Morton 4
Dundee Utd 1
League (Premier Division)

Match Report

United manager Jim McLean gave youngster Jim Kerr his first taste of Premier League football when he included him in the side against Morton. Phillip also came in from the bench and Kopel and Milne dropping out from the side which started Queens Park in midweek.

Morton had the bulk of the early pressure but United's defence held firm in the opening stages. Then Rooney, Scott and McNeill combined well in front of United goal to set up the first opening. The build up left McNeill room to shoot but the ball flew just wide. Pettigrew then had a great chance to put United in front in 20 minutes when he latched onto a long through ball. He went on to shoot low and hard but Baines was there to dive down to save. United came close again in 27 minutes when a Sturrock cross caused all sorts of problems in the Morton goalmouth. The ball ricocheted off player after player before the home defence finally cleared. Two minutes before half time, Andy Ritchie took a free-kick and Bonetti had to be sharp to get behind the ball. The half ended with United coming more into the game. They looked more dangerous on the break with Pettigrew looking sharp.

United took an early lead in the second half. George Fleming sent a neat ball into the goalmouth and Hegarty touched in for Willie Pettigrew to send a looping header over Baines and into the back of the net. But within a minute, with the United travelling fans still cheering, Morton got back level. Andy Ritchie stabbed the ball home after Bonetti failed to hold a Hutchison cross on the right. The two goals set the game alight and on the hour mark, Morton went into a shock lead. A McNeill corner floated over a static United defence and Ally Scott nipped in to head the ball in off the post. It was then Andy Ritchie who notched his second when he scored direct from a free-kick after he himself was brought down at the edge of the box. Andy Ritchie completed his hat-trick in 68 minutes when a botched Kirkwood clearance hit Ritchie before rolling over the line. United brought on Dodds for Payne in a bid to recover something from a game which had dramatically slipped away from them. Derek Addison came on for young Jim Kerr in 83 minutes but it way too late for United to salvage anything. Within sixteen minutes, Morton had replied four times and that was too much for United to take. United now head to Anderlecht on Tuesday requiring a real shot of confidence.