Duffy hails his men for being Ton the money
Ross celebrates his goal
By Kenny MacDonald
Jim Duffy praised his side for booking their place in today’s quarter-final draw – but insists Morton had to fight tooth and nail to clinch the win over Sons.
On-loan Aberdeen hit-kid Frank Ross bagged an early first goal before second half efforts from Jack Iredale and Bob McHugh saw off Dumbarton.
Duffy said: “It wasn’t a comfortable win but we earned the right to be in the next round.
“The first goal was outstanding, the second was pivotal and gave us a cushion and the third was the icing on the cake.
“The main thing is to be in the next round and we’re looking forward to the draw. But there are bigger clubs than us who will not be looking forward to it.”
The Cappielow side stormed out the traps and Ross rattled in a near-post shot to force keeper Scott Gallacher into a decent save just five minutes in.
But they were soon rewarded with the opener as Ross played a one-two with Gary Oliver before blasting home from 10-yards in 12 minutes.
Ton were in total command after that and Andy Murdoch’s first-time shot under pressure slipped agonisingly wide of the right post before Scott Tiffoney and Ross also came close to extending their lead.
Sons, meanwhile, had little to offer and Cappielow keeper Derek Gaston never made a serious save throughout the first half.
Duffy’s side then found their second minutes after the break as Oliver’s point-blank shot was saved and Iredale ran on to the loose ball to crash it back across and into the top right.
And Ton clinched their place in quarter-finals with goal No.3 after a low cross from Ross was rammed home from close range by McHugh in 80 minutes.
Sons manager Stevie Aitken said: “Not playing for a couple of weeks affected us. But I have told the players not to feel sorry for themselves and we’ll just get on with it.”