Greenock Morton 3 Accies 0: Saturday, 20 February 1999

Accies' headlong dive into Division 2 continued as they lost 3-0 to Morton in the pouring rain at Cappielow.

They lined up with loan signing Marko Rajamaki alongside manager Colin Miller in midfield but were outclassed by the superior home team. In the first half, Accies did give an indication that they were playing better than in recent weeks and debutant Marko Rajamaki hit the post early on. Our other good effort was a screamer from Colin Miller which was tipped round the post by Ally Maxwell in the Morton goal. At the other end of the park, Morton attacked frequently and were probably unlucky not to be ahead at half time.

In the second half, Morton clicked into gear after Warren Hawke was substituted by Keith Wright. Just as my pal George was reminding me that Wright always scores against Accies, the defence stood back to admire a long free kick into the box and Wright headed home easily at the back post. The second goal came after a misplaced pass by Chris Hillcoat gave Morton possession from which they eventually scored. Hillcoat was then the target of constant abuse from a small group of Accies fans for the rest of the match. While I admit that this season hasn't been his best, I think the criticism of him was a bit unfair - there are worse players and even more corrupt figures at or around the club than Chris. I really feel sorry for Chris in that's he's probably the best player in recent years not to get a transfer. The current situation will be hurting him too.

By 4.45 I'd had enough and only heard the cheers from the Morton fans when Keith Wright scored the final goal at the end. Apparently he missed a penalty near the end as well.

I can't think of anything positive to take from the game, with the possible exception of the performance of Rajamaki in midfield and substitute Michael Moore up front. The midfield, particularly Colin Miller and Darren Henderson, were atrocious while Steve McCormick up front clearly hasn't got it. Gary Wales must be desperate for a transfer now - I can't remember him getting a single chance in the game.

A thoroughly depressing trip to Greenock, as usual. The rain fell all day, there were huge holes in the enclosure roof and Accies were well beaten. The only bright spot was the fact that Raith Rovers blew a 2-0 lead against Ayr and eventually went down 4-2. We've now got 9 "cup finals" left to save our skins, but the prospects are grim. That's now 4 months without a league victory.

- Read the fans' memories, or add your own, via this link.

- Please contact us if you have any information that will improve this page or if you spot any mistakes.

Images

Videos

Links and References