Match Preview | Queen of the South
MORTON versus QUEEN OF THE SOUTH
Scottish Championship
Saturday 19 December 2020
Cappielow Park
Kick-off 3pm
by Brendan McEleny
Scene Setter
Morton return to Cappielow tomorrow afternoon as they host Queen of the South in the Scottish Championship.
A rollercoaster week for the Ton saw them come away with an incredible 2-1 win against Dunfermline Athletic last Saturday at East End Park and interim boss Anton McElhone will be hoping his side can continue their momentum and gain all three points tomorrow.
For our visitors, they come into tomorrow’s encounter on the back of a heavy 6-1 defeat against Hearts last week. With manager Allan Johnston trying desperately to get the Doonhamers out of the relegation play-off spot, coming away with a positive result tomorrow might just be the spark needed to kick start their season.
Team News
Morton will miss the influential Kyle Jacobs against the Doonhamers after the midfielder was forced to come off injured at half time last week against Dunfermline.
Michael Ledger returns to the squad tomorrow after the defender missed the last two games with a groin problem.
Morton Milestones & Significant Stats
356 – Club captain Jim McAlister has now overtaken Roy Baines in the all-time Morton appearance table after making his 356th appearance for the club against Dunfermline Athletic
Current Connections
Queen of the South defender Gregor Buchanan spent one season with Morton in 2018. The 30-year-old scored 2 goals in 41 appearances before opting for a move to Falkirk in June last year.
Michael Ledger had a brief spell with Queen of the South last season, signing in February and making just 5 appearances before making a move to Morton at the beginning of this season.
Forward Gary Oliver joined Queen of the South initially in June 2015 scoring 8 goals in 29 appearances before departing for Morton in 2016. The 25-year-old spent three seasons at Cappielow until he returned to Dumfries for a second spell last season scoring 5 goal in 25 appearances. Oliver was welcomed back to Morton during the Summer and has scored 1 goal in 7 appearances so far this term.
Head to Head
Sat 14 Sep 2019: Queen of the South 1-0 Morton (Ladbrokes Championship)
Sat 8 Feb 2020: Morton 2-2 Queen of the South (Ladbrokes Championship)
Sat 29 Feb 2020: Queen of the South 0-4 Morton (Ladbrokes Championship)
Tue 6 Oct 2020: Morton 2-2 Queen of the South (Betfred Cup)
Last Time Round
Morton started their 2020/21 Betfred Cup Campaign with a penalty shoot-out defeat at home to Queen of the South at Cappielow Park in October.
The deadlock was broken on 18 minutes when a Lewis Strapp through-ball found its way back outside the box to Rabin Omar who fizzed in a driven cross that was deftly glanced home by Sean McGinty.
Queens started the second half with far more verve to their game and tested goalkeeper Aidan McAdams with two crosses into the box. The second of those crosses was deflected for a corner which was stabbed home from close range by Stephen Dobbie following a flick on from Ayo Obiley.
The ‘Ton’s pressure was rewarded on 68 minutes and the lead was regained following a shot across goal by Josh McPake being converted at the back post by Aidan Nesbitt.
The home side’s lead, however, would last only last eleven minutes as Conor Shields lashed home a finish from inside the box to restore parity. A cagey last ten minutes followed before the referee blew his whistle to send both teams into penalty-kicks and when Gregor Buchanan netted to make it 4-2, the contest was over.
Officials
Referee: Colin Steven
Assistant 1: Michael Banks
Assistant 2: Elliott Husband Powton
‘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”.
Tune In To The Ton Package
For the upcoming games against Queen of the South on December 19th and Inverness Caledonian Thistle on Boxing Day, we will be offering a special two-game package for £25.
This represents a 10% saving on the normal price of £28 (£14 per game).
All purchasers will also be put into a Prize Draw along with Season-Ticket holders and could win a ball, signed by the First-Team squad.
This package is available as a ‘multi-buy discount’ and can only be purchased at the checkout stage with both games in the basket.
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 the club.
Image: David Bell
