Morton 1 - 1 St. Mirren

Morton 1 - Russell (23)
St. Mirren 1 - McAusland (25)


St. Mirren win 5-4 on penalties

Att - 3836

Peter Weatherson vowed never to volunteer to hit a penalty again after gifting St.Mirren their third Renfrewshire Cup win in a row by missing the crucial spot-kick on Saturday (see video below).



Davie Irons started out with a 3-4-3 formation but he was forced into a rethink after only 12 minutes. Brian Wake clashed heads with St. Mirren's Mark McAusland and was replaced by Stewart Greacen. Ryan McGuffie was pushed into midfield as a result.


Morton took the lead in the 23rd minute when Iain Russell slammed home a Jon Newby square ball after good work on the left. Newby's wing play and subsequent assists were a feature in the semi-final win against Carlton YMCA. Russell and Newby put in excellent shifts and were probably Morton's best performers on the day.

The Morton fans - who had just broke into song - went silent minutes later when McAusland powered home an Andy Dorman corner.



The match finished 1-1 and, as both managers requested, the match went straight to penalties. Unfortunately St. Mirren won 5-4 after misses by Greacen (Howard made a tremendous save) and Weatherson. Newby, Russell, Paartalu and Masterton converted for the Ton. Saints' sinner was former Morton target Tom Brighton but Craig Dargo, Jim Hamilton, Andy Dorman, John Potter and Garry Brady all netted to win the cup.

For videos of all the penalties check out Youtube user discocampbell who has uploaded them here: http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=discocampbell&p=r


Morton (3-4-3 / 3-5-2):

1. Stewart - 7
2. McGuffie - 7
3. Walker - 7
4. Weatherson - 7
5. Paartalu - 6
6. Masterton - 6
7. McAlister - 7
8. Russell - 9
9. Wake (12. Greacen - 12 mins - 7)
10. Newby - 8
11. Finlayson - 6

Subs Not Used:

14. McAnespie
15. McGeough
16. Mitchell

1st Half - Start

Stewart
McGuffie Weatherson Walker
Finlayson Masterton Paartalu McAlister
Russell Wake Newby

1st Half - 12 mins onwards

Stewart

Weatherson Greacen Walker

Finlayson McGuffie Masterton Paartalu McAlister

Russell Newby

St. Mirren: Howard, Barron, Miranda (Brighton 74), Mason, Potter, McAusland, Murray (Brady 65), Dorman, Mehmet (Dargo 89), Wyness (Hamilton 65), McGinn.

Subs Not Used: O'Donnell, Smith


My man of the match: Iain Russell

Sponsor's man of the match: Iain Russell


Matchday Programme (Click to enlarge)

Sold Out before I could get one.



Greenock Telegraph match reaction: http://www.greenocktelegraph.co.uk/articles/2/26675

Tontastic pictures: http://www.tontastic.com/index.cgi?dir=2008-07-26-RenfrewshireCup-H-StMirren

saintmirren.co.uk match report: http://www.saintmirren.premiumtv.co.uk/page/ManReg/NewsDetail/0,,10295~1351774,00.html