Morton get the breaks to sink Sons and close in on leaders
NO ONE ever said it would be easy to reach the mountain top, but Morton are continuing to overcome all manner of obstacles in this unlikely attempt to escape from the Championship and make it back to Scottish football’s top flight.
An own goal by Dumbarton defender George Buchanan and a controversial penalty from Michael Tidser were enough to maintain the side’s unbeaten record at Cappielow ahead of a consolation goal from Andy Stirling and cut the gap on secondplaced Dundee United to seven points with a game in hand.
Yes, they needed a favourable call from referee John Beaton to secure this hard-fought and hugely entertaining win when he adjudged Darren Barr to have fouled Aidan Nesbitt in the area, but their display was gutsy and committed.
Consider the fact that their centre-half Gavin Gunning quit for Grimsby Town, forward Jamie McDonagh was suspended and their lead striker Jai Quitongo, at the game on crutches, underwent knee surgery a matter of days ago.
His replacement Kudus Oyenuga lasted less than 10 minutes, damaging his hamstring. All things considered, these were three impressive and important points to take.
‘As stretched as we are with injuries and players missing, it was a fantastic result,’ said manager Jim Duffy.
‘Our commitment was there for everyone to see and we had to stand our ground in the last 10 minutes.
‘For the penalty, he clipped him. I don’t know if he meant it, but Nesbitt was running across him and he clipped his heels. That gave us a bit of breathing space and was pivotal in the end.
‘Over the balance of play, I think we deserved to win.’
The opener came on 19 minutes. Following a spell of pressure, Jamie Lindsay fed the ball out right to Nesbitt and his low, hard ball into the six-yard box was turned in by Buchanan.
Ross Forbes then took centre stage for a period of time, having a shot blocked at close-range by Alan Martin and hitting the righthand post on the half-hour with a left-footed effort from 30 yards.
Martin had been taken off with a back problem and replaced by Mark Brown between the sticks by that stage.
In truth, it was around then that the momentum of the match really began to change. Sam Stanton stung the palms of home keeper Derek Gaston with a crisp drive ahead of an incredible passage of play which saw Michael Doyle clear a Buchanan header off the line and Mark Russell do exactly the same with an overhead kick from Stanton from the rebound.
Morton did appear to miss Gunning and came within inches of conceding seven minutes from the interval, with Robert Thomson sending a header from Stirling’s cross bouncing wide.
The break came at a good time for Morton. It gave them the opportunity to regroup, come out strong for the second half and double their advantage.
Forbes and Russell both forced good, early saves from Brown before referee Beaton awarded a somewhat controversial 66thminute penalty to the home side.
Nesbitt peeled away from Barr inside the area in trying to move on to a forward ball from Andy Murdoch and went down. Beaton felt it had been a deliberate foul and, following protests from the Dumbarton players, Tidser stepped up to beat Brown low to his left.
‘If the decision had gone for my team, I would have taken it, but it was harsh,’ said Sons boss Stevie Aitken. ‘Darren Barr doesn’t see the boy. He’s watching the ball, the boy runs across him and he actually kicks Darren. That’s what the coming-together is.
‘I said to the referee that I thought it was a poor decision, but he just said he thought Darren fouled him.’
Within three minutes of that contentious call, though, the visitors had given themselves a lifeline through a shot from Stirling from the edge of the area which took a big deflection off a home shirt and nestled in the bottom corner.
With two minutes left, Christian Nade, making his debut after returning to Dumbarton for a second spell, saw the ball land at his right foot inside the box after an initial effort had been blocked.
Morton froze. Glory beckoned. Instead, his flashing effort with the outside of his boot swerved just over the crossbar.