MATCH REPORT: Partick Thistle 2-1 Morton
Partick Thistle 2-1 Greenock Morton
Gordon (59, 66); Baird (61)
By Ewan Boyle
Morton suffered their seventh league defeat in a row on the road on Saturday as they suffered a 2-1 defeat away to Partick Thistle after substitute Shea Gordon’s double.
The defeat in Firhill sees Morton drop down to 9th place in the league, a mere 2 points ahead of bottom placed Partick Thistle.
Partick got the game underway with a quickfire attack on 2 minutes as Kenny Miller passed the ball through the legs of Jack Baird and through to Reece Cole who was waiting in the penalty area but the linesman had his flag up for offside.
The Jags looked like they were a certainty to get the opening goal of the game on 12 minutes when Osman Kakay broke down the wing and executed a shot which Sam Ramsbottom palmed outward to Kenny Miller who had the whole goal to hit but a comical miss from Miller saw the ball fly well over the bar.
A big deflection almost allowed for a Partick Thistle goal when a shot from Reece Cole on 15 minutes deflected just wide of the post and out for a Partick corner.
Thistle just didn’t have any luck in the first half of the game as they missed another big chance on 20 minutes when a corner broke out wide to set up a second cross into the box where Ben Hall leaped up and headered the ball onto the bar and onto the line, to which Morton cleared from danger.
An offside call on 26 minutes restricted the Ton from going ahead when a pass through from Bob McHugh to Cameron Salkeld was waved offside by the linesman just as Salkeld was about to release an effort towards goal.
A reckless challenge from Stuart Bannigan on Cameron Salkeld saw the midfielder see red on 56 minutes and in turn, brought Partick Thistle down to 10 men.
But within 10 seconds of him being subbed on, Shea Gordon put Partick ahead on 58 minutes as a well-hit volley from Gordon sailed into the bottom left corner putting the Jags ahead.
However, Morton reacted quickly with an equaliser immediately after on 60 minutes when a cross in the box from Chris Millar found the leaping Jack Baird who thundered a header into the back of the net giving the Ton an equaliser in Firhill.
It wasn’t long before Partick went ahead again as a cross from the byline to the back post on 65 minutes found the on-running Shea Gordon who was able to knock it home to give him his second of the game after coming on as a substitute.
Scott Fox pulled off a good save on 74 minutes when Bob McHugh had an effort on goal from inside the box but Fox was able to palm away from danger keeping Partick ahead.
Morton continued to hunt for another equaliser against the 10 men of Partick as Bob McHugh played a chipped pass to Reece Lyon who’s effort left the goalkeeper stranded but it just went narrowly by the post.
John Sutton almost made an impact as a substitute on 82 minutes when Lewis Strapp had an effort on goal which Sutton was able to get on the end of but could not direct it towards goal.
But it was nearly a late equaliser for Morton on 89 minutes when Billy King crossed the ball in the box which found Jack Baird who could not header the ball into the net to give the Ton the equaliser they desired.
The defeat sees Morton remain without a win on the road this season and now face two home games against Arbroath and Brora Rangers in the coming weeks.
Morton (442)
1. Ramsbottom
3. Welsh 5. Grant (c) 30. Baird 16. Strapp
7. Millar 8. McAlister (c) 6. Jacobs
17. Lyon
14. Salkeld 11. McHugh
Subs used: 10. Nesbitt (for Salkeld, 71), 32. King (for Millar, 71), 21. Sutton (for Jacobs, 77)
Subs not used: 4. McLean, 18. Blues, 20. Rogers, 28. Livingstone
Partick (352): Fox, Hall, O’Ware, McGinty, Kakay, Cole (Slater, 72), Bannigan, Palmer, Penrice, Zanatta (Gordon, 58), Miller (Mansell, 82)
Subs not used: Sneddon, Cardle, Harkins, Saunders
Booked: Hall (35)
Red Card: Bannigan (53)
Referee: Bobby Madden
Attendance: 2,751 (466 away fans)
⭐️ Star Man: Jack Baird
image: Gary Bradley
