The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Lichties’ goal is staying up – Linn
ARBROATH: Striker left frustrated after Gayfield outfit denied ‘stonewaller’
MORTON 1 ARBROATH 0
Arbroath striker Bobby Linn dismissed talk of a place in the play-offs as the Lichties missed out on the chance on Saturday to go third in the Championship following a narrow loss against Morton.
Reece Lyon’s early goal for struggling Ton at Cappielow was all that separated the sides with Dick Campbell’s Gayfield side slipping to joint fourth – just four points off second-placed Ayr.
Linn said: “There wasn’t much between the teams and I thought Morton started on the front foot and scoring the early goal certainly helped them and settled them into the game.
“They are difficult to break down and it is a tough place to come.
“But we were disappointed in our performance. It’s been a good season so far, but Saturday was a bit of a downer.”
Morton got what proved to be the winner after just three minutes when Jack Baird created an opening on the right before former Dundee midfielder Jim Mcalister looped the ball over the Arbroath defence for Lyon to volley home from 10 yards.
Linn added: “We have set our own standards and we gave them too much respect by sitting off them.
“The second half I felt we were on top without creating much. We had no right just because where we are in the league that we should be picking up points everywhere.
“Every game is tough for us. They sat in and had a good shape and frustrated us in the second half and they’ve come out winners, so good luck to them.”
Arbroath were denied a penalty after 73 minutes when Morton sub Billy King mistimed a tackle and sent Colin Hamilton sprawling in the box, but referee Alan Newlands thought otherwise – much to the anger of both Campbell and Linn, who was subbed soon after and was still seething as he left the pitch.
Assistant boss Ian Campbell was yellow carded on the touchline for showing his frustration at Newlands’ decision.
Linn added: “I thought it was a stonewaller and there was another when Ricky little was pulled back. but basically we have to defend better. We will go away and work on it and we have another big game next week. It’s not the end of the world, but not the best result for us.”
Victory would have seen the Gayfield men go third and despite the defeat they are only one point adrift of third-placed Dundee, albeit having played one game more.
Linn dismissed talk over the play-offs, saying: “Our goal is to stay up and that’s the end of it. That’s the main thing for us. We know in our dressing room what we have to do and we don’t look beyond that.
“We’re a close-knit group of boys and we will come back fighting next week and then the following week against Ayr. We’ve done well so far in the league and we can’t be too despondent about the defeat.”
Morton captain Mcalister said: “Arbroath have been magnificent since they came up. They were high in confidence so it was important we pegged them back.”