Morton v Inverness CT Preview
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Despite the depressing league form, fans of the Ton will have been cheered by their exploits in the cup competitions. In four ties in both the Challenge and the CIS cups so far Morton have won all four and scored fifteen goals in the process. The stand-out of this bunch was a stunning 4-3 win over Hibernian at Easter Road, where the match oscillated like HBOS share prices before a dramatic extra-time winner from Ryan Harding (who once turned out for Caley as a trialist) sealed a famous win. This win, in front of a fervant travelling support, won Morton plaudits in the media and pushed Mixu Paatelinan close to the door at Easter Road.
MORTON v INVERNESS C.T.
Cappielow Park, Greenock
Tueday 23rd September, 7:45pm
PAST MEETINGS
Caley Thistle and Morton have only played each other eight times, all occuring back in our first couple of seasons in the First Division. Of these meetings ICT have won five, Morton two and there has been one draw. No game between the two sides has ever had fewer than two goals, hopefully suggesting that fans tomorrow night will be treated to a decent match. Indeed, several of the matches have been veritable goal fests - our biggest win being a 6-2 in January 2000, Morton bagging a 5-1 win two months earlier. The only Caley Thistle players who will have played against Morton in a competitive match are Barry Wilson and Ross Tokely, with Rosscoe bagging a couple of goals in his turn-outs. Our relatively strong record against the Greenock club is perhaps understandable as during this period Morton were Scottish football's perennial crisis club, suffering years of conflict between the fans and hated ex Chairman Hugh Scott. In a display of Prince Phillip style diplomacy Scott once promised to shut down the club like the town's shipyards. Since 2002 the club have been on a more secure financial footing with current owner, millionaire sweetie rustler Douglas Rae. For several years Rae invested heavilyin the team allowing them to build up a formidable squad who somehow managed to blow promotion from Division Two on several occasions. One memorable slip up occured while we were distracted winning Division One when Morton blew a double figure points lead to actually finish fourth, amid dark rumours of betting scandals which provoked many belly laughs from Renfrewshire rivals St Mirren.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
There are no players remaining at Morton from the previous meetings of the sides, no surprise given the length of time that has elapsed. Aside from Ryan Harding, who turned out for us as a trialist in 2003 before opting to sign for Livingston, there are no ex-Caley Thistle players in the Morton squad. Iain Russell was signed from Brechin, where he won Second Division player of the season in 2006/07, and has already bagged four goals in two games in the CIS cup this season. In Steve Masterton Morton have an accomplished free-kick taker, as Dougie Imrie was reminding readers of various downmarket tabloids of over the weekend. For Caley Thistle, Russell Duncan and David Proctor come back into contention after spells out injured. It's a safe assumption that both will be involved and it will be interesting to see how Proctor will do if given a chance ahead of Tokely at right-back. Another talking point for the travelling support is the striker situation - so far we have played four different combinations of strikers in seven games. We need to get our front line working and fast. Rory McAllister is often given a starting berth in the league cup and if he is finally to silence doubters about his ability, a couple of goals in Greenock would be a great way to do it.
MY PREDICTION
Morton have proved this season that they are capable of beating anyone in the cups - if they can win at Easter Road they can be confident of beating us at Cappielow. However, their poor league form is indicative of a side that can be beaten and they appear defensively weak. If we are going to make any headway in this game it's vital that our strikers put in good showings - so far this season we have lacked reliable goals with only two open play goals from recognised fowards. Garry Wood has shown promise so far but perhaps is more of a targetman and Rory McAllister, usually given a shot in these games, needs to step up and take promising reserve runouts to the next level. Defensively Grant Munro is a steadying influence and perhaps Munro-Duff is a dream partnership at the back. I think that Brewster might opt for this pairing at Cappielow. Overall, we should have enough to win this game, perhaps shading a tight, stuffy affair 2-1.
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