time and Morton at full time comes in at 4/1. Match Officials Referee- Dan McFarlane AR 1- Dougie Potter AR 2- Ian Hart

Dean and Chris discuss the midweek win over Hamilton and yesterday's draw with Dundee. Dean is also joined by Chris from the Morton in the Community Men's Walking Football squad.

Dean and Chris discuss the midweek win over Hamilton and yesterday's draw with Dundee. Dean is also joined by Chris from the Morton in the Community Men's Walking Football squad.

Dundee vs Morton – Match Preview by Dean McKinnon Morton travel to Dundee tomorrow in another massive fixture in the hunt for a playoff slot. An impressive second-half performance against Hamilton in midweek saw Dougie Imrie’s men grab a much needed three points. As Partick and Ayr clash, and with Inverness travelling to relegation-battling Cove, a positive result for The Ton would be a vital step towards fourth place. Photo - GBR Photographs. Squad Update Cammy Blues may be in contention to regain his starting slot in midfield after missing both the Ayr and Hamilton matches due to a concussion sustained against Inverness. It’s worth noting that the two previously mentioned matches are the only two occasions this season that Blues has not started in the league. Lewis McGrattan and Alex King will be eyeing a place in the starting line up after both young graduates made game changing contributions from the bench in midweek. McGrattan’s directness and exquisite pass were met by an excellent run and finish from King to score an outstanding team goal. Current Connections Calvin Miller is the only Morton player to have ever turned out for Dundee, although striker Robbie Muirhead did spend a season in Tayside with Dundee United. Miller spent the first half of the 2018/19 season in the Premiership with Dundee before joining Ayr United in the Championship for the remainder of the campaign. Thirty-five year old Paul McGowan is currently on loan at League One champions-in-waiting Dunfermline from Dundee. McGowan arrived at Cappielow as a fresh-faced teenager in the summer of 2006. The Celtic youth graduate would enjoy a successful loan season on the Tail o’ the Bank, scoring 11 goals in 36 appearances as Jim McInally finally brought the Second Division title to Greenock. Despite reported six-figure sums being offered to Celtic by then chairman Douglas Rae, terms could not be agreed between the parties and McGowan returned to Celtic ahead of the 2007/08 season. Midfielder Luke McCowan is an Inverclyde native, who had an unsuccessful trial with his hometown club ahead of the 2017/18 season before signing for Ayr United. Tale of the Tape Both defences have prevailed in the three previous meetings between the sides this season, which is somewhat unsurprising given Dundee and Morton have the two best defensive records in the league. Dundee travelled to Cappielow Park supported by Dalrada Technology on Matchday 4. Despite having more of the ball, The Ton struggled to find the breakthrough in a stuffy game. Paul McMullan struck the crossbar in the first half for the visitors, the closest Dundee came to testing Brian Schwake. The Ton thought they had snuck it in the closing stages as a Robbie Muirhead header rattled the post. Both sides played out another stalemate on Matchday 12, this time at Dens Park. Despite Dundee carving out the better chances, The Ton held firm to deny the hosts, who were reduced to ten men in the 79th minute after two bookings for Josh Mulligan in quick succession. The result left both sides midtable on 18 points. Jack Baird scored the only goal as The Ton bested the Dark Blues on Matchday 24 in front of the BBC Scotland cameras. In the second phase of a corner, full back Carlo Pignatiello floated a teasing ball back into the six yard box, to which centre back Baird duly obliged, looping his header past Adam Legzdins. Dougie Imrie’s side defended stoutly to claim a victory that kept The Ton in fourth spot. Photo - GBR Photographs. Opposition Analysis The Dee appear to be finding form at exactly the right time as the Championship season enters the home straight. Gary Bowyer’s men have only lost three times since January in a run of form that has propelled them to top spot as they seek to return to Scotland’s top table. Striker Zach Robinson, on loan from AFC Wimbledon, and former Morton winger Paul McMullan, have been hugely influential, with Robinson finding the net on eleven occasions and McMullan providing eleven assists this term. Ahead of the match, I spoke to Dundee fan Nicola Ironside (@nicola_ironside) spoke of the hosts’ expectations heading into the match – “Well it’s safe to say coming into this game on Saturday we are sitting where we thought we would be at the start of the season however with that comes the great expectations of continuing our winning form which won’t be easy considering we haven’t won against Morton this season. Having said that every game that we have played 2 up top this season we have won and presuming there is no injuries you’d expect Bowyer to go with the same team that beat Raith midweek. The partnership between Zach Robinson and Alex Jakubiak has certainly been a happy welcome for us Dundee fans. Give Morton their dues - they have been consistently hard to beat this season and this weekends fixture will certainly be no walk in the park. With the fact we should bring in a large and excited crowd for this fixture combined with getting 3 points putting us closer to winning the league I am expecting a 2-0 Dundee win. However I don’t expect it to be a pretty game of football and I expect Morton to give us a hard game.” Photo - GBR Photographs. Betting Guide All match odds are provided by McBookie. Odds are correct as of 9am on 13th April 2023 and are subject to change. Please only bet within your means and visit BeGambleAware if you are struggling. Title-chasing Dundee are the bookie’s favourites for this clash, chalked at 4/7 to retain all three points. The draw prices at 14/5, with the visitors 17/4 to claim a second victory against the Taysiders this season. If you fancy Calum Waters to be the first player in the referee’s notebook, you can back this at 3/1. You can also back skipper Grant Gillespie to be the first player cautioned at 13/2. Match Officials Referee – Chris Graham AR1 – Daniel McFarlane AR2 – Brian Christie

Away Day Guide – Dundee Image - FootballTripper Tickets Prices are as follows: Adults - £24, Concessions (OAPs and Students) - £16, U18s - £10. Tickets can be bought upon arrival at Dens Park. Disabled Supporters Information Disabled fans will be housed at the front of the South Enclosure. To arrange this please contact the club via the ticket office on 01382 767039 or email greg@dundeefc.co.uk. Blue badge holders can arrange to park on the east side of North Isla Street. The clubs Disability Access Officer is Greg Fenton and can be contacted at greg@dundeefc.co.uk. Supporters Buses The Port Glasgow Morton Travel Club bus will leave The Caledonian Bar at 12noon, however the bus is currently FULL. The cost will be decided on the day. Message their page on Facebook or contact Bryan on 07969760291. By Train There are two services an hour to Glasgow Central on the low line, departing Gourock at :08 and :38 every hour, as well as one train an hour on the high line, departing Wemyss Bay at :57 every hour. Travel to Glasgow Central and transfer to Glasgow Queen Street. From Queen Street, services to Dundee operate regularly on the Glasgow-Aberdeen line. If not purchasing advanced tickets, then purchasing tickets from Glasgow-Perth and Perth-Dundee works out cheaper than a direct ticket. Electronic ticket barriers are in operation at Dundee. All info taken from the ScotRail website. By Car Use postcode DD3 7JY for the stadium. The approximate journey time via the M8, M80 and A9 is 1hr 52 mins. Please be aware that there is very limited street parking around the vicinity of the stadium. One of the best options is to park at Fairmuir FC’s football pitches (DD4 9BG), which are around a 10 minute (0.5 mile) walk from Dens. Pre-Match Photo - Trip Advisor If you are arriving in Dundee city center then Trades House Bar (40 Nethergate, Dundee DD1 4ET) is a few minutes walk from Dundee Station, serving food and drinks and showing live sport. If arriving at the stadium, The Ellenbank Bar (128 Alexander St, Dundee DD3 7DE) has all the usual pre-match requirements and is only a few minutes walk from the turnstiles.

Morton v Hamilton Academical – Match Preview by Russell Gordon It feels like we’ve been saying it for weeks now, but the visit of relegation threatened Hamilton Accies to Cappielow Park supported by Dalrada Technology really does have the feel of an evening in which Morton will be drinking in the last chance saloon if they wish to keep their hopes of sneaking into the play-offs alive. After too many damaging results in the last six weeks or so, even a win is only likely to make a top four finish an arithmetical possibility for a bit longer after failure to record a victory at Somerset Park on Saturday; but our guests have far more pressing issues as they look to avoid the play-offs at the other end of the table, whilst also looking over their shoulders at bottom dogs Cove Rangers, after the Aberdeen side claimed a rare point at New Douglas Park at the weekend. Photo - GBR Photographs. Squad News Long-term absentee Lewis Strapp looks to have played his final game for Morton, after announcing last week that he will be moving onto pastures new in the summer. On a positive note, Jai Quitongo looked a bit more like himself after coming off the bench at Somerset Park, as ten man Morton looked to source a winner from what really was the proverbial six-pointer. George Oakley of course, will be missing after his ordering off for two quite appalling challenges that could both have seen straight reds in isolation. Cameron Blues will also likely miss out after his knock against Inverness last week. Current Connections January signing Oakley is of course a former Accies ace, famed for his Marco van Basten-esque strike at Pittodrie in his Hamilton days, whilst club captain Grant Gillespie spent nine successful years at New Douglas Park. That nine-year spell ran concurrently with Ali Crawford’s own time in Lanarkshire. Efe Ambrose trained with the Accies earlier in the season before eventually signing for Morton. Jai Quitongo started his career in Hamilton’s youth team, a club where his dad is a local legend, very much like Morton boss Dougie Imrie, who is revered by the Accies faithful. Andy Millen can count Hamilton among his many former employers. In the visitors’ camp, SPFL Trust Trophy hero Reghan Tumilty had a two year spell in Inverclyde, marred by managerial changes and a loan move to Dumbarton when bizarrely, he was the only right back on Morton’s books. His unsuccessful spell at Cappielow perhaps says more about David Hopkin than it does about Tumilty. Tale of the Tape It’s a win apiece and a draw to show for both teams’ efforts in the head-to-heads this season. Morton opened their season with a trip to South Lanarkshire and fell behind early, Andy Ryan heading the hosts into the lead from a poorly defended corner early in the game. The Ton equalised from the spot before the break- Grant Gillepie converting after Accies defender Shaun Want appeared to foul Jaze Kabia just outside the box. Want was ordered off for a second bookable offence, but whilst Morton were fortunate with the award of the penalty, there was a sense of frustration with a point dropped having played the whole second half against ten men. There were no such issues when Hamilton visited Cappielow in October. Admittedly the visitors were perhaps going through their most troubled period of the season, but they were swept aside by a Morton side who were in absolutely scintillating form. Jack Baird started proceedings with a back post header from a Kabia corner, before Kabia himself got in on the act, latching onto a long pass from Grant Gillespie that cut through the Hamilton defence like a hot knife through melting butter. Gillespie added a third half way through the first half, sweeping home a fantastic strike on the end of a terrific move to net what this observer would describe as Morton’s goal of the season so far. There was nothing pretty from a Hamilton point of view about the fourth as Robbie Muirhead latched onto a poor attempted back pass from Fergus Owens to score as easy a goal as he’ll ever register. Muirhead didn’t have too many problems converting the fifth and final goal either on 54 minutes, knocking in from six yards out as Morton walked through a long-since defeated Hamilton side. Whilst the Cowshed cried for ten, in order to exorcise some ghosts of bygone days, there was no further scoring on a day as Morton chalked up their first home win over Hamilton in a remarkable 23 years. Whilst Morton were the beneficiaries of a dodgy penalty decision on the season’s first day, they say these things even themselves out over a season, and Hamilton were to benefit themselves from one of the most disgraceful awards you're ever likely to see (until we went to Celtic Park the following week, of course!), as Grant Gillespie was penalised for clearing the ball, and the referee admitted to Dougie Imrie after the match that he had forgotten which way each side was shooting. Andy Winter converted the resultant 19th minute spot kick and, try as they might, Morton couldn’t get an equaliser in a game played in terrible wind and rain in Hamilton. Photo - GBR Photographs. Opposition Analysis You just never know what Hamilton team you’re going to get this season- and results certainly suggest that. During that 5-0 mauling at Cappielow in October, I was struggling to think of a worse team I’d seen that Championship level since Brechin’s gang of 2017-18 made a mockery of the division by not even attempting to compete. But since ending a nine-game run without victory in the league against Morton in January, they knocked Premiership Ross County out the Scottish Cup, beat Partick Thistle at Firhill and Inverness away and at home in consecutive league fixtures. Rankin has added well to his squad, with Tumilty and Hearts loanee Conor Smith being standouts. It was Hearts that were to knock the Accies’ out of the Scottish Cup, winning 2-0 at New Douglas Park despite a spirited performance from the hosts. That wasn’t to be the end of Hamilton’s interest in cup competitions for the season though. Having earlier disposed of Rangers B and a severely depleted Inverness in the SPFL Trust Trophy, they struggled past their tenants, Clyde in the quarter finals and then made the final by beating Queen of the South 2-1 at New Douglas Park. The Falkirk Stadium had the rare honour of hosting a match between two Championship clubs, as Hamilton prevailed 1-0 against tournament specialists, and Morton’s conquerors, Raith Rovers, courtesy of Tumilty’s goal on the half hour, but thanks in no small part to goalkeeper Ryan Fulton’s incredible second half performance. That, however was followed up by a 0-7 mauling at Dens Park, as Dundee smelled blood against a team that had perhaps taken their eye off the ball and on the pints in the week leading up to visiting the title favourites. Like night follows days though, Hamilton went to Stark’s Park and again took the scalp of Raith, their 2-1 win preventing the Fifers from overtaking Morton, for now at least. And to reaffirm the point about their inconsistency, Saturday’s draw with a Cove team who look a lost cause at this point defies belief after such a positive run. As was the case prior to our previous match with Hamilton, we’ve not asked any Accies fans to give us their thoughts. Some posts on social media have upset their board of directors in recent times, and whilst we wish the Hamilton fans well in their battle with the board, we don’t want comments made on this platform to result in any of their fans being banned from attending their matches. Photo - GBR Photographs. Betting Guide All odds are supplied by McBookie. All odds correct as of 7am on 11th April 2023 and are subject to change. Please only bet within your means and visit BeGambleAware if you are struggling. Morton are favourites with the bookies at 8/13, with Hamilton coming in at 15/4 and the draw at 11/4. Given how rare clean sheets have been recently, a home with both teams to score is 5/6. It has to happen sometime, so Ali Crawford to score anytime is 11/4. Match Officials Referee- Matthew McDermid AR 1- Gary Hilland AR 2- Alastair Taylor

Dean, Alan and Stephen discuss the news that Lewis Strapp will be leaving the club, Saturday's draw, the Hamilton game and gauge this season's success.