10.15pm

Tonight's result: Morton 0, Motherwell 3.

We won 3-0 at Cappielow in tonight's CIS League Cup 2nd round tie.  In truth, we didn't play particularly well and the scoreline definitely flatters us somewhat, but when you consider our dismal League Cup record in recent years I don't think any 'Well fans will be complaining.

Not surprisingly, TB fielded the same side which won at Dundee on Saturday.

There was little to choose between the teams in the first half, with second division Morton matching us in most areas of the park and, rather worryingly, out muscling us in midfield. The home side were clearly well organised and closed us down immediately whenever we had the ball, but on the other hand they never really looked like scoring.  Then in the closing stages of the first half, we took the lead when Paterson sneaked the ball into the net from a narrow angle after rounding the goalkeeper.

The second half was more of the same, with Morton carving out a couple of early half-chances.  However, the turning point of the game came after 67 minutes, when Clarkson (I think) latched on to the end of a long ball and was brought down in the box by a Morton defender when clean through on goal.  The defender was sent off, and McBride blasted home the penalty to kill the game stone dead.  We added a third shortly afterwards, when Clarkson skipped past the goalkeeper to fire high into the net from a tight angle.  There was still time for one of the worst pieces of refereeing I have ever had the misfortunate to witness, when Willie Young awarded a penalty against Stevie Hammell for what can only be described as a extremely soft shoulder charge.  Neither the Morton players nor fans appealed for the spot kick, but justice was done when Marshall dived low to his left to save.

All in all it turned out to be an enjoyable night for the decent 'Well support who made the journey through to Greenock.  Not the best of displays, but the cup is all about getting through to the next round, and given our recent record in the League Cup I'm sure we would all have settled for that beforehand, no matter the performance.  My Man of the Match would probably be Scott McDonald for the way he held the ball up and didn't stop grafting away all night.  Willie Young is still a twat mind you.

Team (4-4-2): Marshall, Corrigan, Kinniburgh, Craigan, Hammell, McBride, O'Donnell, Leitch (Fagan 70), Paterson (Foran 58), Clarkson, McDonald (Burns 76).
Subs not used: Corr, Partridge.

Booked: Craigan.

Attendance: 3,000 odd.

Our game against Inverness at Pittodrie, which was scheduled for Saturday October 2, has been put back 24 hours until the Sunday.

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