King’s crowning glory against Queens
MORTON booked their place in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup — but they were made to work hard for their victory against a dogged Queen of the South side.
A late second-half onslaught saw Dougie Imrie’s men run out 4-1 winners over the League One outfit and they now await their next opponents in tonight’s draw.
However, they didn’t have it all their own way on a dreich afternoon at Cappielow.
With the Ton not at their best in a very close first half, a shock could have been on the cards after Lewis Gibson cancelled out Robbie Muirhead’s deflected opener to see the tie locked at a goal apiece at the break.
But the Greenock side ran riot in the final 20 minutes of the second period, with a spectacular free-kick from Muirhead followed by a Grant Gillespie penalty putting them in control of the tie.
And youngster Alexander King celebrated signing a new deal with the club by winning the all-important penalty and netting his first Morton goal to wrap up a good afternoon’s work - and ensure Ton were in the hat for the fourth round.
The win continued the momentum following their hard-fought win at Cove Rangers and stretched their unbeaten run to nine games.
Their lower league opponents - who featured former Ton stars Gavin Reilly and Iain Wilson — couldn’t be taken lightly and came into Saturday’s tie off the back of a 4-0 win over Montrose.
Imrie made just the single change from the previous week, with captain Gillespie coming back into the fold after suspension to replace midfielder Lewis McGrattan.
Willie Gibson’s side made a promising start and the in-form Ruari Paton registered the first effort of the match in the opening stages as he looked to add to his 12 goals this season. He received the ball in the inside left position before cutting inside on his right foot, only to see his tame effort easily gathered by ‘keeper Brian Schwake.
A clever interchange from the visitors saw Calvin McGrory make a run in behind Ton’s backline and deliver a cross low on his left foot to find Gibson at the far post. As he came in to fire his effort at goal, left-back Lewis Strapp rushed out to make a great block as the Ton cleared the ball to safety.
The eighth minute of the game saw the first real opportunity for the hosts from a free-kick just on the edge of the area, Muirhead struck it powerfully but his shot flew into the hands of Max Currie.
Another opportunity fell the hosts’ way from Strapp’s great delivery, which was expertly controlled by Jai Quitongo, his strike partner Muirhead fired in a shot but it wasn’t hit with enough conviction to trouble Doonhamers’ shot-stopper Currie.
Ton came agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock in the 19th minute. After some good work on the left side from Quitongo, who had swapped wings with Jaze Kabia, the ex-Queen’s Park man beat Ciaran McKenna and clipped a ball in which was met by Muirhead, who saw his header cleared off the line by Paul McKay.
The following corner kick delivery from Robbie Crawford caused all sorts of confusion in the visitors’ backline before Currie was able to claw it away from the goal-line with Muirhead closing in.
But four minutes later Muirhead wasn’t to be denied as he put Ton in front with an element of fortune. The striker retrieved the loose ball as play changed over, from the left side he struck an effort which took a huge deflection off McKenna, leaving Currie helpless as it sailed over his head and into the far corner.
Ton’s advantage was almost short-lived as McKenna was left free inside the box from a corner, he cushioned a left-footed volley from around the penalty spot and as it headed goalwards Strapp was able to clear the ball to safety before it got through to Schwake and cause any real danger.
Cameron Blues looked to double the advantage after some good work from Quitongo down the left side where he was starting to get more joy. The striker gave possession inside to Crawford, who laid it off to the midfielder, but his ambitious shot flew over the top.
Reilly had a real opportunity to equalise against his former club after Efe Ambrose appeared to misjudge the flight of the ball, the striker latched onto it and with acres of space ahead of him he took the shot on early but it went straight at Schwake.
The Doonhamers levelled through Gibson on 31 minutes. Striker Paton was free on the inside channel as he cut on his right and fired in a low effort which Schwake could only parry and the wide man was on hand to tap home the rebound.
With both sides rarely threatening, the first half fizzled out, as the visitors more than held their own and deserved to go in 1-1 at the break.
Morton introduced McGrattan for Kabia seven minutes after the restart, and the sub
stitute nearly made an instant impact, as he was involved in setting up a glorious chance for Muirhead. Strapp — opting against his usual trademark long throw from the left side — combined with McGrattan before the full-back whipped in a ball to the back post as the striker rose highest, but he couldn’t keep his effort down.
Quitongo brought down a long diagonal pass from Jack Baird on his chest which allowed him to work the space for a shot, but he dragged his right-footed effort wide as the home side began to grow frustrated with just over 20 minutes remaining.
With neither team stamping their authority on proceedings, it would take a moment of magic to separate the sides — and Muirhead came up with just that on 72 minutes.
Ton were awarded a free-kick in a wide area and — not for the first time this season — Muirhead came up with a moment of sheer brilliance from a setpiece, firing a left-footed effort high into the roof the net at the near post from around 20 yards from goal to put the hosts back in front.
The visitors looked for a way back into the game and it was former Ton man Wilson who was the driving force through midfield and he fired a couple efforts on goal. But Ton were given the chance to extend their lead when substitute King won his side a penalty after he appeared to have been tripped by McKenna inside the area. Referee David Lambie pointed to the spot and captain Gillespie stepped up and dispatched the spot-kick to put the game beyond any doubt. And King capped off a brilliant week for himself in stoppage time when he skipped beyond a couple of Queens players before firing a leftfooted shot home to seal Ton’s place in the next round.