Morton 0 Saints 1
Team ::
Main,McQuillan,Davison,Attila,Weir,Griffin,Scott,ONeill,Grant, Colquhoun,Preston
Subs :: McCluskey,O'Halloran,McAnespie
Jenko failed a late fitness test and with Georgio and Dasovic missing and Del O'Neill playing through the pain barrier again Saints struggled to find any sort of attacking form for most of the game.
The first half was fairly even though - Morton without Lilley are a pretty crap team although Main was forced to make 2 world-class saves early on to keep the game goalless. Davison and Griffin in defence were both playing well altho Weir was caught for pace a couple of times and McQuillan had his usual positional skills on display coupled with an incredible lack of tackling ability. In midfield Dino was off-form but looked OK whilst Phizzy struggled to make an impact for most of the game. Preston and O'Neill both found it difficult to move forward with Del especially coming in for stick for his apparent total lack of ability to string any moves together with McQuillan. He also had the best chance of the first half when a cross from the left found him unmarked and with only the goalie to beat he shot straight at the keeper. Up front Colquhoun played alongside Grant so it was never going to be the fastest striking partnership although there was a hint of teamwork starting to appear in their play. Roddy ran his arse off and with Colquhoun helping to shore up the non-existent midfield for most of the game, Roddy was in his element.
Saints took the lead 10 mins into the second half after several close efforts and a goalmouth scramble ended up in a handball. Despite the protests from the Greenock tinks ref Underhill from Embra (who overall had a fairly good game) pointed to the spot. Up steps Roddy and after some psychological adjustment of the ball on the penalty spot shot home for his 22nd of the season.
Morton pressed after that and were unlucky on a couple of occassions. Del O'Neill finally had to go off on the hour mark (dont expect to see much more of him this season according to Luggy on the radio) and was replaced by Keith O'Halloran the new signing from Middlesboro. Hes a fairly fast right sided midfielder and in the 30 mins he got he won us 3 free kicks, had a couple of good runs up the wings and screwed up 2 corner kicks. Still he does look like he will prove to be a 'wee find' (quote from P. Sturrock).
Saints had a final attempt on goal when a Roddy header rebounded off the bar but the score remained 1-0. We *still* need another striker tho.