Hero in waiting
Is Johnstone the man to end Morton derby jinx?
AS Denny Johnstone hit the net at Cappielow Park, among those nodding in admiration from the old stand was none other than Roy Keane. Nearby sat Pedro Mendes, the gifted former Portuguese midfielder who was once a star turn for Rangers.
It was October 2013 and the occasion may ‘just’ have been a UEFA Youth League clash between Celtic and Barcelona. But it was arguably the first time since Andy Ritchie was in his pomp that Morton’s ground had witnessed such a glittering array of footballing talent.
Despite the Catalans winning 2-1, the experience made a big impression on Johnstone, then desperately trying to make a breakthrough with the Parkhead club.
When asked to head out on loan from his current employers Birmingham City last summer, perhaps it was no surprise that he chose the Greenock outfit as a platform from which to, hopefully, re-launch his career.
His new fans on the Tail o’ the Bank regularly hark back to the 1970s and 80s when maverick Ritchie ruled the roost.
But tonight 20-year-old Johnstone would be content to just indulge in a spot of 1990s nostalgia. Should the in-form forward shoot Morton to victory in the Renfrewshire derby tonight, it would be the Ton’s first competitive win over St Mirren in 16 years.
And, if any further incentive were needed, he knows a first win in Paisley since a 5-1 triumph in April 1999 would give Jim Duffy’s men a remarkable 15-point lead over their struggling Championship rivals.
‘I’ll always remember that day against Barcelona,’ smiled Johnstone, whose five goals in his last four games — eight in total since the start of the campaign — have propelled the Greenock men to fourth place in their first season back in the second tier.
‘It was great to score in front of those big names like Keane and Mendes. It was one of the things that drew me towards Morton.
‘We played a few games with Celtic at Cappielow and I’m really comfortable with the stadium.
‘It’s a great pitch, it’s real grass, and the memory of having scored a few times here gave me the confidence I could score goals for Morton.
‘I did feel a bit of pressure mounting earlier in the season but once I got my first league goal (after five games) I relaxed, and the goals have started to come.
‘I’m full of confidence right now and we have won our last four games on the bounce.
‘I’m really looking forward to the derby at St Mirren. We drew with them at Cappielow earlier in the season so, hopefully, we can go one better at their place.
‘We want to put space between us and the teams below us — and if we win we would go 15 points ahead of St Mirren.’
After a 15-year absence, the derby that Scottish football forgot made a welcome return in August in front of a Cappielow crowd of 5,343.
Johnstone was repeatedly thwarted by man-of-the-match Jamie Langfield, the veteran keeper earned a point for 10-man Saints amid a febrile atmosphere.
For Johnstone, however, it was an exhilarating experience and the visit of Rangers a month later only hammered home how passionate the derby had been.
‘The game against St Mirren at Cappielow exceeded my expectations,’ said the man from Dumfries. ‘It was different to any other league game. Even though the crowd was bigger when Rangers came here in September, the derby was more intense.
‘The Morton fans wanted it that little bit more. You could feel it out on the park. You could sense a real desire among them to get the bragging rights.
‘I also sensed that the St Mirren fans were getting annoyed because we were dominating the game. We were creating chance after chance and we really should have won the match. They were a bit fed up with that and it will be the same at their place — and, hopefully, we can get the win.’
That Johnstone did not make the cut at Celtic is a tale of ill-fortune and frustration. On the brink of first-team involvement, injury struck at the worst possible moment and it was soon time to seek a fresh challenge in Birmingham.
‘I was so close to the first team under Neil Lennon,’ he insisted.
‘I was on the bench against Motherwell and then the gaffer took me to Turkey, and I was going to play against Galatasaray in the Antalya Winter Cup. But I injured my knee that very morning and it ended any hope I had of breaking through. I was out for four months and by then the season was done.
‘In the end, I turned down a new contract last summer. I had counted the strikers in front of me at Celtic and it seemed a bit pointless. Ultimately, that’s why I left. Many of those who were ahead of me have gone now, too.
‘Alan Thompson (former Celtic midfielder and assistant) was at Birmingham as development squad coach and he told their manager Lee Clark about me and he signed me in 2014.
‘I was in and around the team under Lee but when he got the sack the new manager (Gary Rowett) wanted experience.
‘He wanted one up front and Clayton Donaldson is one of the best in the league at that. So, I came to Morton to get first-team experience and to score goals.
‘I’m loving working under Jim Duffy. He was a top-class defender in his day and he’s been showing me tricks and techniques he knows cause defenders problems.
‘I am working on everything Birmingham want me to improve on to cope on my return to the English Championship.
‘Right now I just want to keep scoring and I’d like to help Morton finish fourth and get into the play-offs. I think we can achieve that because we’ve a good bunch of boys here and a terrific team spirit.’
Johnstone’s goals have certainly helped Morton turn the tables on their more illustrious Renfrewshire rivals, who most would have tipped to be further up the Championship table rather than languishing third from bottom following last season’s relegation.
Whether Johnstone can help turn up the heat on them again tonight remains to be seen.