Match Preview | Hearts
HEARTS versus MORTON
Scottish Championship
Saturday 20 February 2021
Tynecastle
Kick-off 3pm
by Brendan McEleny
Scene Setter
For the first time since 1988, Morton make the journey to Tynecastle tomorrow afternoon to take on league leaders Hearts in the Scottish Championship.
The Greenock men were without a game last weekend after the match against Inverness Caledonian Thistle was postponed therefore they will be looking at tomorrow as the perfect way to get their season back on track and provide an upset in the capital.
Anton McElhone today bolstered his team with signing former Hamilton Academical midfielder Justin Johnson and the interim ‘Ton boss will be hopeful that his latest arrival can be a major boost for his side as they head into the business end of the season.
Robbie Neilson’s side have recorded an impressive 12 wins out 16 so far this term but had to rely on a late penalty last week to salvage a 1-1 draw with Queen of the South. Nonetheless the Jambo’s fine form puts them deservingly at the summit of the table and they will be looking at adding three points tomorrow to extend their unbeaten run to five games.
Morton Milestones & Significant Stats
3 – Kalvin Orsi and Cameron Blues are joint top goalscorers for the club this term with 3 goals each
17 – The ‘Ton have scored 17 goals in all competitions so far this season.
60 – Aidan Nesbitt will make his 60th start for the club tomorrow afternoon if selected in the starting XI
Current Connections
Robbie Muirhead penned a move to Hearts in 2016 following a spell at Dundee United. The forward scored 2 goals in 19 appearances during his time at the club before departing for MK Dons in January 2017.
Gary Oliver quickly progressed through the youth ranks at Tynecastle and made his senior debut for the first team in 2013. He spent two years at the club and scored 2 goals in 25 appearances and is currently enjoying his second spell at Cappielow.
Head to Head
Sat 4 Aug 1994: Morton 1-3 Hearts (Friendly)
Sat 27 Jul 1998: Morton 4-3 Hearts (Friendly)
Sat 2 Aug 1999: Morton 0-4 Hearts (Friendly)
Sat 5 Dec 2020: Morton 0-2 Hearts (Scottish Championship)
Last Time Round
Morton suffered a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Hearts at Cappielow yesterday afternoon in the side’s first competitive game against each other in 32 years.
Robbie Neilson’s side continued pressure on the Ton defence throughout the first half paid off on 36 minutes. A deflected shot found Jamie Walker just inside the box who curled an effort that whizzed past McAdams and into the top right corner of the net to give the men in maroon the lead.
The second half begun and within a few minutes the visitors had grabbed a second goal on 48 minutes. A diagonal ball across the pitch from Irving found Walker who progressed into the box before slotting the ball passed McAdams for his second goal of the game.
Officials
Referee: David Dickinson
Assistant 1: Frank Connor
Assistant 2: Craig Ferguson
Streaming Information
Tomorrow’s game will be available to watch live for £18.50.
Supporters can register for PPV by visiting https://ppv.heartsfc.co.uk/events and registering your details in the top right of the screen. Once your details are registered and you are logged in, you can purchase the PPV by clicking on the graphic in the centre of the page and then selecting ‘Purchase Game Pass’.
The PPV site is a unique site and login details for Hearts TV or heartsfcpass.com will not work. Fans that purchase PPV should watch the game at https://ppv.heartsfc.co.uk/ and not on Hearts TV or heartsfcpass.com
Users are encouraged to remember their login details when registering. If there any issues logging in then please contact heartstv@streamdigital.tv ahead of kick off.
Image: David Bell
