Grady: Wrong result but right stuff

Published 15 Mar 2010 14:00 0 Comments

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MAKING HIS POINT: James Grady.

JAMES Grady saw Morton lose due to a solitary mistake on Saturday - but left the Highlands full of conviction as the team fight to get clear of the relegation zone.

The Cappielow boss, left, is convinced his side will steer clear of trouble if they can reproduce the same grit and determination in each remaining match.

Grady lambasted the players last week after a meek 2-0 defeat at the hands of relegation rivals Ayr United.

Against a Caley Thistle side who had twice thrashed them by three-goal margins this season, his players went some way towards making amends. It proved a very poor spectacle at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium as Morton successfully stifled Terry Butcher's promotion-seeking side with a disciplined 4-5-1 system almost earning a point.

But a lapse of concentration after 64 minutes saw Ton hit on the break, with young Nick Ross tapping in the winner after Kevin Cuthbert had blocked an Adam Rooney strike at goal.

Grady, though, was more than happy with the response from his players after last week's showdown in private.

He said: "If they give that effort from now until the end of the season, we will be okay. That's what I've said to them.

"If they can come up to play Inverness and restrict them to one shot - and we have had a couple of wee chances ourselves - then they will win more games than we lose.

"That's what we've got to do. Yes, we're in trouble at the moment, but I've got every belief in them. If they give me what they did today, we will get out of the position we're in."

Grady knows the battle lines are set out clearly for his side now as they battle to move clear of the play-off zone.

He stressed: "We've been losing a lot of games recently, so we came up to frustrate and try and nick something.

"The boys were questioned last week about their desire and will-to-win, but they put that one to bed today.

"But still we give away a cheap goal. We had a free-kick up the other end of the pitch and we didn't get it past the first man.

"We're immediately under pressure and Kevin Cuthbert makes the only save he's had to make all day and they score a tap-in on the rebound.

"Coming to Inverness and having your keeper make only one save shows how the game went.

"Yes, we're disappointed, but at least the players answered a lot of the questions we threw at them last week.

"They came up here and worked their socks off and were undone by a cheap goal.

"To put in that amount of effort and come away with nothing is very disappointing."

Morton had skipper Stewart Greacen suspended and brought David MacGregor into the heart of defence. Cuthbert also replaced Colin Stewart in goal.

Chances were thin in a woeful first half, although Adam Rooney sneaked behind the Morton defence after 14 minutes only for his lob to drift wide.

Morton finally threatened on half-time, with two terrific Michael Tidser corners cleared off the line, first by Stuart Golabek's head and then Ryan Esson's fingertips.

After 64 minutes, Morton's hard work was undone as a misplaced free-kick left them exposed.

Caley Thistle's Russell Duncan released Rooney with a long through pass into the box.

The striker's attempt was blocked by the outstretched leg of Cuthbert but Ross had the simplest of finishes.

A rare Morton threat late on saw Jim McAlister's deflected strike saved by Esson, but Caley Thistle held strong.

This article appeared in Greenock Telegraph 15 Mar 10

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