HEAVY METTLE
Cup campaign kicks off with Morton in formidable form
Match preview by
MORTON take a well-earned break from league duty tomorrow as they play the first of what will be two cup fixtures over the next fortnight.
Dougie Imrie’s men will welcome League One outfit Queen of the South to Cappielow for a Scottish Cup third round meeting, as they set out on the road to Hampden.
It’s the first of two ties in quick succession which will interrupt their Championship campaign, with an SPFL Trust Trophy encounter at Raith beckoning on December 10.
The Greenock men could hardly be going into tomorrow’s clash against the Doonhamers in better shape.
They continued their superb form by stretching their unbeaten sequence to eight matches last Saturday thanks to a last gasp 2-1 win away at Cove Rangers.
It must have been a hugely satisfying victory for the manager and his players, with the way it came about.
Following the long journey north to Aberdeen, Ton and their hosts had to battle it out in difficult conditions, with a strong wind sweeping down the pitch at Balmoral.
They were up against improving opponents who have found their feet in the second tier of late and fielded plenty of experienced campaigners in their ranks.
Cove also hold a strong home record and there will have been more than a few people who might have looked at the fixture list and thought this could be the day when Ton — missing their influential suspended skipper Grant Gillespie — would come a cropper.
Not a bit of it.
The Greenock men took a first half lead through Jaze Kabia and with their strong defensive record they would have been confident of holding on to it by recording another clean sheet.
Another shutout was not to be as the hosts found an equaliser with just seven minutes left to play.
Most would have expected Jim McIntyre’s side to be the ones who would then push on in search of a winner, but Morton dealt with the setback in a sure-footed manner.
From the kick-off they were back on the front foot and shrugged the goal off immediately.
As the game moved into the last couple of minutes the thought did occur that settling for a point would be a good outcome, but this Morton team have a bit more about them than that. As the clock ticked on to 87, Lewis Strapp sent a long throw into the box and when the ball dropped for Robbie Crawford lurking inside the box, the midfielder met it perfectly with a controlled half volley to bag his first goal for the club and spark wild scenes of celebration.
The last 10 minutes of the match typified this current Ton team, as they showed tremendous character to take a blow on the chin, pick themselves up and press on.
It was a real show of mettle and resilience and it’s no coincidence it involved a late goal — it’s not the first time they have scored deep into the game during this sequence which has earned them six victories and two draws.
In a division as tight as this one it can be difficult to string two wins together, let alone be on the brink of going through a quarter of the campaign without a defeat.
It leaves them just a point off leaders Ayr United and now they can put that to one side for the moment and try and carry their league momentum into the cup.
Imrie will have been pleased to have got a home draw and while it is also against lower league opposition, there’s no way he or his players will be treating Queens lightly.
They were only relegated in the summer and with the squad he has in place boss Willie Gibson will be looking at mounting a play-off push to get back up at the first attempt.
His team’s season hasn’t really caught fire yet and he’ll be hoping that their 4-1 weekend win over Montrose marks a turning point.
Queens sit seventh in the league but are only six points off second place, so while they have work to do they are still well in contention if they can put a run together.
There will be a couple of familiar faces in their lineup, with Gavin Reilly and Iain Wilson key figures for them after moving on from Cappielow.
Never-say-die spirit Jaze Kabia is congratulated after breaking the deadlock against Cove. Robbie Crawford celebrates his dramatic late winner.
Both are good players capable of performing a level up, and they will be hoping they can come back to haunt their old side.
From Morton’s perspective, it’s difficult to see Imrie changing much other than bringing the captain back following his ban, although the aforementioned Kabia will also hope he has done enough to retain a place by coming in and delivering a goal last weekend.
The carrot of a place in the fourth round draw awaits and with that comes a chance of further progression and perhaps a more lucrative tie which could bring a bit of welcome finance into the club, so this is another important match to savour for the home support.