Match Preview: Brechin City
MORTON versus Brechin City
Saturday 2 December 2017
Cappielow Park, Greenock
Kick-off 3pm
Match Preview
Morton welcome Ladbrokes Championship basement club Brechin City to Greenock tomorrow as Jim Duffy’s side return to Cappielow for their first home fixture in close to a month.
Since losing 2-1 to Queen of the South on Sinclair Street, the Ton faced a two-week hiatus before two taxing away fixtures in quick succession due to a rescheduled game against Dunfermline Athletic.
Despite those difficulties, they enjoyed a fine four days having coming from behind to pick up a point against the Pars before recording a conclusive 3-0 victory at Falkirk whilst minus the services of Luca Gasparotto.
Further boosts have come in the form of the Under-20s. Darren Barr’s side registered a memorable 3-1 Scottish Youth Cup win over rivals St Mirren, with first-team fringe player Ben Armour bagging a brace.
Michael Tidser and Jai Quitongo then made very welcome returns after several weeks on the sidelines in Wednesday evening’s 2-1 win at Queen’s Park – a match in which Quitongo netted.
And so the squad will be aiming to maintain that positive momentum when they host a struggling Brechin side on Sinclair Street tomorrow afternoon.
Although there have been encouraging signs of progress for the Glebe Park outfit, most notablly a 1-1 draw with Dundee United, they suffered a heavy defeat to Inverness Caledonian Thistle in midweek.
But it would be extremely foolish to be lulled into expecting an easy ride tomorrow. One only has to look to the last meeting when it took a late Andy Murdoch strike to secure all three points up in Angus to appreciate that.
Manager’s Thoughts
Team News
Lee Kilday and Connor McManus remain sidelined, while goalkeeper Jamie McGowan has been added to the injury list after suffering a dislocated shoulder in Tuesday’s Development League fixture, albeit he currently on loan at Troon.
However, Jai Quitongo and Michael Tidser both got significant game time in that 2-1 win against Queen’s Park Under-20s and should be added to the matchday squad.
In another boost, Luca Gasparotto is available for selection again after being forced to sit out against parent club Falkirk last weekend due to an agreement as part of his emergency loan.
Current Connections
Frontman Robert Thomson was on Brechin’s books between 2014 and 2016 and featured in all four meetings against the Ton in season 2014/15, scoring twice.
Brechin have three former Ton players in their squad. Centre-half Sean Crighton, a local lad who still works as a youth coach with our academy, was a regular in our League One title-winning team in 2014/15.
Left-back Willie Dyer (2012/13) and striker Andy Jackson (2011/12) both had solitary seasons on Sinclair Street during Allan Moore’s tenure as manager.
Recent Meetings
Sat 13 Dec 2014: Morton 2-2 Brechin City (League One)
Sat 14 Feb 2015: Morton 1-1 Brechin City (League One)
Sat 4 Apr 2015: Morton 0-2 Brechin City (League One)
Sat 14 Oct 2017: Brechin City 0-1 Morton (Ladbrokes Championship)
Last Time Out
Jim Duffy’s side controlled the game and eventually got the goal their supremacy deserved when Murdoch found the net with an angled drive as the Ton finished the first quarter of the Championship campaign with a win.
This welcome and hard-earned 1-0 victory ended a run of two consecutive defeats, suffered away to Dundee United and at home to Falkirk.
Officials
Referee: Alan Newlands
Assistant one: David Roome
Assistant two: Alan MacFadyen
Supporters Notes
Supporters are asked to purchase tickets in advance for all home fixtures where possible in order to avoid excessive queues at the ticket office.
Fans without a season card can purchase briefs from the following outlet:
Sinclair Street ticket office – Matchday, from 11am to 3pm.
The fixture against the Glebe Park outfit can also be pre-loaded to fan cards on Interstadia’s dedicated club website, www.gmfctickets.co.uk.
Admission Prices
Tickets purchased after 1pm on a matchday are priced at:
Adults – £20*
Concessions – £15
Children aged 12-16 – £5
Children under 12^ – Free
*£2 from each adult admission will be invested directly into our youth development programme.
^ Children under 12 who do not have a season card or fan card will be required to collect a match ticket with a scannable barcode from our ticket office on the day of the game and must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
However, fans who purchase tickets in advance – prior to 1pm on matchday – will enjoy a freeze upon last year’s pay-at-the-gate prices and these are:
Adults – £18
Concessions – £15
Children aged 12-16 – £5
Children under 12^ – Free
If you do intend to purchase a ticket at Cappielow after 1pm, please allow for the fact that there may be a queue at the ticket office.
See the following link for important car park information: https://gmfc.net/2017/12/01/car-park-information-for-brechin-city-fixture/
Image: David Bell
