East Stirling Under-19s 1 - 1 Morton Under-19s

East Stirling Under-19s 1 - Number 9
Morton Under-19s 1 - Monti

U-19s League Cup
2pm kick-off
Sunday 22nd March 2009
Firs Park

by Chris Silver

Even though this match was played on Mothering Sunday your roving reporter managed to use up some football vouchers to take in the delights of Falkirk for the Morton Under-19s trip to take on their East Stirling counterparts.

Morton's young management duo of Allan McManus and James Grady will have mixed emotions with the result against the Shire. We shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw but this was game we really should have won; particularly as sterner opposition await with Dumbarton, Ayr United and Partick Thistle also in our group (section 2) for the League Cup.

Chalky rang the changes but kept faith with the 4-3-3 formation. Darren McGeough took up the holding role in midfield in place of Lee Mitchell, who found himself on the bench. First team regulars 'Big Paddy' (defence) and Kenneth MacKay were both missing. As a result Liam Kerrigan, Ryan McWilliams and Troy McKerrell found themselves needed on the bench while Carlo Monti - a recent signing from Celtic - took up a position on the left of the midfield three.

The bright sunshine warmed the rutted surface of Firs Park as the 2 teams took to the park. As the game kicked off the young Ton side wasted no time in exerting some early pressure from a series of corners but indifferent delivery and a pitch that had a surface reminiscent of some of the potholed roads of Inverclyde hampered our chances of scoring.

It was clear from these early exchanges that the Shire were pretty limited so it seemed more a case of when, rather than if, the Ton would open them up. A neat triangle of passing between Monti (pictured, above left) Daniel Friel and Nathan Shepherd released Friel. The striker's first touch deceived his marker but his shoot was easily dealt with by their keeper.

Friel was definitely causing problems. A cross field pass by McGeough presented Friel with a one-on-one chance but he failed to tuck it away.

With the clock running down to half-time Morton conceded an unlikely goal to somehow make a match in which they'd been totally dominant an uphill struggle. The same defensive frailties seem to undo us every week. The centre-back pairing are slow to react to balls through the middle and it was just such a ball that allowed East Stirling number 9 to smash the ball past the stranded Kieran Cannon from the edge of the box to make it 1-0 to the home side.

I have to say I was shellshocked as I had just witnessed, in my humble opinion, the most hapless team I have seen this season take a totally undeserved lead into the half-time interval.

McManus resisted the temptation to make changes and started the second half with the same team that took to the field in the first half. Despite a renewed vigour from the restart it was Shire's Number 9 who almost netted a second with a quick turn and rifled shot which went agonisingly close to hitting the net.

Our passing game was always in evidence although new signing Monti was guilty of over elaborating by trying to bamboozle East Stirling team rather than play the simpler pass - something more in keeping with his team mates playing style.

We started to exert more pressure and as usual most of the danger came down our left hand side as Chris Gordon and Shepherd - who had, not unusually, abandoned his left-back role to appease his more attacking instincts - combined to good effect. However, the Shire's goalkeeper was proving a bit of an obstacle as he made a series of fine stops to deny efforts from McGeough, Friel and Monti.

Morton continued to search for the equaliser and a short burst by Friel earned a free-kick in a good position after he was felled by the incoming centre half. Unfortunately the free kick was poor as another good chance was spurned. Minutes later Gordon played in the overlapping Shepherd but his cross wasn't accurate enough.

We looked as if we could play all day and not score so East Stirling must've been gutted when Monti's long range free kick sailed by everyone and dropped behind their goalkeeper into the net to level the score at 1-1.

McManus deciced to make a few changes at this juncture: Mark Melville was replaced by Kerrigan with Anthony Houston moving to the central defence and Kerrigan coming in at right-back. Personally, I thought McLay was a spent force in midfield and could have been replaced to push for a winner.

Monti forced the save of the day with a fierce drive from around 12 yards while Gordon was also impressing with his determined tackling in an attempt to cover for Shepherd 'who had cut the string' and gone on a charge. However, the game fizzled out with neither side being fully convincing. This should have been the easiest of the games we have in this section and I'm sure Chalky will be disappointed not to have taken the three points back to Greenock.

Morton (4-3-3):

Cannon
Houston Unknown Melville Shepherd
McLay McGeough Monti
Friel Unknown Gordon

Morton Under-19s Results - Season 2008/09

thescottishfootballleague.com - Under 19 League Cup Tables

thescottishfootballleague.com - Under 19 League Cup Results

thescottishfootballleague.com - Under 19 League Cup Fixtures

thescottishfootballleague.com - Irn-Bru Scottish Football League Under 19

Morton Offer Clyde Use Of Cappielow

Morton chairman Douglas Rae has offered Clyde free use of Cappielow for their home fixture against Dundee on the 2nd of May. Rae told the Greenock Telegraph's Roger Graham about his offer last Friday, he said: “I phoned Clyde to offer them the use of the ground without charge. They are good people at Clyde and I thought it was the fair thing to do.”

Clyde owe Broadwood Stadium Company - as the name suggests they, rather than Clyde, own Broadwood Stadium (pictured, above left) - around £270,000 in rents and other debts. The company, owned by North Lanarkshire Council, has set Clyde an eviction date of 26 April from Broadwood - meaning they wont have a venue for their fixture with Dundee on the 2nd of May.

It may well be in Morton's best interests for this match to go ahead as if Clyde were unable to fulfill the fixture (or in worse circumstances, go out of business) it would be likely that all points against Clyde would be wiped out meaning a loss of 10 points from our current total of 44.

Morton play St. Johnstone at McDiarmid Park on the same date as the Clyde versus Dundee match.

Greenock Telegraph - Morton Offer Clyde The Use Of Cappielow (03.04.2009)

bbcsport.co.uk - Council Company To Sue Clyde FC (02.04.2009)

Morton 2 - 0 Dundee

Morton 2 - Weatherson (29, 79)
Dundee 0 -

Att: 2133

Morton continued their gradual rise up the first division table with a decent win at home to a Dundee side who look good on paper but not so good on grass.

Davie Irons only changes to the team that drew with Ross County were Ryan McGuffie's and Brian Wake's inclusions at Erik Paartalu's and James Grady's expense. New signing Carlo Monti took a place on the bench. I thought Iain Russell earned a start with his performance at Dingwall two weeks previously so I was surprised to see him start on the bench.


The Dens Park side started the match sharper than the home team and came close in the 21st minute when Paul McHale's shot struck the crossbar after Alex Walker had cleared Mickael Antoine-Curier's shot off the line. However, this was about the best Dundee could muster in the opening period and from then on Morton took over.

We should've took the lead just 5 minutes later but Brian Wake missed the first of three excellent chances he had over the course of the match. Rab Douglas spilled a Stevie Masterton free-kick and Wakey was on hand to pick up any scraps however he somehow managed to hook the ball across the line and past the far post with the goal at his mercy. If a defender had made the challenge you would have been shocked he could actually get the ball across goal and past the far post from that position.



Wake atoned for the miss minutes later when he won possession and combined with Jim McAlister down the left. McAlister manufactured enough space to whip over a lovely left footed cross that the new-and-improved Peter Weatherson bulleted past Douglas with a flashing header. It was really encouraging to see Jimbo get past his marker towards the bye-line and whip over a left footed cross instead of cuttingback onto his right foot and delivering a cross that more often that not ends up in the goalkeepers hands or sailing out for a goal kick. Jim has acknowledged he needs to work on his goalscoring (“It’s one area of my game I need to improve. I’ve not scored enough.”) but I feel that his crossing with his left foot was also a problem - maybe Saturday is an indication that he has also been working on this aspect of his game. This goal proved to be the last main action of the half so we went into the interval with a well deserved one goal lead.


Just like in the first half Dundee started the second half brightly and looked for all the world as if they would equalise 7 minutes into the second half. Colin McMenamin got away from his marker in the box and chipped the ball over Cuthbert from an acute angle. The chip sailed over the keeper but didn' t look as if it would hit the net however it did look to be dropping perfectly for the onrushing Antoine-Curier to force over the line. Allan McManus had tracked his run but looked as if he was stuck under the ball and that Dundee's Guadeloupe international had the momentum to knock the ball over the line yet McManus somehow managed to beat his opponent and successfully header the ball over the bar from a position that appeared to be right under the bar. This one incident sums up the excellent impact McManus has made in the last few months after a dodgy start to his 'Ton career.



McMenamin was involved in Dundee's next goalscoring chance but with only Cuthbert to beat he smashed the ball wildly into the Wee Dublin End benches at the Morton keeper's near post. If he'd remained composed he might've remembered Andy Gray's mantra about always going across the keeper, if he did Dundee might well have equalised - luckily for us he bottled it and you could see from his face that he knew he should've done much better.


As aforementioned Wakey had three excellent chances. The second of those three came in the 60th minute; it wasn't a goalscoring chance as such but more of an opportunity that should've resulted in a good goalscoring chance. Jenkins put Wake away down the left but the shaggy haired striker was slow and cumbersome in possession and when he finally got it out from his feet he attempted to cut inside Eric Paton - who our manager and players seem to rate as Dundee's best player - but he was dispossessed with ease and the chance came to nothing.

He had an even better chance seven minutes later. Weatherson controlled Cuthbert's punt and laid the ball into Jenkins' path for a shot. However, Jenkins swung his foot at the ball and only managed to connect with fresh air, as a fortunate consequence the ball ran on to the unmarked Wake. The Englishman tried to use the inside of his right foot to place the ball past Douglas but the finish was weak and poorly angled to such an extent that Douglas actually caught it in his midriff. There were loud groans from the Cowshed at this point (I actually thought I heard some boos although no one else I know did) so it was to Wake's credit that when he was substituted for Russell later on he made a big demonstration of clapping the fans as he left the field.

Sandwiched between Wake's misses was a McAlister header that went narrowly over the bar and a timely Greacen interception that denied Antoine-Curier a certain goal.

We doubled our lead in the 79th minute and it was that man Weatherson who netted with another header. Spoonsy ghosted in front of Jim Lauchlan to glance Masterton's near post corner past Douglas. An excellent goal that takes Weatherson into double figures for the season and makes him joint top scorer with Wakey on 10 goals.

With two minutes to go Irons gave Monti a debut as a replacement for McGuffie while Grady took sponsor's man of the match Weatherson's place up front.

Apart from Mark Gilhaney's shot that struck the crossbar we saw out the rest of the game quite comfortably and cruised to the three points and fourth place - ahead of Dundee on goal difference and eight points behind St. Johnstone with fifteen still to play for and a trip to McDiarmid Park on the 2nd of May...

Morton (3-5-2):

1. Cuthbert - 6
2. McManus - 9
3. Walker - 7
4. McGuffie - 8 (16. Monti - 88 mins)
5. Greacen (c) - 7
6. Masterton - 7
7. Finlayson - 6
8. Jenkins - 7
9. Weatherson - 9 (12. Grady - 88 mins)
10. Wake - 6 (14. Russell - 73 mins)
11. McAlister - 7

Subs Not Used:

15. Paartalu
20. Cannon

Cuthbert
Greacen McManus Walker
Finlayson Masterton McGuffie Jenkins McAlister
Weatherson Grady

Dundee: Douglas, Paton, MacKenzie, Lauchlan, Malone, Shinnie (Williams 79), McHale, Cameron, Gilhaney, McMenamin, Antoine-Curier.

Subs Not Used: Benedictus, Posniak, Deasley, Roy.


My man of the match: Peter Weatherson

Sponsor's man of the match: Peter Weatherson


Matchday Programme (Click to enlarge)

Greenock Telegraph match report

Greenock Telegraph match reaction

BBC match report

dundeefc.co.uk match report

The Daily Record match report

The Scottish Sun match report

Tontastic Pictures

Dunfermline Match Re-Arranged

Morton's match with Dunfermline - which was originally set to be played on Saturday 25th April - has been rescheduled due to The Pars participation in the Scottish Cup semi-finals, which are to be played on the same date.

The match will now be played at East End Park on Tuesday 5th May with a 7.45pm kick-off.

gmfc.net - Fixture Amendment (03.04.2009)

Morton Sign Celtic Youth

Morton have signed Celtic youth Carlo Monti until the end of the season.

The news appears in today's Daily Record's Soccer Shorts and seems to be confirmed by the fact that on the player's SFA profile he is listed as a Greenock Morton player.

Full Name: Carlo Monti
Age: 18 (17.07.1990)
Position: Left-Back, Left Midfield
Born: Glasgow, Scotland
Nationality: Scottish
International Honours: 3 Scotland Under-18 caps
Height: ?' ?" (but described as small)
Former Clubs: Celtic

I have heard of Monti (pictured, above left: playing for Celtic; below: for Scotland) but I don't really know much about him as a player. All I do know is that he can play anywhere up the left hand side of the pitch, has 3 caps for Scotland Under-18s (as well as at u-15, u-16 and u-17 levels) and was charged for an assault that left a man in a coma. In the article about the assault Daily Record journalist Craig McDonald writes:

Celtic Park insiders describe Monti as "small but very skilful". He has been tipped to break into the first team within two years and go on to a glittering career.

The teenager, from Glasgow, was spotted by Celtic while still at St Thomas Aquinas School in the city's Jordanhill.

He has played most of his recent games at the club in the under-19s. But he has made one appearance for the reserves - against Hamilton last month - and scored from 30 yards.

When Monti was 15, he played for Scotland under-16s at the Ballymena International Tournament in Northern Ireland in 2006.

And he set up two goals for Scotland under-17s last year as they beat Malta 3-0 in a warm-up for the UEFA Youth Championship qualifiers.

Monti played in the qualifiers in Germany and was promoted to the under-18 squad that travelled to France for a tournament last October.

Daily Record - Soccer Shorts (02.04.2009)

Carlo Monti - SFA profile

Daily Record - Celtic Starlet Carlo Monti Charged Over Assault That Left A Man In A Coma (13.11.2008)

Irons Banned From Dugout

Morton boss Davie Irons has been given a four match ban by the SFA after an altercation with Scott McLaughlin in the tunnel after the game against Airdrie at Cappielow on the 10th of March. - but is set to appeal the decision.

Irons (pictured, left) told the Greenock Telegraph's Roger Graham about the incident, he said: “I was shaking hands with the Airdrie players as they came down the tunnel when one of them barged into me and mouthed off at me. The linesman has made out that I adopted an aggressive attitude.”

Irons doesn't name McLaughlin directly but says “He was released from here last season. There’s a bit of history with him.” Which, as Graham points out in his article, means that the player must be McLaughlin.

According to the SFA website the ban is supposed to be effective from 24.03.2009. However, the date has an asterisk which means that the 'application of automatic suspension is being contested'. In his article Roger Graham suggests that the appeal will not be heard until the season is over.

Greenock Telegraph - Irons Appeal Against Ban Of Four Matches (31.03.2009)

SFA - List Of Club Officials' Suspensions Thursday March 26, 2009

Ross County 1 - 1 Morton

Ross County 1 - Keddie (44)
Morton 1 - Russell (91)

Att: 2236


Match report to follow...









Morton (3-5-2):

1. Cuthbert - 6
2. McManus - 7
3. Walker - 6
4. Paartalu - 6 (14. Russell - 62 mins)
5. Greacen (c) - 7
6. Jenkins - 6
7. Finlayson - 6
8. Masterton - 6
9. Weatherson - 6 (15. McGuffie - 73 mins)
10. Grady - 6 (12. Wake - 53 mins)
11. McAlister - 6

Subs Not Used:

16. Smith
20. Cannon

Cuthbert
Greacen McManus Walker
Finlayson Masterton Paartalu Jenkins McAlister
Weatherson Grady

Ross County: Malin, Corrigan, Keddie, McCulloch, Boyd, Watt, Brittain (Strachan 80), Lawson, Craig, Daal (Scott 89), Gardyne (Hart 73).

Subs Not Used: Brewster, Soutar.


My man of the match: Iain Russell

Sponsor's man of the match:


Matchday Programme (Click to enlarge)

Greenock Telegraph match reaction

BBC match report

The Daily Record match report

The Scottish Sun match report

Morton 2 - 0 Clyde

Morton 2 - Jenkins (18), Masterton (68 pen)
Clyde 0 -

Att: 2168

Match report to follow...

Morton (3-5-2):

1. Cuthbert - 7
2. McManus - 8
3. Walker - 7
4. Masterton - 7
5. Greacen (c) - 8
6. Jenkins - 9
7. Finlayson - 6
8. McGuffie - 7 (15. Paartalu - 51 mins)
9. Weatherson - 7
10. Grady - 6 (12. Wake - 65 mins)
11. McAlister - 6

Subs Not Used:

14. Russell
16. Smith
20. Cannon

Booked: Paartalu.

Cuthbert
Greacen McManus Walker
Finlayson McGuffie Masterton Jenkins McAlister
Weatherson Grady

Clyde: Hutton, Stevenson, Waddell, Higgins, Gibson, Lithgow, Trouten (Tade 46), Marvyn Wilson, Gemmill (Cherrie 68) , Kettlewell (Ruari MacLennan 46), McLaren

Subs Not Used: Brown, O'Reilly.

Booked: Hutton.

Sent Off: Hutton (68)


My man of the match: Allan Jenkins

Sponsor's man of the match:


Matchday Programme (Click to enlarge)

Lost my programme on a night out.












Greenock Telegraph match report

Greenock Telegraph match reaction

BBC match report

The Daily Record match report

Tontastic pictures