OTTERS ARE SPLASH HIT IN TIME TRIALS ROBBIE’S HAT-TRICK WISH WASN’T GRANT-ED

Skipper says he had to take vital penalty WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!

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MORTON skipper Grant Gillespie admits he felt bad for denying Robbie Muirhead a Scottish Cup hat-trick against Queen of the South.

The midfielder fired home from 12 yards to open up a two-goal lead with just a minute of normal time remaining to put the game beyond doubt and send his side into the fourth round.

With the striker on a hat-trick, the

Ton captain says he thought about giving the former Kilmarnock man the chance to get on the scoresheet for the third time on the day.

Gillespie felt it was his duty as captain to step up and put it away as his goal gave his side breathing space in their 4-1 win over the Doonhamers - but he says if the tie had

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He told the Tele: “I did think about giving Robbie the penalty, and I said to him if it was 3-1 and the game is obviously out of sight a wee bit, then I would have given him it.

“But at 2-1 it is my responsibility to step up and take it and if I let him take it and he misses then it is on me.”

“I had to step up and hit it as I am the designated penalty taker.

“I felt bad for him because he was on a hat-trick, but it is just one of them.

“It is my responsibility, so I had to step up and take it.”

The Morton captain says Muirhead understood his decision to take it himself and feels his second-half wonder strike from the set-piece made up for missing out on the match ball.

Gillespie said: “Robbie was fine with it to be fair and he fully understood it.

“He scored a worldy in the top corner anyway, so that kind of softens the blow a wee bit.”

Gillespie believes the final score was harsh on their League One opponents and knows Ton’s first-half display was not at the levels they have shown in recent months.

However, the 31-year-old was pleased with their response to conceding the equaliser and going on to progress to the next round.

He said: “To be fair to Queen of the South 4-1 probably flattered us a wee bit.

“In the first half we were miles off it. We knew the threats that they would pose, and we didn’t match up to that at all.

“We knew in the second half we had to show a response. Even though we were comfortable winners in the end, maybe 4-1 was a bit harsh.

“We weren’t at our best in the first half, but I didn’t feel like we were out the game at all.

“It is just the confidence we have now. Even when we don’t play well, we still stick together as a team.

“The chemistry we have together now is brilliant, it was just about keeping that momentum going and we have done that.

“We move on to Arbroath away next, which will be another tough test.”