A goal and three points gives Morris the perfect weekend
THEY say in life, you only get one crack at it. Sometimes it can be exactly the same for a striker when the 90-minute microcosm of Saturday match-day comes around.
Carlton Morris could have been forgiven for feeling he might never get much of a sniff of goal against an Inverness Caledonian Thistle side hogging possession and dictating the flow of play.
In the end, though, it was a case of one chance and ‘bang’ for the on-loan Norwich City striker who is hoping his crisp finish past Owain Fon Williams will resonate all the way from the Moray Firth to East Anglia.
The former Hamilton manager, Alex Neil, keeps a close eye on the 20-yearold’s progress and, with ambitions of a prosperous summer return to Carrow Road, Morris was thrilled to hit what was only his fifth goal of the season.
More than that, though, the young striker knew just what three vital away points could mean to the club he is, for now at least, fully committed to.
The win – only Hamilton’s second in 15 matches – drew the visitors level with Inverness on points, five above play-off zone incumbents Kilmarnock.
“It’s always good to get a goal but if you score but leave with nothing in terms of points then it feels like it was all in vain,” Morris said. “It was the best of both worlds for me today to get the goal and an important three points to accompany it. We showed out there we’re together on the pitch as well as around and about the club. We’re a close-knit team and showed we can take this battle to the other teams. As for the goal, it was a rare chance in that 90 minutes. But that’s the life of a striker, especially a modern-day striker, as you can go through some games hardly touching the ball. If you get that one chance you have to make sure you take it. Thankfully, I did today and we won the game.”
Morris makes no secret of the fact his future, he hopes, lies at Norwich, but he is grateful to the valuable first-team action Hamilton have granted him.
He said: “I was just looking for some minutes, really, when I came here. With game-time comes experience. It is impossible to come through games at this level without learning anything. I’ve learned a bundle so far and every time I go out on the pitch it feels like it is a rich learning experience for me.
“Alex Neil has obviously strong links with the club so he speaks to people in and around the club and I speak to Norwich directly at least once a week.”
With Kilmarnock losing, victory was hugely important to Hamilton’s survival hopes, although both they and Inverness, for now, must continue to glance nervously over their shoulders.
What was concerning for those of a Highland persuasion on Saturday was the failure, again, to hit the back of the net in the manner Morris did.
For all the pressure, possession and general dominance of periods of the match, John Hughes’ injury-ravaged side recorded another blank – their third in five games.
This time, though, it was to be a tale of missed chances rather than a failure to create them.
“I don’t think it was the prettiest game and I’m gutted we lost,” Inverness goalkeeper Owain Fon Williams said