palmy_cammy Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 Whether it was in or not, we failed to win because of poor decision making in the final third, not because of the officials. Too often the wrong option was chosen, or our delivery was poor. Set plays were a non-event today which is highly frustrating. The non-goal actually fired up our players and supporters and we were on the ascendancy after it happened, so it almost worked in our favour. Morton came firing out of the blocks second half as expected and a goal was coming. Gary Harkins looks more like his former self at Morton than the overweight, past it version that lumbered about for Ayr. He started pulling strings, and it was a well worked goal. That kicked us into life and we then went on to have the better of the chances. Dobbie missing two that he would normally stick away, and Connor Murray's curling effort onto the post the notable ones. It's hardly a surprising result given that we have had a share of the spoils prior to this game, and are only separated by a point. It is the sort of game we need to be turning into a victory if we are to sneak into the playoffs though. As I said at half time the midfield was much improved with the return of Jacobs making Rankin look a lot more comfortable. Harkins still bossed it in there but he will do that against superior midfielders to ours. Thomas had a mixed afternoon, he looked threatening but never seemed to get anywhere with it. I still feel he's worth a go on the left hand side, too often he was cutting inside and running into traffic. Fergusson ran out of steam even quicker than his previous appearances, I think a drop back to the bench would do him good. He linked up well with Dykes and Dobbie in the first half. Dykes was my MotM. He worked hard when he was out wide, did his best work when he moved up front, and then had a stint in the centre of the park when Todorov came on. He is beginning to look a lot more street wise and less of a raw headless chicken. No use to us on the grand scheme of things, but a very entertaining afternoons football in the sunshine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunning1874 Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 Also, Derek Gaston deserves a massive amount of credit for that performance. The Dobbie effort wasn't the only time he saved us today, he was flawless at set pieces and had more than a couple of tremendous saves. An excellent performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palmy_cammy Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 Just now, Dunning1874 said: Also, Derek Gaston deserves a massive amount of credit for that performance. The Dobbie effort wasn't the only time he saved us today, he was flawless at set pieces and had more than a couple of tremendous saves. An excellent performance. That must be a fair few season he has been with Morton now? He is a goalkeeper that I have always rated and I'm surprised teams from the league above haven't made a move for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Gaines Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 3 minutes ago, Dunning1874 said: Also, Derek Gaston deserves a massive amount of credit for that performance. The Dobbie effort wasn't the only time he saved us today, he was flawless at set pieces and had more than a couple of tremendous saves. An excellent performance. His improvement at set pieces has been incredible. For a long time a big weakness with him. I've been impressed with that side of his game this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoBNob Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 39 minutes ago, IainMorton said: Back into fourth with a game in hand over Dunfermline and Queens. Must beat Dumbarton on Tuesday night, now! Can't see anyone catching Morton tbh, us and Qots will "fight" it out for fifth again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonEhTon Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 That must be a fair few season he has been with Morton now? He is a goalkeeper that I have always rated and I'm surprised teams from the league above haven't made a move for him. To point one, he’s been with us since 2012. To point two, I am completely unsurprised that nobody in the league above - nor in this league, I’d imagine - are interested. Decent shot-stopper, doesn’t command his box and is prone to errors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunning1874 Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 2 minutes ago, palmy_cammy said: That must be a fair few season he has been with Morton now? He is a goalkeeper that I have always rated and I'm surprised teams from the league above haven't made a move for him. This is his sixth season with us. He was excellent for the first few then lost his way a bit, to the extent that he lost his place to Grant Adam and Andy McNeil for spells, but he's really recovering again. Gary Harkins had a great game as well. When he gets space to play he is absolutely imperious at this level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sloop John B Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 Fair play to the linesman if he has indeed got it spot on though I suspect he just wasn't sure so didn't give it. I thought by his reaction to bolt down the tunnel than get pelters from the players and fans wasn't great as he put the other two officials in a bad spot and made me think that he'd fucked it. That being said had Morton went up the other end and scored I would have been an uncontrollable seething mess for the next week so i'm very relieved that Leighfield made that save. I thought it was one of the better home performances this season, so to only draw is disappointment but perhaps we didn't test Gaston enough. Morton had a good period after we scored and then fizzled out again. Seemed a fairly subdued performance from them that barring Gary Harkins, they would have been struggling. The impact of having Jacobs and Marshall in certainly helps across every part of the game. Murray and Todorov were bright enough coming on and Dykes linked up well with Dobbie for the two very nice passages of play in the first half. I certainly feel more positive about the rest of the season that beforehand but it was one that might come back to haunt us a bit. Thomas is a strange player because he looks dangerous enough and has something about him but he slows everything down at an annoying rate. I'd rather have than not but he certainly flatters to deceive. Regardless of trivial matters of whether the ball actually crossed the line or not. It was just nice to have a good wholesome boo, I can see why the St Mirren and Dundee fans do it so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyrshireTon Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 20 minutes ago, MonEhTon said: To point one, he’s been with us since 2012. To point two, I am completely unsurprised that nobody in the league above - nor in this league, I’d imagine - are interested. Decent shot-stopper, doesn’t command his box and is prone to errors. 15 minutes ago, Dunning1874 said: This is his sixth season with us. He was excellent for the first few then lost his way a bit, to the extent that he lost his place to Grant Adam and Andy McNeil for spells, but he's really recovering again. He is a very good keeper, but used to be better. MonEhTon’s final sentence describes David Wylie when he was Morton keeper and Gaston has become the same since Wylie started coaching him. Add to that his tendency to put kick outs out for a shy (something his coach did endlessly) when previously he could get huge distances on them (he once scored in a development game at Airdrie). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Tennis Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 9 minutes ago, Sloop John B said: Fair play to the linesman if he has indeed got it spot on though I suspect he just wasn't sure so didn't give it. I thought by his reaction to bolt down the tunnel than get pelters from the players and fans wasn't great as he put the other two officials in a bad spot and made me think that he'd fucked it. That being said had Morton went up the other end and scored I would have been an uncontrollable seething mess for the next week so i'm very relieved that Leighfield made that save. I thought it was one of the better home performances this season, so to only draw is disappointment but perhaps we didn't test Gaston enough. Morton had a good period after we scored and then fizzled out again. Seemed a fairly subdued performance from them that barring Gary Harkins, they would have been struggling. The impact of having Jacobs and Marshall in certainly helps across every part of the game. Murray and Todorov were bright enough coming on and Dykes linked up well with Dobbie for the two very nice passages of play in the first half. I certainly feel more positive about the rest of the season that beforehand but it was one that might come back to haunt us a bit. Thomas is a strange player because he looks dangerous enough and has something about him but he slows everything down at an annoying rate. I'd rather have than not but he certainly flatters to deceive. Regardless of trivial matters of whether the ball actually crossed the line or not. It was just nice to have a good wholesome boo, I can see why the St Mirren and Dundee fans do it so much. There is something therapeutic about booing, which is why I'm a bit hoarse tonight. I too thought that the linesman scuttling down the tunnel right on the final whistle said it all, but apparently the standside linesman is meant to do that, presumably to police that area as players leave the field. That's what someone said anyway. On the incident itself, I honestly wasn't sure. It was the 'keeper who made the net move and I couldn't swear that the ball crossed the line. The fact that the players were so emphatically celebrating - to the extent that we actually became endangered at the other end - made me assume at the time though that it must have been in. It was also what swayed me in heaping abuse on the linesman for the remainder of the game. I'm not completely shocked though, to learn that clips confirm said linesman got it right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyline Drifter Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 I dont think there is any doubt that the linesman, from where he was, didnt give a goal because he hadnt a clue rather than knew it wasnt in. However at the end of the day thats what he is supposed to do. And he almost certainly got it right. I have seen two different angles of footage now along with a series of stills and spoken to photographers who were on the line. It's very very close. Gaston, diving backwards, parries it in mid-air on or close to the line. He then falls back into the net, causing it to ripple before diving back to the line and landing on the ball as it is bouncing on the line. Its impossible even on the footage I have seen to be sure if the ball is in or not but it probably isnt all in. Certainly there is no way the officials can give it. Over the piece I thought we deserved to win. We had much the better of the first half, though Harkins who was Morton's best player by miles, hit the bar with an early free kick. The goal was terrific. There was another move of 1-2's between Dykes and Dobbie that would have been even better if Dykes had been able to finish it. Morton started the second half the better though and we gave Harkins far too much space to create the equaliser. We got back in charge about midway through. Dobbie should have scored when Rankin put him in and then should have squared to Thomas for a tap in soon after instead of going himself and allowing Gaston to make a good save. Then came THAT incident. Morton should probably have scored on the break as most of our team celebrated the "goal". Dykes forced a terrific save from Gaston and then Murray left him grasping thin air last minute only to have his shot cone back off the post. Its a much better point for Morton than for us but there was plenty of encouragement there for the coming weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colkitto Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 Footage is suggesting that the ball did not cross the line Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOTS Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 Morton's bus driver told me that the ball hadn't crossed the line. Has to be the whole ball right enough. He was standing beside the photographers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19QOS19 Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 Slightly off topic but what's Oliver's fascination with us? When he was with us he was a decent enough player who never got a fair crack at it. But I can't recall him receiving any abuse from the fans when he was with us or when he's played against us. That's two games at Palmerston where he's scored against us and given it the whisper to our fans. If he'd received pelters I could understand it but we don't bother with him so I find it very strange. Does he celebrate like that all the time maybe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steakpiegravy Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 And he almost certainly got it right. I have seen two different angles of footage now along with a series of stills and spoken to photographers who were on the line. It's very very close. Gaston, diving backwards, parries it in mid-air on or close to the line. He then falls back into the net, causing it to ripple before diving back to the line and landing on the ball as it is bouncing on the line. Its impossible even on the footage I have seen to be sure if the ball is in or not but it probably isnt all in. Certainly there is no way the officials can give it. Heyyyyyyyyyy SD! That’s some way short of the certainty of your first post, which by the way completely deflated our righteous indignation in the New Bazaar and I would go so far as to say, spoiled my pint. Is there going to be a 3rd post where you tell us it was in after all? [emoji850] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Tennis Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 18 minutes ago, Skyline Drifter said: I dont think there is any doubt that the linesman, from where he was, didnt give a goal because he hadnt a clue rather than knew it wasnt in. However at the end of the day thats what he is supposed to do. And he almost certainly got it right. I have seen two different angles of footage now along with a series of stills and spoken to photographers who were on the line. It's very very close. Gaston, diving backwards, parries it in mid-air on or close to the line. He then falls back into the net, causing it to ripple before diving back to the line and landing on the ball as it is bouncing on the line. Its impossible even on the footage I have seen to be sure if the ball is in or not but it probably isnt all in. Certainly there is no way the officials can give it. Over the piece I thought we deserved to win. We had much the better of the first half, though Harkins who was Morton's best player by miles, hit the bar with an early free kick. The goal was terrific. There was another move of 1-2's between Dykes and Dobbie that would have been even better if Dykes had been able to finish it. Morton started the second half the better though and we gave Harkins far too much space to create the equaliser. We got back in charge about midway through. Dobbie should have scored when Rankin put him in and then should have squared to Thomas for a tap in soon after instead of going himself and allowing Gaston to make a good save. Then came THAT incident. Morton should probably have scored on the break as most of our team celebrated the "goal". Dykes forced a terrific save from Gaston and then Murray left him grasping thin air last minute only to have his shot cone back off the post. Its a much better point for Morton than for us but there was plenty of encouragement there for the coming weeks. Yes, it's frustrating that we only drew as we were worth the win, even leaving the 'incident' aside. Harkins had started running the show a wee while before the equaliser, but I was annoyed that he wasn't pressed at all in a central area 25 yards out, allowing him to play in Oliver with ease. It's also annoying to see Oliver tuck those away nicely, because he was poor as I recall, with one on ones for us. The Murray effort at the end was very good and it was really unlucky that it came out again. The only real threat we faced after Oliver's goal came in the 'incident''s aftermath. It's very unusual to see players celebrating like that until sure. It was nearly costly. Despite the frustration, it's the most I've enjoyed a game at Palmerston for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunning1874 Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 1 hour ago, Sloop John B said: That being said had Morton went up the other end and scored I would have been an uncontrollable seething mess for the next week so i'm very relieved that Leighfield made that save. Obviously I wanted a goal because I want Morton to win (stating the blatant fucking obvious) but there are about 18 levels where even a neutral watching that game would have loved Morton scoring there. The near glory of a player scoring from about 85000 yards, an outstanding save to deny it, desperate attempts from defenders to scramble the loose ball away, the defending team clearing the ball up the park, the entire defence of the attacking team charging up the park to celebrate the goal as their opponents broke, the linesman frantically signalling that play was still ongoing while six players celebrated right in front of him, the team who nearly conceded seconds before charging into the opposition box while fans were still celebrating the goal that hadn't actually happened. If that counter attack had resulted in a Morton goal it would have been all over shite football banter accounts on twitter for decades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19QOS19 Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 What was wrong with Thomson? I hope if he's back next week it's him and Jacobs. I thought Rankin was comfortably our poorest player today. I just don't see what he brings to us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steeplechat Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 Slightly off topic but what's Oliver's fascination with us? When he was with us he was a decent enough player who never got a fair crack at it. But I can't recall him receiving any abuse from the fans when he was with us or when he's played against us. That's two games at Palmerston where he's scored against us and given it the whisper to our fans. If he'd received pelters I could understand it but we don't bother with him so I find it very strange. Does he celebrate like that all the time maybe? Made a fool of himself again today. Must have a chip on his shoulder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Tennis Posted February 17, 2018 Share Posted February 17, 2018 1 minute ago, Dunning1874 said: Obviously I wanted a goal because I want Morton to win (stating the blatant fucking obvious) but there are about 18 levels where even a neutral watching that game would have loved Morton scoring there. The near glory of a player scoring from about 85000 yards, an outstanding save to deny it, desperate attempts from defenders to scramble the loose ball away, the defending team clearing the ball up the park, the entire defence of the attacking team charging up the park to celebrate the goal as their opponents broke, the linesman frantically signalling that play was still ongoing while six players celebrated right in front of him, the team who nearly conceded seconds before charging into the opposition box. If that counter attack had resulted in a Morton goal it would have been all over shite football banter accounts on twitter for decades. Yes, but for real magnificence (for the neutral) it would have required to be a terrible injustice in the first place. The officials have ruined it by apparently getting it right. As far as that linesman is concerned, I'm hating him even more for that than I did when I thought he was wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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