U18s: Defeat against Morton in CAS Cup semi-final

Our under-18s were defeated by Greenock Morton in the semi-final of the CAS Cup on Friday evening.

Held at Parklea Community Stadium, the hosts showed their clinical edge in the opening half with Cameron Keay bagging himself a hat-trick amongst a Fran Franczak penalty.

Despite a battling start to the second half, Morton would eventually move on to extend their advantage and record a comfortable win.

Early on, Jack Robertson broke down the left-hand side but his delivery into the box was plucked out of the air by the goalkeeper.

The hosts would take the lead shortly after when a cross into the centre of the box was turned into the net from close range by Keay.

Moments later, with 14 minutes on the clock, the lead was doubled when the Morton forward made no mistake from the penalty spot.

Saints rallied and Jacob Fleming’s effort from point-blank range was soon saved impressively from a great Murray Binnie ball in.  

Binnie himself then capitalised on a mistake by the goalkeeper, but the man between the posts recovered to save at the second time of asking.

We did pull ourselves back into the contest with 25 minutes played when Franczak kept his composure from the penalty spot. Fleming had been fouled inside the box.

The home goalkeeper had already made a couple of smart stops and he reacted quickly to add another to his tally as Binnie searched for a leveller at the back post.

Just as Saints had looked like they were right back in the game, Morton extended their lead on the stroke of half-time with Keay securing his third of the night.

The start of the second half was not quite as frantic as the first, although we continued to battle and search for a route back into the match.

Jamie Cord tried his luck from distance on the hour mark and, while his strike had the required power, the ball drifted over the bar.

Morton would net a fourth of the evening in the 67th minute with a powerful header from deep inside the box before finding a fifth with an arrowed, low finish into the bottom corner.

Another penalty was awarded with five minutes remaining and that was successfully dispatched for number six. They would add a seventh in the final minute.

Saints: Flanagan, Ashworth (Brookfield 75), Miller, Voy (Didcock 45), Carling, Trialist, Cord (Muir 75), Franczak, Robertson, Binnie, Fleming (Evans 75).