Match Preview | Ayr United
MORTON versus AYR UNITED
Scottish Championship
Saturday 31 October 2020
Cappielow Park
Kick-off 3pm
by Brendan McEleny
Scene Setter
Morton return to the hallowed turf of Cappielow tomorrow as they take on Ayr United in the Scottish Championship. The sides are no strangers to each other with many a thriller happening in recent years.
Following on from last week’s 1-0 defeat away to Dundee, manager David Hopkin will view tomorrow’s match as an opportunity to get back to winning ways at the first time of asking by claiming a positive result.
The Sinclair Street team has conceded only three goals in the five competitive fixtures they have played and have plenty cause for optimism ahead of the Cappielow clash.
Mark Kerr’s Ayr United are unbeaten so far in the league and will be hoping to provide a scare tomorrow as well as a good performance.
The Honest Men lie fourth in the table, one place ahead of the ‘Ton and the Greenock side will be out to collect the three points that would see them leapfrog their opponents in the league.
Team News
Josh McPake looks set to return to the squad for tomorrow’s game against The Honest Men. The 19-year-old served his one-game suspension against Dundee last week following his second yellow card sending off against Alloa Athletic on 17 October.
Current Connections
Midfielder Andy Murdoch signed for Ayr United following a successful spell at Cappielow. The 25-year-old, recently returned from a major injury, scored 4 goals in 75 appearances for the ‘Ton over the course of two seasons.
Manager Mark Kerr recruited Jack Baird on a permanent deal for the Honest Men this summer. The defender spent last season on loan with Morton from rivals St Mirren and scored 3 goals in 26 appearances.
At the same time, former Morton player Michael Miller also joined the Ayrshire side following spells with Livingston, Brechin City and Raith Rovers. The 25-year-old made 60 appearances during his time in Greenock with his only goal being scored on the final day of the 2014/15 season against Peterhead at Cappielow when the ‘Ton lifted the League One trophy.
Head to Head
Tue 2 Apr 2019: Ayr United 1-1 Morton (Ladbrokes Championship)
Sat 3 Aug 2019: Ayr United 4-2 Morton (Ladbrokes Championship)
Sat 27 Oct 2019: Morton 2-3 Ayr United (Ladbrokes Championship
Tue 25 Feb 2020: Ayr United 1-2 Morton (Ladbrokes Championship)
Last Time Round
Morton made a huge statement of intent in the league with a 2-1 victory over Ayr back in February this year as goals from Kalvin Orsi and Nicky Cadden gave the ‘Ton a massive three points.
The Sinclair Street side were rewarded for their impressive second half performance as a divine lobbed pass from Lewis Strapp on 74 minutes found Nicky Cadden who was able to nip the ball under Ross Doohan’s legs from a very tight angle for the winner.
Officials
Referee: Greg Aitken
Assistant 1: Alastair Mather
Assistant 2: Jonathan Bell
‘TonTV Streaming Information
Tomorrow’s game will be available to watch live for £14 on ‘TonTV.
Supporters are asked to purchase in advance where possible to avoid any excessive online traffic before the coverage starts at 2.45pm.
Season ticket holders can view the game using the access codes that have been provided to them via e-mail or post.
Once logged onto the shop website, add the match to your basket and use your pass code in the section that says “apply coupon”.
We ask that if you have not received an access code that you get in touch by e-mailing admin@gmfc.net or call the club office on 01475 723571.
All home fixtures will be available via our new dedicated ‘TonTV website, tv.gmfc.net.
In accordance with SFA guidelines and under advisement from Scottish Police, we respectfully ask that no supporter attempts to access a view of games from the car park adjacent to the stadium. To do so would put the Club in a hazardous position and may prompt action detrimental to the interests of your club.
Image: David Bell
