Match Report | Inverness C.T. 0-1 Morton

Inverness C.T. 0-1 Morton
Nesbitt (56)

Morton moved up to sixth in the Scottish Championship last night by recording their second ever competitive victory away to Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

A second half goal from Aidan Nesbitt earned Anton McElhone’s side a massive three points in the Highlands as well as moving them above Inverness, Arbroath and Ayr United in the league table.

Greenock gaffer McElhone made three changes to the side that lost to Ayr on Saturday with Kazaiah Sterling, Reece Lyon and Markus Fjørtoft coming in for Cameron Salkeld, Cameron Blues and Lewis Strapp.

The ‘Ton were clearly out to make amends for their defeat against the Honest Men and had a massive chance to opening the scoring on 22 minutes. Craig McGuffie nutmegged Wallace Duffy on the left before advancing to the edge of the box to swing a cross in for Kazaiah Sterling but the forward’s header drifted in the wind wide of the post.

Sterling, on his first start for the club, was using the testing conditions to his advantage as he outmatched the Caley Thistle back bone of Brad McKay and Danny Devine in particular drawing them in and holding the ball up well.

A win for either side would go a long way in getting them out of the lower end of the table and the hosts had their first chance of the game on 34 minutes when Roddy MacGregor fired a low drive from just inside the box that Aidan McAdams reacted to with a solid save before the ball was cleared out of danger.

Both teams would go in goalless at the interval giving for a massive second half that could potentially be season defining.

The Greenock men continued to get forward from the restart and their hard work was eventually rewarded on 56 minutes as they opened scoring. After some positive build up play the ball was played through to Aidan Nesbitt on the right hand side of the penalty area who, after taking a few touches, slotted it into the bottom left corner passed Mark Ridgers to make it 1-0.

A much needed goal for Morton as Anton McElhone encouraged his players to keep hold of their lead, which they did so in dealing with any threat fired into the box and ensuring Neil McCann’s side had no clear chance at goal.

Spurs loanee Sterling continued to hassle the Inverness back line and by the end of the game three out of the four were brandished a yellow card for being unable to handle his trickery and quickness.

Much like many occasions this season McAdams was called into action to pull of a remarkable in stoppage time. A shot from outside of the box was blasted down the middle of the goal and the ‘Ton guardian in between the posts was forced to tip the ball onto the bar which bounced back out to Nikolay Todorov but the Bulgarian’s rebound into the net was thankfully flagged for offside.

As the full time whistle was blown you could see what the result meant for the entire squad as they all grouped together to show their elation and relief at securing a vital win on the road.

Morton (4-2-3-1)
McAdams
Ledger Fjortoft McLean McGinty
Lyon Jacobs
Nesbitt Colville McGuffie
Sterling

Subs used: 18. Cameron Blues (for Reece Lyon, 84), 21. Rabin Omar (for Luca Colville, 89), 14. Cameron Salkeld (for Aidan Nesbitt, 89)

Unused Subs: Millar, Oliver, Hynes, Johnson

Booked: Colville (27)

Inverness: Sinisalo, Houston (Miller, 69), Baird, Muirhead, Reading, Murdoch, Ndaba, Walsh (Chalmers, 90), Smith, McCowan, McKenzie (Moffat, 73)

Unused Subs: McHattie, Welsh, Mackay, Nicolson, Fyffe

Booked: McKay (38), Todorov (45+1), Devine (61), Allardice (81), Deas (83)

Referee: Gavin Ross

⭐️ Star Man: Kazaiah Sterling

Image: Peter Paul