Morton 0-2 St Johnstone: Saints Go Marching On in Greenock

Simo Valakari’s Saints extend their lead at the top with only eight games to play, in the hope of returning to the top flight. It was Greenock Morton who started the stronger, putting the St Johnstone backline under pressure in the opening few minutes of the match. However, in the 9th minute, a nice passage of play from St Johnstone saw Ruari Paton’s rocket effort tipped onto the crossbar by Morton’s Murray Johnson. Morton’s first opportunity of the match came from a set piece, when Fergus Owens’ effort sailed over the crossbar. Shortly after, Grant Gillespie’s ambitious volley effort from outside the box flew high into the stands. Saints’ striker Louis Lloyd found himself in a dangerous area inside Morton’s box. However, his slashed effort was saved easily by Johnson. The pressure was mounting from St Johnstone, when Matty Foulds found himself lurking at the back post; however, his chance was saved well by the Morton stopper. Morton then found themselves in a promising area when Owen Moffat lobbed Saints’ keeper Toby Steward just outside the box, but Jack Baird was covering to clear any home side danger. Morton then found some confidence, Nathan Shaw’s strike inside the box left Toby Steward rooted, but his effort cleared the post marginally. The Saints came flying out after the interval, putting Morton’s defence under serious pressure. Which then found Lloyd one-on-one with Johnson; his low-driven effort hit the post, but to his relief, the offside flag was raised. A mistake from Morton’s Fergus Owens then left Josh McPake one-on-one with Johnson, but an excellent recovery from the Morton defender, combined with brave goalkeeping from Johnson, saw McPake denied. The game then became scrappy, until a nasty foul from Fergus Owens in the 77th minute saw St Johnstone awarded a free-kick in a promising area. That free-kick was tucked away in fine form by Reece McAlear, looping over the wall and finding the bottom right corner of the Morton net. Giving Simo Valakari’s side the lead, which could be all so important for the league standings. St Johnstone finished the match off in style. An amazing run from centre-back Cheick Diabate found Liam Smith in space, which allowed Smith to take his time and find the bottom left corner of Johnson’s goal. This result puts St Johnstone in a great position, now eight points clear at the top, although Partick Thistle have a game in hand to play. For Greenock Morton, they remain in eighth place, but only six points separate fourth and eighth in the league.   Greenock Morton: Johnson (7), Comrie (5), Owens (5), Moore (6), Delaney (5), Moffat (6), Wilson (6), Gillespie (5), MacPherson (5), Shaw (5), Garrity (4) Subs: Lyall (3), Longridge (2)   St Johnstone: Steward (7), Smith (8), Baird (7), Diabate (7), Foulds (6), McAlear (8), Holt (6), Stanton (7), Paton (7), McPake (6), Lloyd (6) Subs: Agyeman (7), Fotheringham (6), Gullan (5), Fowler (6)