Not easy-gozie for lucky Ton
Morton manager Gus Macpherson admitted the Greenock side were lucky to leave Hamilton with all three points after Gozie Ugwu’s first-half goal was enough to give them the win.
Hamilton were frustrated on a day when they hit the bar, twice had shots cleared off the line and watched as Morton keeper Jack Hamilton produced an outstanding save to deny Andy Ryan as they chased a leveller.
Morton had Cameron Blues sent off for a second yellow card three minutes from time in what seemed like a fairly harsh call from referee Greg Aitken.
The numerical disadvantage for the brief period before the final whistle had little effect on the game but, frustratingly for Morton, will mean no appeal can be made given it was a second booking that saw the midfielder dismissed.
And, while Macpherson – booked for mouthing off to Aitken – was delighted with a start that now gives Morton four points from their opening two league games, he wasn’t blind to the limitations of the performance.
“I’m delighted but I’m not going to kid anyone on, it was fortuitous,” he said. “Hamilton must be scratching their heads that they haven’t won the game, never mind take a point from it.
“We’ll take it but we’re realistic enough to know we’ll have to play better than that.
“I thought Alan Lithgow was immense at the back in terms of his presence and his organisation.
“Gozie took his goal well. He was a bit behind the rest in terms of his fitness but he’s getting stronger now with every game.”
Accies were booed off the pitch at the final whistle but the reaction to the defeat was more about frustration than anger at the performance.
Blues had almost sliced David
Templeton’s free-kick into his own net before he then provided the pass less than a minute later that opened the scoring.
Robbie Muirhead held the ball up before providing Blues and his long ball down the channel picked out Ugwu. His power enabled him to advance in behind Lewis Spence before steering a low effort into the far corner for his first Morton goal.
Accies had ample chances to get back into the game, most notably when Ryan’s shot came off the underside of the bar and bounced onto the line before it was scrambled to safety while a George Stanger header was also cleared off the line in the second period.
“We had some really good chances,” said Rice. “It is what we said before – you have to be clinical and take your chances.”
Rice, meanwhile, insisted he will not welcome any moves for his players. Dundee United had an offer for Scott Mcmann dismissed with Rice insisting he wants to add rather than subtract to his squad.
HAMILTON:
Fulton 6; Stanger 6 (Redfern 70 3), Hamilton 6, Want 6, Mcmann 7; Spence 5, Virtanen 6, Macdonald 6; Smith 5 (Mullin 59 6), Templeton 7, Ryan 6. Unused subs – Hilton, Stirling, Easton, Mimnaugh, Mcgowan.
MORTON:
Hamilton 8; Ledger 7, Lithgow 7, Strapp 6; Hynes 6, Blues 6, Oliver 7, Jacobs 7, Mcgregor 6 (Russell 62 4); Muirhead 6 (Lyon 71 3) Ogwu 7. Unused subs – Wylie, Garrity, King, Stafford, Mcgrattan.
Super sub Mark Mckenzie rescued Ayr a point with three minutes to go after they looked dead and buried.
Goals from Joel Nouble and Michael Mckenna had Arbroath in charge but they paid for Nick Low’s missed penalty after Tomi Adeloye pulled one back.
Relieved Ayr boss David Hopkin admitted: “Losing the two goals left us a mountain to climb but give credit to the players who showed the Ayr fans that they won’t lie down.
“I thought at the end that only one team could go on and win it as Arbroath were out on their feet.”
Arbroath were ahead after only nine minutes when on-loan Livingston striker Nouble superbly curled the ball into the top corner to open his account in style.
Liam Henderson had a long range effort saved before the visitors doubled their lead in 27 minutes.
Mckenna’s cross from the left looked routine for the home defence but skipper Sean Mcginty and keeper Charlie Albinson looked on in admiration as the ball crept into the far corner.
It was a horror start for Ayr but they came close 10 minutes before the break when Cammy Salkeld had a shot blocked and James Maxwell’s follow-up was deflected over by Chris Hamilton.
Aaron Muirhead replaced Daire O’connor at the interval and Ayr tried to step it up with Salkeld having a shot blocked by Derek Gaston’s legs.
The visitors missed a chance to kill the game in 62 minutes when Andy Murdoch was harshly adjudged to have handled but Nicky Low crashed the resultant penalty off the bar.
Ayr got one back with 20 minutes to go when Murdoch’s free-kick was knocked across goal by Muirhead and scrambled home by Adeloye.
And they capped a rousing fightback when Mckenzie, who had been on the park only eight minutes, equalised from close range.
Lichties boss Dick Campbell claimed: “I’m pig sick at not taking three points but I couldn’t believe the goals we lost – they were embarrassing.
“Our keeper didn’t have a save to make. If we’d scored the penalty we’d have been 3-0 up and away up the road.