Third time unlucky for Ton
Jonathan Mitchell • Published 14 Nov 2011 12:00
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FRUSTRATING AFTERNOON: Ton goalscorer Andy Jackson and strike partner Peter MacDonald are surrounded by Dundee players
Morton 1 Dundee 2
MORTON surrendered a one-goal lead as they eventually fell to a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Dundee in what was their third consecutive home loss.
Andy Jackson fired the Cappielow men into a fifth-minute lead, but Ryan Conroy inspired the Dark Blues' comeback by crossing for Gavin Rae to equalise before volleying home a stunning winner.
The result means that the Ton have gone seven weeks since securing three points on home turf - against Falkirk on 24 September - and have won just two of their last eight matches.
One of those victories was last weekend's hard-fought 1-0 triumph against Ayr United, and Allan Moore named the same starting line-up on Saturday. And that faith was initially repaid as Ton raced into an early lead. Fouad Bachirou demonstrated a more offensive side to his game by jinking his the way to the byline before clipping a dangerous ball into the box. Paul Di Giacomo caused confusion in the area, which Jackson took full advantage of by nipping in ahead of his marker to flick home via the inside of Rab Douglas' left-hand post.
Ton's tails were up, and Di Giacomo accepted a Peter MacDonald pass before cutting in off the left wing and forcing Douglas to scramble across goal and touch his low drive wide.
Meanwhile, at the other end, they continued where they left off at Somerset Park, working incredibly hard to nullify Dundee and ensure that Dominic Cervi had little to deal with in terms of shots on target.
Matt Lockwood and Rae were well off target with woeful long-range efforts as the visitors became increasingly desperate with their attempts on goal.
But the game turned in their favour on the half hour when Ton left-back Ross Forsyth had to be withdrawn after suffering a hamstring injury.
With no natural defenders on the bench, Moore elected to put Peter Weatherson on at right-back, where he has featured in the past and started on two occasions this season, while Kevin McCann moved over to the left.
The Englishman made a positive contribution soon after coming on, driving forward down the right to fire over three crosses in quick succession, one of which MacDonald skewed wide.
However, despite his best attempts to plug a hole at the back, his lack of defensive instinct was exposed as he struggled to contain Conroy.
In the 37th minute, the former Celtic man served a warning when he fired over a dangerous cross which required a brave headed clearance by Andy Graham, who took a knock to the same cheekbone which required an operation earlier in the season in the process.
The Dunoon-born defender bravely played on despite the eye swelling up over the course of the 90 minutes, but there was nothing he could do to prevent the visitors equalising in the 42nd minute.
Conroy skipped past Weatherson and floated a cross to former Scotland international Rae, who arrived right on cue to force home a volley from eight yards and draw his side level.
The timing of the goal was crucial, coming a few minutes before the break and less than 60 seconds after David O'Brien had failed to take advantage of a golden opportunity when his attempt to cut back for MacDonald in a two-on-one counter-attack was blocked by Rhys Weston.
The equaliser provided Dundee with a real half-time boost, and although Ton started the second half brightly, the visitors were now looking the more confident outfit.
The Dark Blues' 18-year-old striker Leighton McIntosh made his senior bow at Cappielow in December last year before returning to score a double in a 3-1 win in April.
And he almost piled more misery on the Greenock men when he nipped ahead of his marker to flick Nicky Riley's whipped cross narrowly over the crossbar.
At the other end, MacDonald accepted a short Derek Young free kick and shaped to shoot before expertly dropping the shoulder to glide past two opponents and fire off a left-footed effort which whistled narrowly wide.
Over the course of the match, Dundee gaffer Barry Smith had been barking at his side to put the ball in behind the Ton defence in order to get them turning towards their own goal, and the tactic would eventually pay dividends when they completed their dramatic comeback in the 56th minute.
Stephen O'Donnell swept a simple first-time pass over the top, which caught the hosts napping and released Jake Hyde. The substitute scampered after the ball before picking out Conroy, who lashed a fantastic volley past Cervi to fire his side into the lead.
Moore responded by introducing Sean Fitzharris in place of Di Giacomo while instructing his players to try and get the ball to him as often as possible.
The diminutive wideman took up the mantle as the hosts pressed for an equaliser, but, besides a cross-cum-shot which forced Douglas into a save at his left-hand post, he failed to find the quality of delivery necessary.
Ton huffed and puffed for the final 20 minutes, but sorely missed the creative presence of Michael Tidser as they struggled to carve out any real openings and eventually succumbed to a disappointing defeat which now leaves them 10 points off top spot.
This article appeared in Greenock Telegraph 14 Nov 11
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