2017–18 Greenock Morton F.C. season

Season 2017–18 saw Greenock Morton compete in the Scottish Championship the second tier of Scottish football, having finished fourth in 2016-17. Morton also competed in the Challenge Cup, Scottish League Cup and the Scottish Cup.

Greenock Morton

2017-18 season
Chairman	Douglas Rae
Manager	Jim Duffy
Stadium	Cappielow Park
Championship	Seventh Place
League Cup	Group stage
Challenge Cup	First round
Scottish Cup	Quarter-final
Top goalscorer	League: Gary Harkins (8) All: Gary Harkins & Bob McHugh (8)
Highest home attendance	4,661 v St Mirren, Championship, 12 August 2017
Lowest home attendance	1,036 v Livingston, Challenge Cup, 15 August 2017
Average home league attendance	1,985
Home colours Away colours
← 2016–17 2018–19 →

Fixtures and results

  Win   Draw   Loss   Upcoming fixture

Pre–Season

Stenhousemuir v Greenock Morton

1 July 2017 Friendly	Stenhousemuir	0 – 3	Greenock Morton	Stenhousemuir
14:00		Report	McHugh 39' Thomson 59' Armour 70'	Stadium: Ochilview Park Referee: Stephen Finnie

Turriff United v Greenock Morton

8 July 2017 Friendly	Turriff United	1 – 6	Greenock Morton	Turriff
15:00	Miller 81'	Report	Thomson 19' McHugh 30', 37', 53' Tidser 67 pen.' Tiffoney 83'	Stadium: The Haughs Referee: Liam Duncan

Scottish Championship

Main article: 2017–18 Scottish Championship

Dumbarton v Greenock Morton

5 August 2017 1	Dumbarton	0 – 0	Greenock Morton	Dumbarton
15:00		Report		Stadium: Dumbarton Football Stadium Attendance: 1,161 Referee: Steven Kirkland

Greenock Morton v St Mirren

12 August 2017 2	Greenock Morton	4 – 1	St Mirren	Greenock
15:00	Tidser 26 pen.', 50 pen.' McHugh 72' Murdoch 77'	Report	Smith 41'	Stadium: Cappielow Attendance: 4,661 Referee: Willie Collum

Inverness Caledonian Thistle v Greenock Morton

19 August 2017 3	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	1 – 1	Greenock Morton	Inverness
15:00	Warren 19'	Report	Thomson 51'	Stadium: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2,202 Referee: Stephen Finnie

Greenock Morton v Livingston

26 August 2017 4	Greenock Morton	0 – 1	Livingston	Greenock
15:00		Report	Danny Mullen 60'	Stadium: Cappielow Attendance: 1,599 Referee: Euan Anderson

Greenock Morton v Dunfermline Athletic

9 September 2017 (2017-09-09) 5	Greenock Morton	3 – 2	Dunfermline Athletic	Greenock
15:00	Thomson 46' Harkins 73' Quitongo 90+3'	Report	Cardle 9' Higginbotham 33 pen.'	Stadium: Cappielow Attendance: 1,918 Referee: Kevin Clancy

Queen of the South v Greenock Morton

16 September 2017 (2017-09-16) 6	Queen of the South	1 – 2	Greenock Morton	Palmerston Park
15:00	Lyle 21'	Report	Forbes 16' Quitongo 20'	Attendance: 1,725 Referee: Newlands Man of the Match: Lyle

Dundee United v Greenock Morton

23 September 2017 (2017-09-23) 7	Dundee United	2 – 1	Greenock Morton	Tannadice Park
15:00	Keatings 65' McDonald 83'	Report	McHugh 75'	Attendance: 5,569 Referee: Alan Muir

Greenock Morton v Dunfermline Athletic

30 September 2017 (2017-09-30) 8	Greenock Morton	0 – 1	Dunfermline Athletic	Greenock
15:00	Lamie  90'	Report	McKee 62'	Stadium: Cappielow Attendance: 1,992 Referee: John McKendrick

Brechin City v Greenock Morton

14 October 2017 (2017-10-14) 9	Brechin City	0 – 1	Greenock Morton	Brechin
15:00		Report	Murdoch 81'	Stadium: Glebe Park Attendance: 624 Referee: Colin Steven

Greenock Morton v Dumbarton

21 October 2017 (2017-10-21) 10	Greenock Morton	1 – 1	Dumbarton	Greenock
15:00	McHugh 50'	Report	Stewart 5'	Stadium: Cappielow Attendance: 1,428 Referee: Barry Cook

St Mirren v Greenock Morton

28 October 2017 11	St Mirren	2 – 2	Greenock Morton	St Mirren Park
15:00	McShane 66' (pen.) Reilly 72',  83' Buchanan  78'	BBC Report	O'Ware  64' Doyle  66' Forbes  66' Murdoch 68' Harkins 79 pen.' Oliver  90+2'	Attendance: 5,496 Referee: Steven McLean

Greenock Morton v Queen of the South

4 November 2017 12	Greenock Morton	1 – 2	Queen of the South	Greenock
15:00	Harkins 7 pen.'	Report	Dobbie  41', 43' Fordyce 47' McFadden  63' Jacobs  73'	Stadium: Cappielow Park Attendance: 1,677 Referee: Mat Northcroft

Dunfermline Athletic v Greenock Morton

21 November 2017 13	Dunfermline Athletic	1 – 1	Greenock Morton	Dunfermline
19:45	Ryan 21' Murdoch  40' Williamson  41'	Report	Oliver 34'	Stadium: East End Park Attendance: 4,816 Referee: Finnie

Falkirk v Greenock Morton

25 November 2017 14	Falkirk	0 – 3	Greenock Morton	Falkirk
15:00	Muirhead  9' Tumilty  73'	Report	Harkins 9' Lamie  11' Forbes  27' Thomson 42', 61'	Stadium: Falkirk Stadium Attendance: 4,361 Referee: Greg Aitken

Greenock Morton v Brechin City

2 December 2017 15	Greenock Morton	4 – 1	Brechin City	Greenock
15:00	Oliver 4' Murdoch  12' Tiffoney 44' Harkins 72' (pen.) Quitongo 83'	Report	Layne 41',  78'	Stadium: Cappielow Attendance: 1,388 Referee: Alan Newlands

Greenock Morton v Dundee United

9 December 2017 16	Greenock Morton	0 – 2	Dundee United	Greenock
15:00	Lamie  90+5'	Report	Durnan  45+1' King 61', 90+4'	Stadium: Cappielow Attendance: 2,021 Referee: Gavin Duncan

Greenock Morton v Inverness Caledonian Thistle

23 December 2017 17	Greenock Morton	1 – 0	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Greenock
	Harkins 22 pen.' Quitongo  75'	Report	Baird  16' Raven  22' Vigurs  57' Polworth  69' Donaldson  90+3'	Stadium: Cappielow Attendance: 1,547 Referee: Colin Steven

Greenock Morton v St Mirren

2 January 2018 18	Greenock Morton	1 – 1	St Mirren	Greenock
15:00	Thomson  34' Harkins  50' Doyle  69' O'Ware 80' Oliver  82'	Report	Morgan 25' Magennis  68' McGinn  69'	Stadium: Cappielow Attendance: 4,126 Referee: Kevin Clancy

Brechin City v Greenock Morton

6 January 2018 19	Brechin City	1 – 1	Greenock Morton	Brechin
15:00	McLennan 7'	Report	McHugh 12'	Stadium: Glebe Park Attendance: 694 Referee: John McKendrick

Greenock Morton v Falkirk

13 January 2018 20	Greenock Morton	0 – 1	Falkirk	Greenock
15:00	Lamie  13' Harkins  51'	Report	Sibbald 20'	Stadium: Cappielow Attendance: 2,084 Referee: Andrew Dallas

Dundee United v Greenock Morton

27 January 2018 21	Dundee United	0 – 3	Greenock Morton	Dundee
15:00	Quinn  59' Kadded  69'	Report	O'Ware 35' Tiffoney 47' Harkins  49' Ross  66' Iredale 80'	Stadium: Tannadice Park Attendance: 5,730 Referee: Cook

Greenock Morton v Dunfermline Athletic

3 February 2018 22	Greenock Morton	2 – 1	Dunfermline Athletic	Greenock, Scotland
15:00	Tidser 37' Harkins  88' Oliver 90'	Report	Beadling 23' Craigen  51' McManus  72'	Stadium: Cappielow Attendance: 1,588 Referee: Gavin Duncan

Queen of the South v Greenock Morton

17 February 2018 23	Queen of the South	1 – 1	Greenock Morton	Dumfries
15:00	Dobbie 33' Dykes  45+1'	Report	Oliver 55',  83' Gasparotto  57' Lamie  90+3'	Stadium: Palmerston Park Attendance: 1,489 Referee: Kevin Clancy

Dumbarton v Greenock Morton

20 February 2018 24	Dumbarton	0 – 1	Greenock Morton	Dumbarton
19:45	Wilson  28'	Report	Gasparotto  39' O'Ware 74'	Stadium: Dumbarton Football Stadium Attendance: 833 Referee: Don Robertson

Inverness Caledonian Thistle v Greenock Morton

24 February 2018 25	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	0 – 2	Greenock Morton	Inverness
15:00		Report	Tiffoney 28' Harkins 70 pen.' Purdue  90+1'	Stadium: Caledonian Stadium Attendance: 2,359 Referee: Steven Kirkland

Greenock Morton v Livingston

27 February 2018 26	Greenock Morton	0 – 1	Livingston	Greenock
	Doyle  80'	Report	Cadden 47' De Vita  54' Halkett  60'	Stadium: Cappielow Attendance: 1,373 Referee: Euan Anderson

Falkirk v Greenock Morton

10 March 2018 27	Falkirk	3 – 1	Greenock Morton	Falkirk
15:00	Muirhead 4' (pen.) Nelson 18' Jakubiak 30' McGhee  41' Blair  67'	Report	Murdoch  57' Harkins 90+1',  90+2'	Stadium: Falkirk Stadium Attendance: 4,218 Referee: Euan Anderson

Livingston v Greenock Morton

13 March 2018 28	Livingston	1 – 1	Greenock Morton	Livingston
	Halkett  55' Lithgow  41' Byrne  59'  66' Longridge 90+4'	Report	Harkins  68' Oliver 88'	Stadium: Almondvale Stadium Attendance: 862 Referee: Greg Aitken

Dunfermline Athletic v Greenock Morton

17 March 2018 29	Dunfermline Athletic	0 – 0	Greenock Morton	Dunfermline
15:00		Report	O'Ware  11'	Stadium: East End Park Attendance: 4,613 Referee: Andrew Dallas

Greenock Morton v Brechin City

24 March 2018 30	Greenock Morton	2 – 0	Brechin City	Greenock
15:00	Baird 50', 72' Murdoch  68'	Report	Dyer  76'	Stadium: Cappielow Attendance: 1,831 Referee: Mike Roncone

Greenock Morton v Dundee United

31 March 2018 31	Greenock Morton	1 – 1	Dundee United	Greenock
15:00	Harkins  87' Ross 90+3'	Report	Stanton  37' Mohsni 59' Smith  83'	Stadium: Cappielow Attendance: 2,319 Referee: Don Robertson

Livingston v Greenock Morton

7 April 2018 32	Livingston	3 – 2	Greenock Morton	Livingston
15:00	Longridge 35' Lithgow 53', 86' Cadden  69'	Report	O'Ware 18' Lamie  59', 69' Tidser  85'	Stadium: Almondvale Stadium Attendance: 1,028 Referee: Steven Kirkland

Greenock Morton v Dumbarton

10 April 2018 33	Greenock Morton	3 – 2	Dumbarton	Greenock
19:45	Fraser 62' Baird 69' Iredale  85', 90+4'	Report	Walsh  44' Handling 55',  65' O'Ware 87' (o.g.) Stirling  90+1'	Stadium: Cappielow Park Attendance: 1,134 Referee: Craig Charleston

Greenock Morton v Queen of the South

14 April 2018 34	Greenock Morton	0 – 1	Queen of the South	Greenock
15:00	Harkins  31'	Report	Dykes  25', 69' Jacobs  52'	Stadium: Cappielow Park Attendance: 1,514 Referee: Stephen Finnie

St Mirren v Greenock Morton

21 April 2018 35	St Mirren	2 – 1	Greenock Morton	Paisley
15:00	Mullen 10' Morgan 72',  72'	Report	Doyle 30' Iredale  66'	Stadium: St Mirren Park Attendance: 6,422 Referee: Bobby Madden

Greenock Morton v Inverness Caledonian Thistle

28 April 2018 36	Greenock Morton	0 – 3	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Greenock
15:00	Harkins  7' Murdoch  29'	Report	Oakley 20', 37' Austin 55' Trafford  59'	Stadium: Cappielow Park Attendance: 1,539 Referee: Beaton

Scottish League Cup

Main article: 2017–18 Scottish League Cup § Group F

Group stage

Results

Berwick Rangers v Greenock Morton

15 July 2017 Group stage	Berwick Rangers	0 – 1	Greenock Morton	Berwick-upon-Tweed
15:00		Report	Fleming 33 o.g.'	Stadium: Shielfield Park Attendance: 701 Referee: Grant Irvine

Greenock Morton v Queen's Park

18 July 2017 Group stage	Greenock Morton	2 – 2 (4 – 2 p)	Queen's Park	Greenock
19:45	McHugh 85' Barr 90+2'	Report	Wharton 70' Orr 81'	Stadium: Cappielow Park Attendance: 1,220 Referee: Colin Steven

Motherwell v Greenock Morton

22 July 2017 Group stage	Motherwell	4 – 0	Greenock Morton	Motherwell
15:00	Dunne 3' Cadden 25' Tait 67' Moult 72'	Report	Gary Harkins  39'	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 3,113 Referee: Kevin Clancy

Greenock Morton v Edinburgh City

29 July 2017 Group stage	Greenock Morton	5 – 0	Edinburgh City	Greenock
15:00	McHugh 14', 90+2' Quitongo 53' Thomson 73', 79'	Report		Stadium: Cappielow Park Attendance: 1,065 Referee: Mike Roncone

Group F Table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		MOT	GMO	QPA	EDC	BER
1	Motherwell (Q)	4	4	0	0	0	12	2	+10	12	Qualification for the Second Round		—	4–0	—	—	1–0
2	Greenock Morton	4	2	1	0	1	8	6	+2	8			—	—	p2–2	5–0	—
3	Queen's Park	4	2	0	1	1	9	9	0	7			1–5	—	—	3–0	—
4	Edinburgh City	4	0	1	0	3	3	12	−9	2			1–2	—	—	—	p2–2
5	Berwick Rangers	4	0	0	1	3	4	7	−3	1			—	0–1	2–3	—	—

Source: ^[1]
Rules for classification: 1) goal difference, 2) goals scored, 3) away goals scored, 4) matches won, 5) away matches won, 6) drawing of lots.^[2]
(Q) Qualified to the phase indicated

Scottish Challenge Cup

Main article: 2017–18 Scottish Challenge Cup

Greenock Morton v Livingston

15 August 2017 1st Round	Greenock Morton	0 – 2	Livingston	Greenock
19:45		Report	Todorov 25' Mullen 70'	Stadium: Cappielow Park Attendance: 1,036 Referee: Colin Steven

Scottish Cup

Main article: 2017–18 Scottish Cup

Dunfermline Athletic v Greenock Morton

20 January 2018 Fourth round	Dunfermline Athletic	1 – 2	Greenock Morton	Dunfermline
15:00	McManus 57'	Report	Oliver 24' Quitongo 85'	Stadium: East End Park Attendance: 2,573 Referee: Alan Muir

Greenock Morton v Dumbarton

10 February 2018 Fifth round	Greenock Morton	3 – 0	Dumbarton	Greenock
15:00	Ross 12' Iredale 49' McHugh 80'	Report		Stadium: Cappielow Attendance: 1,746 Referee: Craig Thomson

Celtic v Greenock Morton

3 March 2018 Quarter-Final	Celtic	3 – 0	Greenock Morton	Glasgow
15:00	Dembélé 62', 71 pen.' Édouard 90'	Report		Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 18,255 Referee: John Beaton

Player statistics

As of 28 April 2018

All competitions

Position	Player	Starts	Subs	Unused subs	Goals	Red cards	Yellow cards
FW	Ben Armour	0	7	0	0	0	0
FW	John Baird (on loan from Inverness)	6	2	0	3	0	0
DF	Darren Barr	4	1	0	1	0	0
GK	Conor Brennan	4	1	0	0	0	0
GK	Ross Doohan (on loan from Celtic)	0	0	2	0	0	0
DF	Michael Doyle	43	0	0	1	0	1
MF	Ben Eardley	0	1	0	0	0	0
MF	Ross Forbes	19	2	0	1	0	1
MF	Gary Fraser	3	3	0	1	0	0
DF	Luca Gasparotto	12	1	0	0	0	0
GK	Derek Gaston	40	0	0	0	0	0
MF	Gary Harkins	34	7	0	8	1	0
DF	Darren Hynes	1	0	1	0	0	0
DF	Jack Iredale	13	1	4	2	0	0
DF	Lee Kilday	0	0	0	0	0	0
DF	Ricki Lamie	35	1	1	0	0	2
MF	Ruaridh Langan	0	5	4	0	0	0
GK	Jamie McGowan	0	0	7	0	0	0
FW	Robert McHugh	19	13	0	8	0	1
MF	Connor McManus	5	2	2	0	0	1
MF	Andy Murdoch	41	1	0	1	0	0
DF	Thomas O'Ware	37	0	0	4	0	0
FW	Gary Oliver	29	8	0	6	0	0
MF	Jack Purdue	0	1	0	0	0	0
FW	Jai Quitongo	16	5	0	5	0	2
MF	Frank Ross (on loan from Aberdeen)	12	6	0	2	0	0
DF	Mark Russell	32	4	1	0	0	1
DF	Lewis Strapp	2	4	3	0	0	0
FW	Robert Thomson	20	9	0	6	0	0
MF	Michael Tidser	32	4	0	3	0	0
FW	Scott Tiffoney	20	17	3	3	0	0

First team transfers

• From end of 2016-17 season, to last match of season 2017-18

In

Player	From	League	Fee
Robert Thomson	Dumbarton	Scottish Championship	Free
Robert McHugh	Falkirk	Scottish Championship	Free
Darren Barr (player/coach)	Dumbarton	Scottish Championship	Free
Gary Harkins	Ayr United	Scottish League One	Free
Jack Iredale	ECU Joondalup	National Premier Leagues Western Australia	Free
Connor McManus	Celtic	Scottish Premiership	Free
Ross Doohan	Celtic	Scottish Premiership	Loan
Cameron Hayes	Dumbarton	Scottish Championship	Free
Daniel Farrell	Rutherglen Glencairn	West of Scotland Super League First Division	Free
Luca Gasparotto	Falkirk	Scottish Championship	Free
Conor Brennan	Ballymena United	NIFL Premiership	Free
Frank Ross	Aberdeen	Scottish Premiership	Loan
John Baird	Inverness	Scottish Championship	Loan
Gary Fraser	Partick Thistle	Scottish Championship	Loan

Out

Player	To	League	Fee
Kudus Oyenuga	Chelmsford City	National League South	Free
Lewis McIntyre	Stranraer	Scottish League One	Free
Lewis Strapp	Elgin City	Scottish League Two	Loan
Thomas Orr	Queen's Park	Scottish League Two	Free
Darren Barr	Stirling Albion	Scottish League Two	Free
Connor McManus	East Fife	Scottish League Two	Free

Team statistics

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
5	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	36	16	9	11	53	37	+16	57
6	Queen of the South	36	14	10	12	59	53	+6	52
7	Greenock Morton	36	13	11	12	47	40	+7	50
8	Falkirk	36	12	11	13	45	49	−4	47
9	Dumbarton (R)	36	7	9	20	27	63	−36	30	Qualification for the Championship play-offs

Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Points in head-to-head matches; 5) Goal difference in hth matches; 6). Goals scored in hth matches; 7). Play-off (only for deciding promotion, play-off participation and relegation).^[3]
(R) Relegated