Greenock Morton 0 Queen’s Park 1
A first half strike from Zak Rudden was enough to earn all three points for Queen’s Park at Cappielow as the Spiders returned to fourth place in the William Hill Championship.
The Queen’s starting eleven showed just one change from last Saturday’s game with Partick Thistle, with Liam McLeish partnering Rudden up front and Louis Longridge dropping to the bench.
Early pressure came from the home side as the match got underway in mild, calm conditions under the Greenock lights. Queen’s keeper Calum Ferrie made a couple of relatively comfortable saves early on as Morton pushed for the opening goal.
Players on both sides found the greasy surface a challenge at times, however the excellent condition of the pitch made for a fast paced encounter.
Cameron Blues picked up a yellow card for the home side after seventeen minutes for a tackle on Henry Fieldson. McGregor swung in a cross from the resultant free kick, however a header was comfortably saved by Budinauckas in the home goal.
As the home side continued to press for the opener, it was Queen’s who broke up field and opened the scoring with a fine goal. A crisp pass out of defence from Will Tizzard found Queen’s right back Cammy Kerr who made ground down the right side and delivered an inviting cross which RUDDEN met on the volley ten yards out to fire Queen’s in front.
Both Ryan Duncan and Liam McLeish had shots on target as half time approached, although neither overly troubled the home keeper. Rudden also had a shot deflected just over for a corner as the Spiders looked to increase their one goal advantage.
Half-time – Greenock Morton 0 Queen’s Park 1
Former Spider Grant Gillespie came on at half time for Morton and shortly after Louis Longridge replaced Liam McLeish as the Spiders looked to build on their strong end to the first period.
Veteran Niall McGinn, who showed his experience throughout the game with some nice touches, had a shot well saved by Ferrie low down to his right as the home side fought to get back on level terms.
Queen’s substitute Jack Thomson had a strong run forward after seventy minutes, however his powerful shot rose just too high to trouble the keeper.
Another flowing move saw Queen’s move the ball quickly from midfield. Sean Welsh fed Fieldson whose shot was well saved by Budinauckas at the expense of a corner.
Temperatures started to rise on the field and referee Williams flashed a number of yellow cards, including one to Morton’s Iain Wilson after seventy-four minutes. This would prove costly as he received a second yellow on ninety minutes and therefore a red for an off the ball challenge.
Despite a late flurry from the home side, Queen’s saw the game out to secure an important three points in what was only the club’s second league win over Morton since 1962.
Full-time – Greenock Morton 0 Queen’s Park 1
Starting Eleven
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