MORTON welcome play-off hopefuls Queen’s Park to Cappielow this evening, hoping that the only Halloween horror show for this year took place at the weekend after a late collapse against Hamilton.
A mere fortnight after taking care of John Rankin’s side with consummate ease in the Trust Trophy, the contrast against the same opponents was stark, thanks in no small part to the selection issues that have beset the Morton boss.
With Garry Woods the latest casualty, and young Rangers stopper Lewis Budinauckas stepping in on an emergency loan at the last minute, the Morton boss doesn’t have his troubles to seek.
These troubles are only exacerbated by the absence of trusted lieutenant Andy Millen, who at the time of writing is still suspended by the club, more than three weeks since the alleged incident that resulted in his enforced absence.
The sight of the Morton boss taking drills before a match in recent weeks doesn’t sit easy, and from watching his post-match reaction, it’s becoming a real frustration to Imrie that the help of an assistant who has been incremental to the club’s success throughout the manager’s tenure isn’t available to him.
The sooner the situation is resolved, hopefully with the return of Millen, the better for all.
Unfortunately, with the quick turnaround, it's hard to see too many returns to the squad from the weekend’s absentees, and Morton could be in for a long evening against a side who have surprised many this season with a solid start.
However, Callum Davidson's side will be smarting from a weekend derby defeat to Partick at Hampden.
The lack of depth in the squad was shown up in Morton finding themselves noticeably weaker after changing things around on Saturday.
Things though, could have been so different had Owen Moffat taken advantage of a mix-up in the Accies defence and lifted the ball over Charlie Albinson, rather than allowing the Hamilton shot-stopper to smother his tame effort at 0-0 midway through the second half.
Morton’s unfamiliar defensive shape was certainly out of necessity, rather than choice, but after looking defensively sound in the last month or so, the feeling is, is that it’s not something we want to see again anytime soon. The sooner Cammy Ballantyne and Morgan Boyes, in particular, return to this backline the better.
Morton’s long unbeaten league record against the Spiders came to an end last month when we visited Lesser Hampden, and with struggling Raith hosting bottom dogs Airdrie this evening and high-flying Livingston going to Dunfermline, righting that particular wrong by bagging three points would go a long way to remedying some of the woes that are hanging over from the weekend.
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