By James Cairney

JIM Duffy heaped praise on his young players as his Morton side booked a Scottish Cup quarter-final tie with holders Celtic after defeating Dumbarton 3-0.

Morton were drawn away against the Scottish champions yesterday following Saturday’s victory at Cappielow over Stevie Aitken’s team.

They will travel to Parkhead on March 3 or 4.

Goals from Frank Ross, Jack Iredale and Bob McHugh, left, sealed Morton’s place in the quarter-finals for the second time in three seasons and gave Ton their fourth win on the bounce.

After the game Duffy highlighted the positive impact Ross has had since he arrived on loan at Cappielow.

He said: “Frank was terrific. He’s a talented young player, that’s why we brought him here from Aberdeen.

“You can see his quality there, he had some moments in the game where he was just a joy to watch.

“And he’s like any flair player, you need to get them on the ball — he’s having to work into the system we play but he’s getting better.”

He added: “We just try and do the best we can and players enjoy it.

“They enjoy it when they’re in the cup competition: they enjoy the profile and the spotlight.”

Dumbarton boss Stevie Aitken admitted his side were hard-working but ultimately second-best during the match.

He said: “We’re disappointed, but credit to Morton who were the better team. 

“We gave away some cheap goals.

“We’ve had a lot of personnel problems — we had to throw Aidan Wilson in and he equipped himself well.”