Greenock Morton 2 Gretna 2

Last updated : 12 January 2008 By Footymad Previewer
Gretna's fragile confidence took another blow as they were held to a 2-2 draw by First Division Morton in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup.

The SPL's bottom side took a 2-0 lead in the tie but could not survive huge pressure from an inspired Morton team in the second half and, in the end, will have been pleased to draw the match.

Gretna took the lead after 13 minutes when Fabian Yantorno picked up a perfectly placed pass from Gavin Skelton, rounded Morton keeper David McGurn and found the back of the net.

The SPL side went on to dominate the next ten minutes and could have stretched their lead several times.

Nicky Deverdics' shot was knocked over the bar by McGurn while Kenny Deuchar also blasted an effort over the bar.

But Morton had their own chances to level the game. Kevin Finlayson found Iain Russell with a long ball. Russell went one on one with Tony Caig and tumbled in the area but referee Kenny Clark ignored his penalty claims.

Deverdics and Deuchar continued to trouble the Morton defence - Deverdics fired over the ball while Deuchar fired straight at the goalkeeper - but they could not take advantage and were nearly made to pay the price by their First Division opponents.

Morton could have counted themselves unlucky not to go into the break level with their opponents after Peter Weatherson's shot went narrowly over the bar while ex-Gretna man Ryan McGuffie had his shot saved by Caig.

Evan Horwood, playing his last match on loan before returning to Sheffield United, ended his time as a Gretna player in style as he doubled their lead four minutes in to the second half.

Deuchar used his height well to win a ball in the air and it fell to Horwood who made no mistake with a powerful left-footed shot that flew into the bottom right-hand corner of the net.

Horwood came close again just a couple of minutes later but his 35-yard shot went narrowly over the bar.

But Morton fought back into the game just after the hour mark thanks to a fantastic shot from Finlayson which took a slight deflection off Horwood.

Finlayson capitalised on good work by Chris Millar before blasting an unstoppable right-footed shot past Caig into the top corner of the net.

The goal immediately boosted Morton's confidence and they upped the pressure on Gretna before finally getting their reward 15 minutes from time when James McAlistair picked up a cross from the right and fired in a shot from the edge of the box.

All of the closing minutes belonged to Morton as Millar found the side-netting and Russell wasted a good chance. But to the relief of the visitors, they could not turn their pressure into further goals and will have to go back to Fir Park for a replay.