Morgan:Saintscomeback is alive and kicking at last
LEWIS MORGAN hailed a day to remember after being handed a maiden Scotland Under-21 call-up and then scoring the winning goal as St Mirren put Dundee United to the sword to boost their survival chances.
The winger, who j oined team-mate Stephen Mallan in Scot Gemmill’s squad for the friendly against Estonia on March 28, was on target from close range in Wednesday night’s 3-2 victory over United in the Paisley 2021 stadium.
That win hoists Saints to within a point of Ayr United at the foot of the Championship, a remarkable comeback from a team that had looked dead and buried not so long ago.
Morgan revealed confidence is rocketing within Jack Ross’s squad and hoped they could continue to pick up points in their bid to avoid the drop to League One.
The winger said: “That was a massive win against United and we’ve proven we can play against the top teams in this division, having beaten Hibs as well. We’re on a good run of form and have momentum on our side as we chase our rivals at the bottom of the table.
“It could change again at the weekend. And if we could get off the bottom of the table that would be huge for us. We’re just taking it one target at a time. So, for now, Ayr is the team we want to get ahead of.
“Even when we were as far as 11 points from safety, we always thought it was possible we could get out of it. In the first half of the season things weren’t going our way but we were putting in decent performances.
“And then, in January, there was a massive overhaul of the squad and a big turnaround, and now the team has a better balance about it and that’s showing in our performances.
“A lot of credit for that has to go to the gaffer. He took a big risk in January but now he has the players in who give him the balance he’s looking for. That has helped him and the team.”
Saints survived late United pressure to win the match, something Morgan hopes will stand them in good stead when the sides meet again in the IrnBru Cup final next weekend.
“It was a great team effort to hold on towards the end. We made it hard for ourselves but it was a good three points in the end. I think we deserved it.
“This win has hopefully put a marker down for the cup final as well. Hopefully we can get a good result at the weekend and then get a full week’s preparation as we’ve had a really busy schedule with games on Saturday and then Wednesday over the past few weeks.
“Getting a full week to prepare will stand us in better stead going into the final.
“If we could win the cup that would give us another boost going into our remaining league games. We have the belief in the changing room that we can kick on and get ourselves out of the position we’re in now.”
Morgan was also pleased to get international recognition. He added: “Getting the call-up to the Scotland Under-21s is nice individually and, as the gaffer told us, it’s only coming because of the way the team is playing at the moment.
“It’s great that Stevie has been called up too but it’s really down to the team effort over the last few months.” given the dreadful state of the Olimp-2 pitch.
The superb Old Trafford surface was always going to make the return leg a different prospect, and so it proved in a dominant first half.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic twice hit the woodwork as United got away 12 attempts and enjoyed 76 per cent possession.
However, it took until the 70th minute for Mata to settle nerves, turning home from close range having started the move just inside his own half.
There was still time for a few scares, but back-up goalkeeper Sergio Romero saved United’s blushes, denying substitute Aleksandr Bukharov’s header before an exceptional stoppagetime save from Rostov captain Christian Noboa’s free-kick.