Clyde 1 - 1 Morton

Clyde 1 - Clarke (56)
Morton 1 - McGregor O.G. (26)

Att - 1,265

The combination of a swirling wind, driving rain, a churned up pitch and the fact this match was a crucial 'six pointer' in the relegation dogfight meant that this game was never going to be a classic. That, however, is a huge understatement as this was one of the ugliest matches I have watched in a long time.

We started the first half with our backs to the wind. Scott McLaughlin and Jim McAlister both used this to their advantage by whipping a series of corners and free-kicks right in on top of Clyde goalkeeper David Hutton. The opening goal came via this tactic. McAlister curled a corner in at the near post and from where the Morton fans were sitting it looked the ball went straight in at the near post. However the BBC match report later confirmed that the ball was guided into the net by Clyde's Neil McGregor.

Clyde equalised early in the second half. Ryan Harding took an eternity to try and clear at the back which allowed Pat Clarke to charge down the clearance. Harding them decided to blast the ball right at Clarke, the ball spun up in the air and into the strong wind. Instead of letting the ball come down and bounce and then judge when to go out and collect Lee Robinson charged out to meet the ball as if he was certain he could collect. The wind then carried the ball over his head leaving Clarke the simplest task of rolling the ball into the net.

Some have argued that the freak wind was to blame for this goal; I disagree, to an extent. I think Robinson's judgement was terrible. He charged out of goal with no consideration for the weather conditions. Harding also played his part by taking an eternity to clear and then smashing it off of Clarke but, for me, Robinson must take the Lion's share of the blame. Irons seemed to agree and said: “I’m disappointed to the lose the goal the way we did, though. It was just a catalogue of errors, what with ricochets and bad judgement calls." More specificaly he said: "Lee is in the dressing room with his head down. He made a poor judgement call for the equaliser but, other than that, I thought he did well. His handling was good and he keeps us in it with that save from Clarke late on." I hope to see David McGurn back in goal on Saturday.

Another cause for concern was the performances of some of our players, in particular the ex-Gretna pairing of Ryan McGuffie and Allan Jenkins. We needed these guys to come into the club and take games by the scruff of the neck but rather than do this they were two of our worst players. McGuffie hasn't put in a really good performance since he joined the club in January. I don't know if he's suffering from a severe lack of form and /or confidence but I thought Jamie Stevenson should have replaced him in the starting line-up for this match after the 3-0 defeat at Hamilton on Saturday. Surely Irons will now make this change for the Partick Thistle match.

Chris Millar was everything these two were not. He fought for every ball and when he got it he tried to compose himself and pick a pass along the ground or take a man on rather than whack it back up into the air. Millar looks a certainty to collect most of the supporters clubs player of the year awards this season and so the decision to fanny about with his contract, thus allowing St. Johnstone to secure him on a pre-contract, is looking more of a travesty as the weeks go past. I sincerely hope Midge changes his mind and stays at Cappielow.

The only other major incident to note was a Morton penalty claim turned down by referee O'Reilly. Millar was tackled by Clyde's Neil McGregor on the edge of the penalty area. The ref waved play on but to me it looked like McGregor lunged in two footed, missed the ball and then wrapped his legs around Millar's in scissors motion. Admittedly I was not in the best position to judge sitting among the Morton supporters on the opposite side of the pitch so the referee may have called this right.

My brother came into the house today saying it was an alright result last night and on paper I suppose it wasn't the end of the world but for those I spoke to at the game and on the bus home last night (including myself) it felt like it. The performance of certain key players and the disastrous goal we conceded after taking the lead combined to make this feel like a defeat rather than a draw. The consolation we can take is that we took an away point to a team we remain ahead of in the league. Clyde are a poor outfit and their game in hand is away to St. Johnstone on Tuesday the 25th of March - a match I don't think they have much hope of winning. I remain confident we will avoid the play-offs but only because Clyde are worse than us.


Morton (3-5-2):

1. Robinson - 5
2. MacGregor - 6
3. McLaughlin - 7
4. Millar - 7
5. Greacen - 6
6. Harding - 5
7. McGuffie - 5
8. Jenkins - 6
9. Weatherson (c) - 6
10. Russell - 5 (16. Graham - 62 mins)
11. McAlister - 7

Subs Not Used:

12. Stevenson
14. Finlayson
15. Walker
20. McGurn

Booked: Harding, MacGregor.

Robinson
Greacen MacGregor Harding
McGuffie Millar McLaughlin Jenkins McAlister
Weatherson Russell

Clyde: Hutton, Neil McGregor, Billy Gibson, Higgins, Bestvina, Wilson (David McGowan 46), Bradley (Masterton 46), Smith, Clarke, Ruari MacLennan (McKay 80), Michael McGowan. Subs Not Used: Campbell, Cherrie.

Booked: Wilson, Clarke, Smith.


My man of the match: Chris Millar

Sponsor's man of the match:



Matchday Programme (Click to enlarge)














BBC match report: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_div_1/7288222.stm

Greenock Telegraph match report: http://www.greenocktelegraph.co.uk/articles/2/21019

Greenock Telegraph match reaction: http://www.greenocktelegraph.co.uk/articles/2/21022 & http://www.greenocktelegraph.co.uk/articles/2/21020