Rowan Alexander joins the Hall of Fame Class of 2024
We are delighted to welcome Rowan Alexander as the fifth and final member of the Greenock Morton Hall of Fame Class of 2024!
Rowan Alexander bio by Niall McGilp
“Super-Ro” joined Morton in August 1986, aged 25, having been released by Brentford; he had previously played for St Mirren and Queen of the South, and arrived at Cappielow as a proven marksman, with over 90 career goals to his name. Alexander was one of Allan McGraw’s outstanding signings, a model professional, dedicated, and enthusiastic; he travelled to Greenock from the Dumfries area for training, a 200-mile round trip.
Rowan was a regular throughout his 9 seasons with Morton, making 358 appearances, an average touching 40 games per season; his goal haul of 122, is the joint fourth highest for any Morton player, alongside Jimmy Gourlay and Peter Weatherson. Only Allan McGraw, George French and Andy Ritchie have scored more.
Rowan scored on his debut, days after signing for the Club. It was the season opener against Clyde, and he came off the bench after 30 minutes, replacing the injured George Anderson. He scored in 54 minutes, following a corner, peeling away from his marker to execute a perfect bicycle kick into the net, then celebrating with his trademark forward roll. He had a fantastic debut season, his 26 goals making him the top scorer in the First Division and securing promotion to the Premier Division.
Rowan didn’t quite reach these scoring heights again, but he was the Club’s top scorer in 5 of his 9 seasons, averaging 12 goals a season for the remainder of his Morton career. Although only 5ft 7 inches tall, his strength and ability to hang in the air were amazing, but his aerial threat was just part of his game. He led the line well and formed productive partnerships with fellow strikers Dave MacCabe (23 goals in 1990/91), Alex Mathie (42 goals over the following two seasons) and Derek Lilley, whose 20 goals in the 1994/95 season helped clinch promotion back to the First Division, giving Alexander a second title medal to bookend his Morton career.
It’s a career featuring some great moments. His fantastic strike in the first televised highlights from St Johnstone’s new McDiarmid Park in 1989 featured on Sportscene’s opening titles. A year earlier, he had scored with a classic header as Morton beat Rangers at Cappielow for the first time since 1916. And in Morton’s only B & Q Cup Final appearance, Alexander scored twice in a frustrating 3-2 defeat against Hamilton in 1992.
Following a Testimonial match, he returned to Queen of the South, as Co-manager, in January 1996; from 2000, he managed Gretna, appearing as a substitute, aged 41, against Morton, in the Raydale Park club’s League debut in August 2002. He was to enjoy success there with three promotions and a Scottish Cup Final appearance in 2006, although that episode was ultimately to end very badly with Alexander being replaced and the club going into liquidation.
Rowan has previously acknowledged that his time at Morton was “the best 10 years of his football career”. He got off to a great start, and the fans took to him straight away. They appreciated his commitment, effort, and the many golden moments he provided – he is a worthy addition to the Morton Hall of Fame.
