Alexander: Troops will sleep Well after that
GRAHAM ALEXANDER admitted his side were pushed all the way by battling Morton as they grabbed a quarter-final place.
But he praised the professionalism of his players as they held their nerve in the shoot-out.
He said: “I’m happy and relieved because this was a really tough night for us. The first target was to be in the next round, which we’ve achieved, but we could’ve done things much better.
“I’d like to acknowledge how well Morton played and made life difficult for us, which we knew it would be. You have to give them credit because they played exceptionally well.
“Professional football is all about results, whether it’s the league or the cups.
“But if you lose in the cup then you’re out. We didn’t start well and were slow to build up, although their set-up made it that way. We got a little frustrated.
“When we scored so late on we thought we’d done it, only to give away a sloppy goal from a set-piece.
“But, after throwing it away in the final second, my players picked themselves up and took five great penalties while Liam Kelly made another good save.”
Morton manager Gus MacPherson was proud of his players but wants them to take their form into the last three league games to stay in the Championship.
He said: “We were excellent and worked so hard, we competed for the 120 minutes against a good Premiership team.
“I enjoyed watching that performance but we are disappointed to lose in that manner – penalties are a lottery. They’ll be back in on Sunday to prepare for the final three league games.”