Match Report
The journey to Cappielow set the tone for an afternoon to forget as Clydebank suffered a heavy 6-0 defeat at the hands of an impressive Morton side.
The Bankies' preparations were disrupted when their team bus broke down en route to Greenock, forcing the players to complete the journey in the back of an open van on a wet afternoon. Kick-off was delayed by 15 minutes, but Jack Steedman refused to use the incident as an excuse afterwards, insisting: "If we had come in Rolls Royces, Morton would still have beaten us."
Morton needed only three minutes to open the scoring. Following a goalmouth scramble, Walter Borthwick reacted quickest to prod the ball from Ronnie Wilson's grasp and into the net.
Despite the early setback, Clydebank responded positively. Donald McDonald almost caught Erik Sorensen out with a fiercely struck free-kick that narrowly evaded Ernie Collumbine, while Sorensen later had to smother at the feet of Collumbine after good approach play involving John Cummings.
The visitors competed well in midfield, where Eddie Jenkins was outstanding, and Tommy McGhee also impressed before injury curtailed his afternoon. However, Morton's attacking quality gradually told.
Borthwick doubled the lead after 24 minutes when he converted John Boyd's cross before completing his hat-trick only a minute later from Joe Harper's delivery.
Joe Mason added a fourth in the 34th minute, heading home another dangerous cross from the adventurous Boyd, before Billy Grey nodded in Tommy Ewing's corner to leave Morton 5-0 ahead at the interval.
John Wark replaced the injured McGhee after the restart, and although the Bankies enjoyed a better spell during the second half, they struggled to create clear-cut openings. Jenkins released Cummings with a neat pass, but Sorensen was equal to his effort.
Morton completed the scoring in the 65th minute when 17-year-old Harper finished from close range, but Clydebank deserve credit for refusing to let their heads go down despite being on the wrong end of a rout. Wilson made several excellent saves to prevent an even heavier defeat, while the visitors continued to compete despite the scoreline.
The result was undoubtedly sobering, but it did not tell the whole story. Morton were in outstanding form and would go on to challenge strongly for promotion, while Clydebank's young side continued to show encouraging signs in spells, even if they remained short of the cutting edge required at this level.
Match report written by Stuart McBay
