Celtic Game In Serious Doubt

Morton's Scottish cup tie versus Celtic has virtually no chance of going ahead this Saturday. The Cappielow pitch is frozen solid, and weather forecasts suggest that the freezing cold conditions are set to continue for the forseeable future.

Ton Groundsman Mark Farrell told the Evening Times' Thomas Jordan that he doubts the pitch will be playable: “It looks as though there is going to be one winner this weekend – and that’s the weather. The pitch is frozen solid.”

If the match is postponed this Saturday then it will be rescheduled for Tuesday, 12 January with a 7.45pm kick-off. I've heard that Wednesday, 20 January has been pencilled in as an option if the pitch is also unplayable on the Tuesday. The SFA have confirmed that this date has definitely been set aside for a replay at Celtic Park.

Evening Times - Weather To Be The Only Winner (05.01.2010)

SFA - 4th Round Pitch Inspections (05.01.2010)

Partick Thistle 1 - 0 Morton

Partick Thistle 1 - Cairney (74)
Morton 0 -

Att: 2190

There may be trouble ahead: Morton remain mired in a three way relegation battle after they were beaten 1-0 by Partick Thistle in front of the BBC Alba television cameras.

James Grady made two changes to the team that lost to Dundee before Christmas; Neil MacFarlane took Carlo Monti's place in midfield and Brian Wake replaced Iain Russell in attack. Russell wasn't even included in the match squad which was bit of a surprise considering Grady had previously stated that he was looking forward to getting him back from his loan at Alloa.

It's almost getting to the stage where I can copy and paste the previous week's match report such is the repetitiveness of the patterns of play in our matches. We usually start brightly, create a few good chances (and miss them) before the opposition take over in the second half and score the necessary goal(s) to take all three points. Unfortunately, this match was no exception.

Erik Paartalu was influential in the opening period and almost opened the scoring on three occasions. His first opportunity arrived in the 5th minute, but he could only header Kevin Finlayson's free-kick from wide on the right over the bar.

A minute later the Australian nodded down a high ball down to Brian Wake who took a touch before smashing the ball over the bar.



Partick Thistle goalkeeper Jonny Tuffey proved why he is involved with Northern Ireland's international squad when he flew across goal to tip Peter Weatherson half-volley wide of the upright in the 14th minute. This was a sensational save that drew appreciation from everyone in the stadium.

Morton were all over the home side at this point and were unfortunate not to take the lead just a minute after Tuffey denied Weatherson. Paartalu strode onto a Wake lay off and side footed a strong effort towards goal. The shot appeared to be heading into the postage stamp top corner, but Ian Maxwell bravely stuck his head in the way to deflect the ball over for a corner.

It was the posts turn to deny the big midfielder in the 19th minute. He met McAlister's corner from the left with a flashing header that cannoned off the inside off the post and across goal to safety. From our seat in the stand at the other end of the pitch it looked like a goal; I don't think I was the only Ton fan who jumped out of his seat in premature celebration.

This signalled the end of Morton's period of dominance and from then on the match was pretty even. However, Thistle did have two excellent chances to take the lead before half-time. In the 24th minute Liam Buchanan headered a Simon Donelly cross straight at Colin Stewart from six yards. The diminutive striker was totally unmarked and should have scored. Buchanan turned provider in the 37th minute, but Jamie Adams could only volley his cross high over the bar after it had dropped to him over the head of Ton right-back David van Zanten.

Morton will have been disappointed to have gone in at half-time level based on chances created. But, on the balance of play, it was probably just about a fair scoreline.

The Jags took control of the match two minutes into the second half when substitute Marc Corcoran almost made an immediate impact by dancing through the Morton defence before unleashing a shot that Neil MacFarlane did well to block.



There was a sense of Déjà vu when, on the hour, Buchanan passed up another glorious chance by placing his free header from a Donnelly corner into the ground and past the post. The nippy striker, who'd terrorised us in the 5-0 defeat at Firhill, was getting very frustrated - probably because the superb Dominic Shimmin had him safely tucked into his back pocket for much of the match - and he demonstrated this when he threw his shirt into the dugout and stormed to the dressing room in response to being replaced by Chris Ersline in the 66th minute.

Three minutes earlier McAlister passed up what was arguably our best chance of the match. Wake charged down a poor back pass, but he could only stretch and knock the ball against the on-rushing Tuffey. The rebound fell to Weatherson who took his time to assess his options before intelligently clipping the into the path of McAlister who'd timed his run to perfection. Unfortunately, Jim couldn't adjust his body and his side footed volley crept agonisingly past the post.

Morton were coming back into the game a little at this point and it was just two minutes later that Peter danced past a couple of defenders in the Thistle box before hitting a fresh air swipe with his left foot. He really should have laid the ball off to McAlister who was unmarked to his left. Then, two minutes after that, he had another chance when he controlled a MacFarlane header before swivelling and firing off a powerful half volley, but fortunately for Ian McCall's men it was straight down Tuffey's throat.

Thistle's winner came in the 74th minute. Alan Archibald adavanced down the left and passed to the feet of Donnelly. The former Celtic man intelligently hooked the ball into the path of Paul Cairney who burst past MacFarlane's desperate lunge before taking advantage of Shimmin's hesitancy by firing low past Stewart and into the back of the net.

McAlister wasted a couple of attacks in the last ten minutes. He mishit a shot from close range in the 85th minute and failed to find Wake with a lobbed pass three minutes later.

At the other end Stewart Greacen and Shimmin bothmade crucial blocks to deny Stevie Lovell in two seperate incidents.

Morton created enough good chances to win two matches, but in a familiar sequence of events we failed to take them and were punished for our proligacy when the opposition managed to score in their spell of dominance. A new striker please, James.

Morton (4-4-2):

1. Stewart - 7
2. Van Zanten - 6
3. Reid - 6 (14. MacGregor - 86 mins)
4. Shimmin - 8
5. Greacen - 6
6. Paartalu - 7
7. Finlayson - 5
8. MacFarlane - 5
9. Weatherson - 6
10. Wake - 3 (16. Jenkins - 77 mins)
11. McAlister - 4


Unused Subs:

12. Graham
15. Monti
20. McWilliams

Stewart
van Zanten Greacen Shimmin Reid
Finlayson Paartalu MacFarlane McAlister
Weatherson Wake

Partick Thistle: Tuffey, Paton, Maxwell, Archibald, Adams (Corcoran, 46), Cairney, Rowson, Robertson, Buchanan (Erskine, 66), Lovell, Donnelly (Hodge, 78).

Subs Not Used: Boyle, Hinchcliffe.

My man of the match: Dominic Shimmin

Sponsor's man of the match: Paul Cairney (Partick)

BBC Alba man of the match: Dominic Shimmin


Matchday Programme (Click to enlarge)

Daily Record - Match Report

The Scotsman - Match Report

ptfc.co.uk - Match Report

bbc sport - Match Report

Tontastic pictures

Barry Ferguson Almost Signed For Ton

Birmingham City midfielder Barry Ferguson almost signed for Morton on loan as a frustrated 18-year-old struggling to make an impact at Rangers.

Ferguson (pictured, left) was desperate for first team action, but he couldn't force his way into a very successful nine-in-a-row team. His driving desire to play first team football forced him to look for alternatives to further his career, and in his autobiography Blue: The Life And Times of Barry Ferguson, Ferguson revealed that Morton wanted him on loan - and that he would've been up for the move, but John Brown convinced him not to go. "My mind was mixed up then. I wanted to play for Rangers, but the nine-in-a-row team were the lords of the manor, and it was so hard to break through. Morton wanted me on loan, and in a strange twist of fate, Alex McLeish once tried desperately to get me on loan to Motherwell. I'd have taken both those moves, but I was encouraged by people like John 'Bomber' Brown and John McGregor to stay put at Ibrox."

I'd heard this story about a year ago. I was told that the reason Ferguson was so keen on joining us was that Ross Matheson had been a good pal of his in the Rangers youth teams. When Matheson (pictured, below) left Ibrox to come to Morton he was keen to follow. Ferguson confirms his friendship with Matheson later in the book: "I had a mate called Ross Matheson who was a right good player, but he ended up at Raith Rovers and Morton before drifting out of football." He then mentions another ex-Ton player, Jazz Juttla. "Then there was Jazz Juttla, the first kid to really make it out of the Asian community to play at Gers. He showed a lot of courage to overcome prejudice on the way, but he too didn't quite make the grade."


Ferguson went on to win numerous trophies while captaining Rangers in two separate spells. He also captained Blackburn Rovers in the English Premiership, where he currently plays for Birmingham City. He has 45 Scotland caps to his name and is in line for a return to the international fold under new boss Craig Levein. It would've been nice to have seen a player of his calibre play at Cappielow, even if it was only for a short loan spell.

amazon.co.uk - Blue: The Life And Times Of Barry Ferguson

Cuthbert And Jenkins Aim For Celtic Tie

Injured Morton stars Allan Jenkins (pictured) and Kevin Cuthbert are on the mend and both are aiming to be fit for the Scottish cup tie against Celtic on the 9th of January.

Cuthbert has been out for around three months with a broken foot. He hasn't made an apperance for the first team this season and although he mentions the Celtic game as something to aim for, he remains realistic about his chances of playing. "I've been delayed by that [the weather]. It's not easy. I hope to be involved again by the start of the new year," he tells the Greenock Telegraph. "I haven't targeted a game, but maybe round about the Celtic cup tie. I obviously need games, but it's not going to be easy."

Jenkins' absence has been a bit shorter, but no less important. The Morton midfield has lacked a bit of presence in the nine weeks without the dynamic midfielder. Fortunately, Jenkins, like Cuthbert, hopes to be in contention for the Celtic game. "I was sitting watching the draw and when I saw Celtic coming out I could feel my knee getting a bit better," he joked in the Tele'. "I played against them when I was at Stranraer, in the cup, and at Gretna of course. Ideally I'd like to get as much of a game as I can before then. But if the boys beat Dundee and Ayr the best I can hope for is maybe to warm the bench."

Colin Stewart might have something to say about Cuthbert coming straight back into the team for the Celtic match, but there's no doubt a fit Cuthbert, and a fit Jenkins, would be a welcome boost in our battle to avoid relegation. The sooner we see them back in Morton colours the better.

Greenock Telegraph - Jenks Targets Ayr (16.12.2009)

Greenock Telegraph - Ton Keeper Is Inching Back To Full Fitness (23.12.2009)

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all greenockmortonfc.blogspot.com readers!

Pic courtesy of greenockmorton.org messageboard poster Bawheid

Game Off

The Boxing Day fixture against Ayr United has been postponed after a pitch inspection this morning.

A statement on the club website explained the decision: "The poor weather forecast for the next couple of days was also taken into consideration. Both clubs hope that that this decision will give supporters additional time to cancel travel arranagements, and will avoid the possibility of a late call off."

This means that we have played our last match in 2009. Our next fixture is against Partick Thistle on the 4th January 2010.

gmfc.net - Boxing Day Match Postponed (24.12.2009)

Christmas Eve Pitch Inspection

A pitch inspection will be carried out at Cappielow at 10.30am tomorrow morning to decide whether or not the boxing day fixture versus Ayr United will go ahead.

Inverclyde is covered in a white blanket after heavy snow fell for most of Tuesday. The weather is expected to stay pretty severe, with the BBC predicting light snow on the day of the game.

The back page of today's Scottish Sun included a picture of groundsman Mark Farrell posing with a Ton supporting snowman at a frosty Cappielow.

SFL - Pitch Inspections (23.12.2009)

The Scottish Sun - Sales Are All White (23.12.2009)

Fans Rage At Celtic Scarves

Morton fans have reacted angrily to local sports shop Smiths' decision to sell half Celtic, half Morton scarves commemorating the upcoming Scottish cup tie.

A thread on the greenockmorton.org messageboard - titled '"new" scarfs: A total DISGRACE' - includes some irate posts from disgruntled fans. Poster Spot Ton said: "If the club did indeed sanction this then it just proves what a lot of people have said in the past that there is nobody at Cappielow who understands football fans in general or Morton fans in particular." Another named Standman said "The problem for me is that I don't want Morton associated with the Old Firm. End of." While Savo raged: "These stupid scarves are deplorable. Any self-respecting Morton supporter wouldn't be seen dead wearing one, in my opinion."

The limited edition scarves cost £7 and are included in the collection of Morton merchandise on display in one of Smiths' windows (pictured, above). The scarf includes both teams' official club crest (although the Morton badge doesn't include any writing) and the following text:

SCOTTISH CUP 4th ROUND
MORTON V CELTIC
SATURDAY 9th JANUARY 2010 - CAPPIELOW PARK

However, not all fans are up in arms, some don't see the problem as long as the club makes money from it.

Do you agree? Vote in the poll on the right of this page.

greenockmorton.org - thread posted by The Bewilderedbeast