Scottish 2nd Division
Sat 24th Jan 04
Cappielow Park

(Morton: Williams 9, 23; Hamilton: Lumsden 2, Carrigan 12 pen)

Two of the best footballing sides in this division put on a thoroughly enjoyable game at Cappielow with the end result a justified point apiece.

Despite drawing the Ton actually extended their lead over most of their rivals after surprising results elsewhere saw the fancied teams succumb to teams below them. The fact that Morton earned the point after playing most of the game with ten men made the point seem a valuable addition to their overall tally.

Morton started with one change to their recent line-up with new boy Chris McLeod, signed on loan from Rangers until the end of the season, slotting in at the back alongside David Mcgregor. The big defender took a bit of time to get used to the second division style of play but once settled looks to be a good prospect.

Hamilton were in front within two minutes after Todd Lumsden escaped the attentions of McLeod to power a header in from Brian Carrigan's free kick on the edge of the box. The early shock simply gave Morton a kick up the back side though and the home side drew level seven minutes later. Two of today's better players, Chris Millar and Alex williams, were involved as Chris raced through the defence only to see his shot saved by the 'keeper. Alex however was on hand to place the rebound in the net.

The away side were to gain the advantage again soon after from the penalty spot. McGregor lost the ball up the park and Accies streamed forward towards the Morton goal. The ball however found its way to Coyle but the 'keeper made a mess of his clearance hitting it straight to Quintongo. The hitman passed out to Carrigan whose goalbound effort was saved by the hands of captain Derek Collins in an instinctive reaction which inevitably saw a red card. Carrigan himself took the spot kick and calmly slotted home with Coyle going the opposite way.

Again Morton were behind and had the added handicap of being a man down seemingly making the task of getting back into the game harder than before. As often happens though these 10 men galvanised and played the rest of the game as if they were with full numbers. The fighting spirit and fine play that were amiss recently returned to the league leaders for the rest of the game and they were rewarded soon after with the equaliser. The same pairing for the first goal were involved again as Millar provided an excellent cross in the 23rd minute for Williams who bulleted the ball home from a very tight angle near the six yard box.

As Morton finished the half the livelier side, Lumsden and Sherry were added to the refs book for fouls on Williams and John Maisano respectively before the half time whistle.

Corcoran replaced the injured Lumsden for Accies and was involved in a couple of incidents at both ends. He provided the cross for Carrigan but the shot was fired wide. He then popped up at the other end to deny Morton's Peter Weatherson by saving the strikers header on the line. Peter, who has been out of form recently, showed today that he may be starting to regain some of that early season form we saw of him in his general play and goal chances including one soon after which went over the bar by inches.

Accies had a chance with John Gemmil, who replaced Brian McPhee, hitting into the side netting before they won their first corner of the game with 14 minutes to go.

Both sides made changes as they searched for the winner with the home side replacing John Maisano with Jani Uotinen with 12 minutes remaining and the strikeforce of Williams and Weatherson with Hawke and Cannie with 7 minutes to go. Jani was industrious with the time he had but overall all the subs didn't have much time to affect the match The visitors replaced the lively Quintongo with Convery.

With time ticking down Accies could have taken all three points but the woodwork came to Morton's aid as Carrigan's effort struck the left hand post with the rebound fired over the bar from Corcoran. With the Ton fans hoping up to then for the win I'm sure many, like myself, would have been calling for the final whistle and the point after that scare. The fact that we played most of the game with 10 men also makes taking one point seem not too bad. The way other results worked out it was still one point further from the chasing pack also.

Although this was a team effort particular praise must go to Chris MIllar and Alex Williams who both had excellent games today. Chris was comfortable on the ball and used this to good effect in taking on players and providing many good crosses. Alex was still his lively self but today he showed again just how clinical a finisher he is, indeed if some offside decisions went his way he could well have scored more. Chris McLeod in defence also settled well and was solid in coming for the ball.

Morton: Coyle, Collins, Macgregor, McLeod, Bottiglieri, Millar, John Maisano(78), Marco Maisano, Walker, Williams(83), Weatherson(83). Subs: Uotinen(78), Cannie(83), Hawke(83), Gaughan, McGurn.

Hamilton: McEwan, Whiteford, Lumsden(46), Thomson, Hodge, Arbuckle, Carrigan, Aitken, Sherry, Quitongo(81), McPhee(63). Subs: Corcoran(46), Convery(81), Gemmell(63), Donnelly, Jellema.

Referee: C Murray

Attendance: 2913