Jai is our star and it’s not his fault we lost, says McNeil

FOR Greenock Morton, a first semi-final in a generation would end amid a bittersweet mix of pride and regret. The players from Cappielow undoubtedly did their town, their manager, their fans and themselves justice.

But there was still a lingering sense of ‘what if ’ as those clad in blue and white trudged out of Hampden, their adventure ended by a 2-0 win for Aberdeen.

After weathering a firestorm of Dons pressure, Jim Duffy’s men had impressively grown in stature until their big chance arrived.

And it fell to the very man Morton fans would have wished it to — the impressive Jai Quitongo. After racing clear of Mark Reynolds, however, the 19-year-old’s low shot was saved by the leg of Aberdeen goalkeeper Joe Lewis.

Had Morton scored, memories of 16 years of Hampden hurt may have preyed upon the minds of the Dons in a series of Vietnam-style flashbacks.

But a second-half header from Adam Rooney finally broke Morton’s stubborn resistance. Then a late second from Kenny McLean ensured a place in the final for Derek McInnes’s superior side, who were playing against his old club.

Afterwards, Morton goalkeeper Andy McNeil refused to blame Quitongo for his miss.

Instead, he rightly talked up the efforts of this young Morton side, none of whom were even born the last time the club were in a national semi-final, back in 1981.

‘I’m the oldest player in the team and I’m only 29,’ said McNeil, who won the League Cup with Hibs in 2007. ‘I think the average age is 23, so that puts things in perspective. We have a lot of young players who did very well out there and they should be very proud of themselves.

‘Jai Quitongo has been a star for us this season and he is improving every game. If you only get once chance in a game it is difficult. But it was actually a great save by Joe Lewis. I thought Jai was excellent for us.

‘Afterwards, the manager was pleased to see how disappointed we were. He said we have come such a long way and that he was proud of the way we competed with Aberdeen.’

Duffy was left slightly sore by Rooney’s opening goal, which came after Andy Considine had nodded Graeme Shinnie’s delivery back across goal into a particularly dangerous area. Replays suggested the Irishman was fractionally offside but it was a tight call for the officials and it effectively put paid to the Greenock side’s chances. ‘I’ve been told there was a hint of offside,’ rued Duffy. ‘It’s either offside or it’s not. And at 0-0 it’s such a huge turning point in the game if that’s the case.’ But McNeil said he was unsure if Morton had been the victims of an injustice and added: ‘I don’t know if it was offside or not. ‘I knew Rooney was going to win the ball from the knock back, so I went left and Gavin Gunning went right. It was a good header, but had it gone anywhere else in the goal we would have dealt with it.’ Given that Aberdeen launched an all-out assault from the first whistle, it was a minor miracle that Morton made this a contest at all. The Dons won two corners in the opening breathless minute, with both taken by the sublimely gifted James Maddison. First, McLean forced a fine save from McNeill, then Jonny Hayes nodded against the bar. It looked like being a long afternoon for Morton. But with their defence marshalled expertly by Thomas O’Ware, the Championship side got a grip on the game. After Rooney’s killer opener, though, Morton pushed forward and looked visibly tired, before McLean put the game beyond doubt. ‘After Rooney’s goal we had to open up,’ shrugged McNeil. ‘We were tiring when we got caught with the second, but you have to chase the game when you are 1-0 down in a semi-final. ‘It was a blow to concede the second but overall we acquitted ourselves very well against a good Aberdeen team. ‘We didn’t want to come to Hampden and lose a goal after five minutes and be on the back foot the whole game. ‘It was a bit ominous at the start but we weathered that storm and we slowly worked our way into the game. After that spell we started causing them problems and I didn’t have a lot to do. ‘It was a great game to be involved in and we did well, but ultimately it is disappointing to have lost a semi-final.’