Match Report: Morton U-20s 5-1 Clyde U-20s
Morton Under-20s 5 – 1 Clyde Under-20s
Armour (26, 50), Oliver (29, 77), Harkins (52) – Miller (35 pen)
Morton Under-20s moved to the top of Development League West last night with a comprehensive 5-1 win over Clyde at Cappielow.
Doubles from Ben Armour and Gary Oliver and a solitary Gary Harkins strike saw Darren Barr’s side cruise to their second successive league victory.
Hitman Armour also bagged a brace against Ayr United at Somerset Park last Tuesday, and the in-form 19-year-old picked up where he left off by opening the scoring against the Bully Wee after 26 minutes.
Controlling Jack Purdue’s intentionally sliced cross on his chest, Armour allowed the ball to bounce before thrashing a searing angled shot back across goal inside the right-hand post.
With no first-team game this weekend, senior squad members Jack Iredale, Connor McManus, Harkins, and Oliver all started after featuring as substitutes last Saturday.
And Oliver added a second three minutes later with a cute backheel flick to guide Scott Tiffoney’s cut-back towards the target. Despite his best efforts to keep it out, Kyle Bradley could only thrash high into his own net.
Ton were totally on top, but they found their lead halved when Darren Miller placed a firm penalty into the bottom-right corner despite Jamie McGowan guessing correctly after Iredale had fouled Robbie Davidson.
McGowan made key saves at vital times in the match, none more so than when he prevented Pinio Dachnowicz from levelling the scores with a smart two-handed save to come out on top in a one-on-one situation.
It would have been incredibly harsh on the hosts to have found themselves pegged back, and they would go on and put the game to bed in clinical fashion by scoring twice within seven minutes of the restart.
Armour scored his second of the night on 50 minutes, planting a firm header past Blair Currie down to his left after meeting Tiffoney’s excellent delivery from the right.
Less than 120 seconds had passed when Harkins added a fourth by sweeping a precise first-time shot through a ruck of bodies and into the net from an Oliver pull-back.
Talented forward Oliver has been working to get over an allergic reaction to antibiotics prescribed for tonsillitis and he looked sharp here, wrapping up the scoring 13 minutes from time.
He took Tiffoney’s reverse pass in his stride to launch a counter-attack that saw him drive at the Clyde defence, throw a stepover to make space and rifle a left-footed strike past a hapless Currie and inside the left-hand post.
Morton (442)
1. McGowan
2. Hynes 5. Langan (c) 4. Iredale 3. Hayes
7. Purdue 6. McManus 8. Harkins 11. Tiffoney
9. Armour 10. Oliver
Subs used: 18. Duffy (for Hynes, 24), 15. Lyon (for Harkins, 74), and 16. Miller (for Oliver, 78).
Subs not used: 12. Eardley, 14. Anderson, 17. Durham,
Images: Gary Bradley
