Varying reports will tell you that Morton's triumph over local rivals St. Mirren yesterday signal their 50th Renfrewshire Cup victory, or perhaps their 47th, 46th or even 48th. Research has been ongoing over on mortonunofficial.net for the best part of a week now, and most seem to indicate that Morton's victory yesterday gave them a historic 50th win. And in order to continue in my tradition of lazy journalism, I too have adopted this "fact", as it allowed me to create an easy headline.
The chemistry and omens were right. At 2:30pm, the Cowshed was filling up nicely, and the assembled faithful surveyed a pitch that, despite two days of rain, seemed to be in great condition, if a little bit short in places. The wind rolled in from the south west, skelping the St. Mirren fans, who were smaller in number than might have been anticipated. Of course, the weather, and the prospect of a scrappy game on a wet surface whilst getting thoroughly soaked, no doubt kept a few under the cover of their Feegie cardboard boxes.
Those who did make the short trek up the M8 may have wished they stayed at home, as Morton flew forward from the off. Several forays into the St. Mirren half had the visitors on the back foot, but it wasn't until the quarter hour mark that Morton had an actual shot on target. Paul Walker was set free on the right edge of the area and unleashed a low shot, which Hinchcliffe easily dealt with.
As the first half wore on, both keepers showed signs of nerves and indecision. Coyle's distribution was sometimes poor, although he was not aided by a few overenthusiastic backpasses. At the other end, Hinchcliffe (along with his Morton counterpart) opted to punch the ball more often than not, no doubt concerned about the slippery consequences of a false grasp on a ball sailing goalward. A few of these pugilistic clearances resulted in panic and corner kicks, but Morton's set piece "prowess" was as hit-and-miss as ever, and they could not break the deadlock from the corner flag.
Morton's pressure did eventually pay off, after a few more breaks forward including a golden chance for Walker which he could only propel skyward. Eventually, the ball broke down the right wing, where enough time was given not only for a low cross to be played across the face of goal, but for two Morton players to skip towards it unmarked. Peter Weatherson couldn't reach it, but Scott Bannerman, approaching at the far post, was only too happy to side foot the ball past a helpless Hinchcliffe, sending the Morton fans into rapture.
Their delight was not to last long. Less than a minute had passed when the monolithic Finn, Mixu Paatelainen, side footed a half volley past Coyle following a swift build-up. A major lapse in both concentration and communication caused this goal, and it will certainly give boss John McCormack food for thought as he prepares for next week's trip to Forfar.
At this point, a few uncouth mechanics invaded the pitch from the Wee Dublin End, and so began the vocal hostilities. A St. Mirren fan blessed with a shock of red hair was on the receiving end of several hundred Morton fans' mirth and song; his furious gestures and yells in responce elicited more hilarity from the Morton fans, and prompted his companions to discreetly shuffle backwards away from the poor gent. Later, the victim retreated to the safety of a more crowded area in the middle of the WDE, but, as some Morton fans were only too keen to point out, he was still a visible beacon. His place directly across from the Cowshed was soon taken by a young boy, whose uncanny resemblance to both Harry Potter and the Milky Bar Kid did not go unnoticed, and indeed uncommented upon.
Back on the pitch, the action was just as furious. Mixu Paatelainen's goal was judged to be fractionally offside due to Andy Millen's position, when the Finn slotted a similar goal to his first past Coyle. The St. Mirren fans certainly found this debatable, although those of us who were aligned with the incident were more than willing to give the linesman (both of whom were poor overall) the benefit of the doubt on this occasion. However, ambiguity in the offside rulings only serve to confuse and anger fans who surely have a right to know which "version" of the rule is to be employed in any given game. As blackandwhitearmy.com correctly points out, if the new, FIFA-favoured "Active Offside" rule wasn't used in this game, questions need to be asked as to why not.
Aside from refereeing drama, the half wound down after this incident, and both teams went in at half time with honours even.
The 2nd half began with as frenetic a pace as the first. St. Mirren's number 5 McGinty received a booking for a poor challenge, and was soon followed by another booking for the Saints' number 11. Both teams continued to attack strongly, but St. Mirren had a spanner thrown in the works when that angry ned McGinty again opted to act the goat, lashing out with his foot at Marc McCulloch. The referee had no hesitation in producing a second yellow card, sending McGinty to storm off, like a circus ape who lost an arm-wrestle, to the showers to drown his sorrows in a sea of towels. Aside from the elation and excitement at seeing a Skunk sent off and their team possess a numerical advantage, Morton fans were perhaps cautious in their delight, as all free kicks from the booking incidents came to nothing, further highlighting their impotence from set pieces.
St. Mirren seemed to grit their teeth and attack further following the loss of McGinty, and not two minutes later, Craig Coyle was called into action, having to save low from a powerful shot. Two minutes later, following a swift attack after Morton's 7,435th offside of the day, he was forced to sprint off his line and intercept an attack, once again diving to save low.
Despite numerous chances for both teams, no breakthrough could be found. A couple of punches off the line from Coyle, and some ineffectual finishing from both sides, and extra time seemed to be inevitable. Warren Hawke and Chris Millar were linking up well, both having come on midway through the first half, but Hawke's best chance, a header from 8 yards, was easily collected by the 'keeper. Laurie Ellis replaced the disappointing Simon Lappin as St. Mirren sought more stability and faster attacks, but they suffered from the same lack of scoring acumen as Morton.
Extra time looked inevitable, and it was up to the managers to do what they could to motivate their tired troops and make changes where necessary. Alex Williams, who showed hunger and bite despite tales of an impending move away from Cappielow, helped win a corner as soon as the extra time kicked off, coming on as a sub.
It was not this most predatory of strikers who scored Morton's winner, however. John Maisano was freed through the centre of the St. Mirren defence following a mix-up in the 3-man centre back line, Chris Millar slotting a clever pass through to the Australian. Maisano controlled it well, before launching a looping drive over the advancing Hinchcliffe, who could only paw at it with insufficient force to stop it sailing into the top of the goal. It was 2-1 Morton, and St. Mirren already looked defeated.
Morton could have stretched their lead, with Bannerman hitting the outside of the post from 15 yards, and Williams hitting a poor shot from close range. Chris Millar's spectacular effort (which might actually have been a mis-hit cross) confounded everyone - including gravity - to descend from a 60 foot height down towards Hinchcliffe's goal. As he moved backwards, he couldn't reach it, and his blushes were only spared by the inside of the far post.
Morton's lapses in concentration and exercises in complacency were well-documented last season, and were certainly in evidence today. Perhaps feeling a one man and one goal advantage was sufficient, they contrived to let substitute and former Morton man Eddie Annand waltz past the defence to be one on one with Coyle. Morton fans prayed that Coyle's trademark shot-stopping abilities would strike true, but in the end it was irrelevant, as the journeyman striker sent the ball into orbit from the edge of the area. St. Mirren's best chance of the game was thus wasted in spectacular fashion.
Half time in extra time couldn't come soon enough for Morton following this scare, and they used the opportunity to re-align their defence, as the visitor responded by bringing Dempsey on for Russell. More offside decisions and counterattacks ensued in the period following the restart, with even Morton's lightweight midfield now looking capable of cutting out the odd attack when the linesman's flag didn't do that for them. John Maisano looked to be back to his old self, producing some very fancy footwork before setting an offside Alex Williams free to earn Morton's 10,000th offside decision of the afternoon.
As Morton attacked from the left, and the full time whistle beckoned, St. Mirren were determined not to let the game end in a win for the 'Ton. Shades of Morton's humiliating 3-2 defeat in the League Cup of 2002/03 were evident as a St. Mirren forward was allowed to mince through the outside of the area past several defenders, but unlike Mark Yardley, he could not fire a teriffic goal past Craig Coyle, instead sending a weak shot puffing its way past the left post.
St. Mirren's steel and grit manifested itself in some niggling fouls, and John Maisano hit his best free kick of the afternoon on the 119th minute, narrowly heading over the bar. St. Mirren's counter had hearts in mouths all around the stadium, as a "pass" from the edge of the area somehow evaded seven players to roll towards the net, but thankfully Coyle had enough concentration and reaction skills to dive low to stop a freak goal from occurring.
McCulloch and McCluskey were able to weather St. Mirren's storm with a number of calm headers towards the goal line or out towards midfield, and St. Mirren were sure the battle was lost. Sure enough, after 2 minutes of stoppage time, full time was called, and the St. Mirren fans trooped out of the WDE as the Cowshed erupted.
It's alleged by some that Morton, being the "wee team" of the district, have an inferiority complex about this fixture. St. Mirren treated it as a friendly, they'll say, they didn't waste their time on a "diddy cup." But with an almost full-strength team put out, St. Mirren certainly didn't dispense with firepower. An unorthodox 3-5-2 formation and a sending off no doubt aided Morton's chances, but so too did a return to form for the previously disappointing Maisano brothers and Peter Weatherson. Marco Maisano in particular, in sharp contrast to last season, rarely looked out of his depth, and perhaps in one season's time he might finally mature into the kind of defensive midfielder we require. Until then, all the 'Ton faithful can do is support the team and hope for the best. Team spirit seemed high, with the body language of the victors a million miles away from that that signalled a sorry end to the league campaign at Airdrie. Players that were standing apart from each other, sullen and dejected, now held shoulders for a team photo, and joined in a Marco Maisano-led chorus of "If You Hate St. Mirren, Just Bounce." Alex Williams looked subdued, however, and one must wonder if rumours of his transfer are in fact greatly exaggerated.
Either way, Morton's life will go on, and judging by today's sometimes scrappy, sometimes skilful, and overall effective performance, the demons of last season's collapse might well be on their way to a full exorcism.
The chemistry and omens were right. At 2:30pm, the Cowshed was filling up nicely, and the assembled faithful surveyed a pitch that, despite two days of rain, seemed to be in great condition, if a little bit short in places. The wind rolled in from the south west, skelping the St. Mirren fans, who were smaller in number than might have been anticipated. Of course, the weather, and the prospect of a scrappy game on a wet surface whilst getting thoroughly soaked, no doubt kept a few under the cover of their Feegie cardboard boxes.
Those who did make the short trek up the M8 may have wished they stayed at home, as Morton flew forward from the off. Several forays into the St. Mirren half had the visitors on the back foot, but it wasn't until the quarter hour mark that Morton had an actual shot on target. Paul Walker was set free on the right edge of the area and unleashed a low shot, which Hinchcliffe easily dealt with.
As the first half wore on, both keepers showed signs of nerves and indecision. Coyle's distribution was sometimes poor, although he was not aided by a few overenthusiastic backpasses. At the other end, Hinchcliffe (along with his Morton counterpart) opted to punch the ball more often than not, no doubt concerned about the slippery consequences of a false grasp on a ball sailing goalward. A few of these pugilistic clearances resulted in panic and corner kicks, but Morton's set piece "prowess" was as hit-and-miss as ever, and they could not break the deadlock from the corner flag.
Morton's pressure did eventually pay off, after a few more breaks forward including a golden chance for Walker which he could only propel skyward. Eventually, the ball broke down the right wing, where enough time was given not only for a low cross to be played across the face of goal, but for two Morton players to skip towards it unmarked. Peter Weatherson couldn't reach it, but Scott Bannerman, approaching at the far post, was only too happy to side foot the ball past a helpless Hinchcliffe, sending the Morton fans into rapture.
Their delight was not to last long. Less than a minute had passed when the monolithic Finn, Mixu Paatelainen, side footed a half volley past Coyle following a swift build-up. A major lapse in both concentration and communication caused this goal, and it will certainly give boss John McCormack food for thought as he prepares for next week's trip to Forfar.
At this point, a few uncouth mechanics invaded the pitch from the Wee Dublin End, and so began the vocal hostilities. A St. Mirren fan blessed with a shock of red hair was on the receiving end of several hundred Morton fans' mirth and song; his furious gestures and yells in responce elicited more hilarity from the Morton fans, and prompted his companions to discreetly shuffle backwards away from the poor gent. Later, the victim retreated to the safety of a more crowded area in the middle of the WDE, but, as some Morton fans were only too keen to point out, he was still a visible beacon. His place directly across from the Cowshed was soon taken by a young boy, whose uncanny resemblance to both Harry Potter and the Milky Bar Kid did not go unnoticed, and indeed uncommented upon.
Back on the pitch, the action was just as furious. Mixu Paatelainen's goal was judged to be fractionally offside due to Andy Millen's position, when the Finn slotted a similar goal to his first past Coyle. The St. Mirren fans certainly found this debatable, although those of us who were aligned with the incident were more than willing to give the linesman (both of whom were poor overall) the benefit of the doubt on this occasion. However, ambiguity in the offside rulings only serve to confuse and anger fans who surely have a right to know which "version" of the rule is to be employed in any given game. As blackandwhitearmy.com correctly points out, if the new, FIFA-favoured "Active Offside" rule wasn't used in this game, questions need to be asked as to why not.
Aside from refereeing drama, the half wound down after this incident, and both teams went in at half time with honours even.
The 2nd half began with as frenetic a pace as the first. St. Mirren's number 5 McGinty received a booking for a poor challenge, and was soon followed by another booking for the Saints' number 11. Both teams continued to attack strongly, but St. Mirren had a spanner thrown in the works when that angry ned McGinty again opted to act the goat, lashing out with his foot at Marc McCulloch. The referee had no hesitation in producing a second yellow card, sending McGinty to storm off, like a circus ape who lost an arm-wrestle, to the showers to drown his sorrows in a sea of towels. Aside from the elation and excitement at seeing a Skunk sent off and their team possess a numerical advantage, Morton fans were perhaps cautious in their delight, as all free kicks from the booking incidents came to nothing, further highlighting their impotence from set pieces.
St. Mirren seemed to grit their teeth and attack further following the loss of McGinty, and not two minutes later, Craig Coyle was called into action, having to save low from a powerful shot. Two minutes later, following a swift attack after Morton's 7,435th offside of the day, he was forced to sprint off his line and intercept an attack, once again diving to save low.
Despite numerous chances for both teams, no breakthrough could be found. A couple of punches off the line from Coyle, and some ineffectual finishing from both sides, and extra time seemed to be inevitable. Warren Hawke and Chris Millar were linking up well, both having come on midway through the first half, but Hawke's best chance, a header from 8 yards, was easily collected by the 'keeper. Laurie Ellis replaced the disappointing Simon Lappin as St. Mirren sought more stability and faster attacks, but they suffered from the same lack of scoring acumen as Morton.
Extra time looked inevitable, and it was up to the managers to do what they could to motivate their tired troops and make changes where necessary. Alex Williams, who showed hunger and bite despite tales of an impending move away from Cappielow, helped win a corner as soon as the extra time kicked off, coming on as a sub.
It was not this most predatory of strikers who scored Morton's winner, however. John Maisano was freed through the centre of the St. Mirren defence following a mix-up in the 3-man centre back line, Chris Millar slotting a clever pass through to the Australian. Maisano controlled it well, before launching a looping drive over the advancing Hinchcliffe, who could only paw at it with insufficient force to stop it sailing into the top of the goal. It was 2-1 Morton, and St. Mirren already looked defeated.
Morton could have stretched their lead, with Bannerman hitting the outside of the post from 15 yards, and Williams hitting a poor shot from close range. Chris Millar's spectacular effort (which might actually have been a mis-hit cross) confounded everyone - including gravity - to descend from a 60 foot height down towards Hinchcliffe's goal. As he moved backwards, he couldn't reach it, and his blushes were only spared by the inside of the far post.
Morton's lapses in concentration and exercises in complacency were well-documented last season, and were certainly in evidence today. Perhaps feeling a one man and one goal advantage was sufficient, they contrived to let substitute and former Morton man Eddie Annand waltz past the defence to be one on one with Coyle. Morton fans prayed that Coyle's trademark shot-stopping abilities would strike true, but in the end it was irrelevant, as the journeyman striker sent the ball into orbit from the edge of the area. St. Mirren's best chance of the game was thus wasted in spectacular fashion.
Half time in extra time couldn't come soon enough for Morton following this scare, and they used the opportunity to re-align their defence, as the visitor responded by bringing Dempsey on for Russell. More offside decisions and counterattacks ensued in the period following the restart, with even Morton's lightweight midfield now looking capable of cutting out the odd attack when the linesman's flag didn't do that for them. John Maisano looked to be back to his old self, producing some very fancy footwork before setting an offside Alex Williams free to earn Morton's 10,000th offside decision of the afternoon.
As Morton attacked from the left, and the full time whistle beckoned, St. Mirren were determined not to let the game end in a win for the 'Ton. Shades of Morton's humiliating 3-2 defeat in the League Cup of 2002/03 were evident as a St. Mirren forward was allowed to mince through the outside of the area past several defenders, but unlike Mark Yardley, he could not fire a teriffic goal past Craig Coyle, instead sending a weak shot puffing its way past the left post.
St. Mirren's steel and grit manifested itself in some niggling fouls, and John Maisano hit his best free kick of the afternoon on the 119th minute, narrowly heading over the bar. St. Mirren's counter had hearts in mouths all around the stadium, as a "pass" from the edge of the area somehow evaded seven players to roll towards the net, but thankfully Coyle had enough concentration and reaction skills to dive low to stop a freak goal from occurring.
McCulloch and McCluskey were able to weather St. Mirren's storm with a number of calm headers towards the goal line or out towards midfield, and St. Mirren were sure the battle was lost. Sure enough, after 2 minutes of stoppage time, full time was called, and the St. Mirren fans trooped out of the WDE as the Cowshed erupted.
It's alleged by some that Morton, being the "wee team" of the district, have an inferiority complex about this fixture. St. Mirren treated it as a friendly, they'll say, they didn't waste their time on a "diddy cup." But with an almost full-strength team put out, St. Mirren certainly didn't dispense with firepower. An unorthodox 3-5-2 formation and a sending off no doubt aided Morton's chances, but so too did a return to form for the previously disappointing Maisano brothers and Peter Weatherson. Marco Maisano in particular, in sharp contrast to last season, rarely looked out of his depth, and perhaps in one season's time he might finally mature into the kind of defensive midfielder we require. Until then, all the 'Ton faithful can do is support the team and hope for the best. Team spirit seemed high, with the body language of the victors a million miles away from that that signalled a sorry end to the league campaign at Airdrie. Players that were standing apart from each other, sullen and dejected, now held shoulders for a team photo, and joined in a Marco Maisano-led chorus of "If You Hate St. Mirren, Just Bounce." Alex Williams looked subdued, however, and one must wonder if rumours of his transfer are in fact greatly exaggerated.
Either way, Morton's life will go on, and judging by today's sometimes scrappy, sometimes skilful, and overall effective performance, the demons of last season's collapse might well be on their way to a full exorcism.