MATCH REPORT: Morton 1-0 Arbroath

Morton 1 – 0 Arbroath

Lyon (3)

 

By Ewan Boyle

 

Morton continued their impressive home record on Saturday as they defeated Arbroath 1-0 at Cappielow thanks to an early Reece Lyon goal on 3 minutes.

Reece Lyon got the game off the a fantastic start when Jim McAlister sent a lovely flicked header through to the young Ton midfielder who’s effort trickled off the post but Lyon was able to get in quickly to knock it home on 3 minutes.

The Ton continued to attack early on when Reece Lyon stepped up to take a free kick, which is one of a few times in his Morton career that he has been given such an opportunity, however the ball hit the side netting after an impressive attempt on 6 minutes.

An early substitution for Brian McLean saw the centre half being subbed for Chris Millar on 15 minutes after McLean went down with a knock.

The game saw no real notable moments until around 34 minutes on the clock when Bob McHugh slipped through Cameron Salkeld with a one-on-one however Derek Gaston was able to get there before Salkeld could release an effort towards goal.

In quick succession, the Ton had another effort to get their second of the day on 38 minutes when Bob McHugh bombed down the wing and sent a pass across goal which allowed Chris Millar to attempt a backheel however it was missed and cleared from danger.

Arbroath had their first real chance of the game on 44 minutes when a pass from the right side of the box found Mark Whately who’s effort was saved comfortably by Danny Rogers.

A Bobby Linn free kick went very close to gifting Arbroath an equaliser on 55 minutes as Linn’s effort into the box could not find a teammate and narrowly missed the post to give Morton a goal kick.

Chris Millar expertly found Reece Lyon in the box from a free kick on 57 minutes however a great slide tackle from the opposition defender meant that Lyon could not send through Cameron Salkeld.

Ton defender Peter Grant did very well to deny Steven Doris of what looked a certain goal on 67 minutes as Grant was able to get in front of Doris before the ball could reach him for the tap-in.

A fairly quiet second half saw very little chances until a bizarre moment on 82 minutes when Ricky Little performed a John Terry-esque block with his head to deny Jim McAlister however there was claims of a penalty after McAlister went down following this but the referee waved the protests away.

The Ton held out and the final whistle was blown which saw Morton get a great three points at Cappielow and puts them eighth in the Ladbrokes Championship table.

 

Morton (532)

20. Rogers
3. Welsh 4. McLean 5. Grant 30. Baird 16. Strapp
17. Lyon 8. McAlister (c) 6. Jacobs
14. Salkeld 11. McHugh

Subs used: 7. Chris Millar (for McLean, 15), 32. Billy King (for Salkeld, 67), 21. John Sutton (for McHugh, 79)

Subs not used: 10. Nesbitt, 18. Blues, 28. Livingstone, 1. Ramsbottom

Booked: N/A

Arbroath (451): Gaston, Stirling, Little, O’Brien (c), Hamilton, Stewart (Doris, 64), Murphy, Whately, Gold, Linn (Kader, 74), Donnelly (McKenna, 74),

Subs not used: Spence, Jamieson, Swankie, Campbell

Booked: Murphy (41), Hamilton (71), Sirling (86), Doris (89)

Referee: Alan Newlands

Attendance: 1,185

⭐️ Star Man: Stephen Welsh

image: Gary Bradley