Morton draw shows why Hearts want to escape the Championship
This is specifically the type of fixture Hearts want to escape from when they return to the Premiership next season.
Playing their first match since winning the Championship title, the Edinburgh club found themselves frustrated and stifled in Greenock against a Morton team desperately trying to avoid the division’s relegation play-off.
A scrappy evening’s football wasn’t enlivened much by a good deal of sunshine at Cappielow Park. While much of football is consumed by talk of a European Super League, Hearts will be glad simply to be heading back to Scotland’s top flight.
Whether they can escape this kind of uninspiring performance remains to be seen. Their team will look significantly different with much recruitment activity planned this summer, which is probably just as well. Many of these Championship games have been a difficult watch and it was no different on the banks of the River Clyde.
Morton battled for their lives and competed for every ball on an uneven surface, roared on enthusiastically from the technical area by manager Gus Macpherson. Those in maroon enjoyed the majority of possession but, once again, could only lament the missing guile needed to break the hosts’ resistance.
The Greenock side gave their guests a guard of honour prior to kick-off and then
promptly rattled their goalframe through Kalvin Orsi in the opening seconds. He collected Lewis Strapp’s head flick and fired the ball against Craig Gordon’s right post.
It signalled an aggressive start from Morton as they denied Hearts space and time on the ball. An instinctive attempt from Brian Mclean nestled in Gordon’s hands following a corner, and moments later Armand Gnanduillet's clearance ricocheted off
Mclean and into the grateful goalkeeper’s arms.
At the opposite end, the visitors were struggling to create clear openings. Their forward passes weren’t held up or utilised well enough by forwards, resulting in play frequently breaking down inside the Morton half.
Gnanduillet and Euan Henderson both saw attempts blocked early in the second half, then Peter Haring’s header was pushed for a corner by
the Morton goalkeeper Aidan Mcadams.
With darkness descending on Inverclyde, the final stages were predictably tense as Morton sought to hold on to the point which would take them level with third-bottom Ayr United in the Championship table.
Theygottheirwishashearts’ push for a late winner proved fruitless.
The visitors finished the game with Craig Halkett
– commanding at centre-back – playing centre-forward but simply didn’t trouble the home defence enough over the 90 minutes.
Morton: Mcadams, Ledger, Fjortoft, Mclean, Mcginty, Mcginn, Jacobs (Oliver 82), Nesbitt, Lyon (Colville 82), Strapp, Orsi (Easdale 87). Subs not used: Muirhead, Mcguffie, Hynes, Mcgrattan.
Hearts: Gordon, Smith, Halkett, Souttar, Logan (Mackay-steven 62),
Haring, Mceneff (Mcgill 77),Halliday, Boyce, Henderson (Naismith 62), Gnanduillet.
Subs not used: Stewart, Irving, Frear, Popescu.
Referee: John Beaton