Scottish Cup Round 2
Saturday 27th December 03

Morton (Weatherson 15, Williams 45, 59, Millar 55),
Att: 3,231

IF you believe in omens then Morton could well be lifting the Scottish cup this season after mirroring the result which sent them on the trail to glory back in 1922.

Vale of Leithen were beaten by four goals to nothing back then, also at the first hurdle. From there Morton made their way to the final, where they defeated Rangers with a single Jimmy Gourly goal.

But the chances of a repeat final looked doubtful when one fellow scribbler in the press box quipped: "Morton will never meet Rangers in the final — they'll have knocked them out before then."

Undoubtedly optimism in its highest form and a compliment to this winning machine masquerading the Cappielow turf, but Ton will have to dispatch a revitalised Partick Thistle side in the next round before any chance of realising that ambition.

The slick passing and scoring capabilities of Morton, which has received praise from all sectors of the footballing fraternity, was on display against the non-league minnows on Saturday afternoon.

In fact Leithen were often so in awe of Greenock's champagne football, that they found themselves mere spectators for most of the game, offering very little in the way of a threat.

At times the Cappielow outfit were a little too clever, appearing to want to walk the ball into the net, rather than keep their play direct. Indeed they would have easily notched a 7-0 victory or higher, had they been more ruthless.

Man of the match Paul Walker was a joy to watch as he dribbled and gyrated through the Leithen defence with felinesque grace. It was his and Chris Millar's deliveries into the box which caused a major nuisance for vale throughout.

Ton boss John McCormack said after the game: "It's always going to be difficult when you're favourites to win but we stuck to the task and the boys did well. We could have been a bit more direct in the first half but it's difficult to criticise a team that has just won four nil."

Vale of Leithen co-manager Stuart Robertson was also pleased with his side's performance. He said: "We have to be realistic. Morton are on fire and to restrict the result to four nothing is an achievement in itself. I feel we've done ourselves and our league proud today."

The East of Scotland League side were certainly restrictive. They should have brought their tents for the second-half as they spent the majority of it camped deep in their own territory.

Not surprising when right from the first whistle Morton went for the jugular. Alex Williams, Peter Weatherson and Walker all going close within the first 10 minutes. In 12 minutes a flighted Walker cross was met by a diving Weatherson but the ball was wide of the mark.

The deadlock was broken on the quarter-hour mark when a Millar cross forced a corner on the right. Australian midfielder John Maisano flighted the deadball into the box, where Weatherson rose superbly from six-yards to bullet the ball home with his head. Williams almost doubled the Greenock side's lead when he rose unchallenged minutes later but Vale's Scott Weir hacked the ball to safety.

Leithen's only shot of the half came in 34 minutes but Darren Lockhart's 25-yard effort went well over. Then in 39 minutes Gary Hastie rose with Stuart Greacen as the ball descended. Greacen then landed in a crumbled heap and was stretchered off with a swollen knee, to be replaced by Scott Bannerman.

Morton continued to pile pressure on the Vale defence and in 45 minutes John Maisano curled a shot from the left edge of the box which cannoned back off the crossbar. But it was deep into first-half stoppage time Ton stretched their lead when John Maisano hit a low drive from 15-yards straight at Vale 'keeper Scott Lumsden. The No.1 fumbled the ball and the predatory Williams was on hand to prod home from eight-yards.

Vale became a lot more defensive as the second half began but this did little to stop the Greenock onslaught. Walker restricted his mazy runs into the box to a minimum and the crosses where hastily scrambled away by a panicky away-defence.

It was only a matter of time before the third goal duly arrived in 55 minutes. The ball was floated into the box from the left and found Millar on the edge of the box on the right. Within a second the winger had shaped and sent an angled drive crashing into the net courtesy of the underside of the crossbar.

Four minutes later Williams grabbed his second of the game. Bannerman powered down the right and sent a low cross into the box before he reached the by-line. The ball was too fast for the Vale defence but not for the alert Williams who slid in to turn the ball past a helpless Lumsden.

It was here that Leithen began to put 11 men behind the ball in a bid to thwart an imminent double figure scoreline as Morton continued to probe and pluck to no avail. It mattered little as the clock ran out as it was the Cappielow side tasting victory. They will now be readying the salt and pepper as they hope to taste it again at the expense of SPL outfit Partick Thistle in two-weeks time.

Teams: Morton: Coyle, Collins, Bottiglieri, MacGregor, Grecean (Bannerman 43), M Maisano (Hawke 75), Millar, J Maisano, Williams, Weatherson (Adam 75), Walker. Subs not used: McAllister, McGurn.

Vale of Leithen: Lumsden, Weir, C. Lothian, G. Lothian, Pilon, Hume, Kayser (Baxter 75), Lockhart (Shanks 86), Hastie (Edge 62), Morrell, Paliczka. Subs not used: Clark, McKenzie.

Att: 3,231

Ref: B. Cassidy.

This story appeared in the Greenock Telegraph on Mon, 29 Dec, 2003