2008–09 Greenock Morton F.C. season

Season 2008–09 saw Greenock Morton compete in their second consecutive season in the First Division. They finished sixth in the league, a rise from the previous season's avoidance of the relegation play-off by one goal.

Greenock Morton

2008–09 season
Chairman	Douglas Rae
Manager	Davie Irons
Scottish First Division	6th
Scottish Cup	Third round (eliminated by Peterhead)
League Cup	Third round (eliminated by Inverness CT)
Challenge Cup	Semi-final (eliminated by Ross County)
Top goalscorer	League: Peter Weatherson, Brian Wake (9) All: Brian Wake (12)
Highest home attendance	League: 3,323 vs Partick Thistle (18 April 2008) Cup: 2,023 vs Inverness CT (23 September 2008)
Lowest home attendance	League: 1,642 vs Airdrie United (25 November 2008) Cup: 2,023 vs Inverness CT (23 September 2008)
Average home league attendance	2,274
Home colours Away colours Third colours
← 2007–08 2009–10 →

First team transfers

• From end of 2007–08 season, to last match of season 2008–09

In

Player	From	Fee
Steven Masterton	Clyde	Free
Kevin Cuthbert	St Johnstone	Free
Jon Newby	Morecambe	Free
Dominic Shimmin	Crawley Town	Free
Allan McManus	St Johnstone	Free
James Grady	Hamilton Academical	Loan
James Grady	Hamilton Academical	Free
Chris Smith	Rangers	Free
Colin Stewart	Livingston	Free
Carlo Monti	Celtic	Free

Out

Player	To	Fee
Craig Black	Largs Thistle	Free
Adam Coakley	Queen's Park	Free
Bobby Linn	East Fife	Free
Barry Smith	Valur	Loan Return
Dean Keenan	Ayr United	Free
Chris Templeman	East Fife	Free
David McGurn	Raith Rovers	Free
Jon Newby	Burton Albion	Loan
Lee Robinson	Rangers	Loan Return
Scott McLaughlin	Airdrie United	Free
Chris Millar	St Johnstone	Free
Jamie Stevenson	Alloa Athletic	Loan
Brian Graham	East Stirlingshire	Loan
Jamie Stevenson	East Stirlingshire	Loan
Kieran McAnespie	Dumbarton	Loan

Squad (that played for first team)

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  SCO Kevin Cuthbert — GK  SCO Colin Stewart — DF  SCO Stewart Greacen (captain) — DF  SCO Ryan Harding — DF  SCO David MacGregor — DF  SCO Allan McManus — DF  SCO Alan Reid (trialist) — DF  ENG Dominic Shimmin — DF  SCO Chris Smith — DF  SCO Alex Walker — MF  SCO Kevin Finlayson

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  SCO Allan Jenkins — MF  SCO Steven Masterton — MF  SCO Jim McAlister — MF  SCO Ryan McGuffie — MF  SCO Carlo Monti — MF  AUS Erik Paartalu — FW  SCO James Grady (loaned from Hamilton Academical) — FW  ENG Jon Newby — FW  SCO Iain Russell — FW  ENG Brian Wake — FW  ENG Peter Weatherson

Fixtures and results

  Win   Draw   Loss

Friendlies

Date	Opponents	Stadium	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance
7 July 2008	Threave Rovers	Meadow Park, Castle Douglas	9–0	Brian Wake Iain Russell Jim McAlister Jon Newby Steven Masterton Erik Paartalu	?
9 July 2008	Tow Law Town	Ironworks Road Ground, Tow Law	1–1	Iain Russell	?
10 July 2008	Durham City	The Archibald's Stadium, Durham	3–0	Jon Newby Brian Wake Erik Paartalu	?
12 July 2008	Ayr United	Cappielow Park, Greenock	0–1		?
15 July 2008	Hartlepool United	Cappielow Park, Greenock	1–2	Steven Masterton	?
16 July 2008	Celtic	Lennoxtown, Glasgow	1–5	Steven Masterton	Closed Door
18 July 2008	Dumbarton	Strathclyde Homes Stadium, Dumbarton	1–0	Ryan McGuffie	566
21 July 2008	Carlton YMCA (Renfrewshire Cup SF)	Cappielow Park, Greenock	9–0	Iain Russell Brian Wake Erik Paartalu Jon Newby Kevin Finlayson Ryan McGuffie	?
22 July 2008	Rangers	Murray Park, Milngavie	1–3	Brian Wake	Closed Door
26 July 2008	St Mirren (Renfrewshire Cup Final)	Cappielow Park, Greenock	1 – 1 (4 – 5 on pens)	Iain Russell	3,836
3 September 2008	Partick Thistle	Cappielow Park, Greenock	2–2	Peter Weatherson Trialist	Closed Door
20 September 2008	Ayr United	Glasgow Green, Glasgow	4–4	Allan Jenkins Kieran McAnespie	Public Park
4 November 2008	St Johnstone	Cappielow Park, Greenock	2–4	?	Closed Door
13 November 2008	Celtic XI	Cappielow Park, Greenock	0–0		?
19 November 2008	Hamilton Academical	Cappielow Park, Greenock	4–3	Iain Russell Brian Wake Kevin Finlayson	Closed Door
7 January 2009	Rangers	Murray Park, Milngavie	0–1		Closed Door
12 January 2009	Ayr United	Glasgow Green, Glasgow	2–1	Peter Weatherson Iain Russell	Public Park
28 January 2009	St Mirren	St Mirren Park, Paisley	0–2		Closed Door
19 February 2009	Dumbarton	Cappielow Park, Greenock	0–2		Closed Door
28 April 2009	Viewfield Rovers (Renfrewshire Cup SF)	Cappielow Park, Greenock	11–0	Ryan McGuffie Kevin Finlayson Iain Russell Peter Weatherson Brian Wake James Grady	?

Irn-Bru Scottish Football League First Division

Date	Opponents	Stadium	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance	Points	Referee
2 August 2008	Clyde	Broadwood Stadium, Cumbernauld	1–1	Jon Newby 40' Brian Wake  86'	1,638	1	C Boyle
9 August 2008	St Johnstone	Cappielow Park, Greenock	2–2	Ryan McGuffie 5' Erik Paartalu 82'	2,649	2	C Brown
16 August 2008	Livingston	Cappielow Park, Greenock	1–2	Brian Wake 31'	2,502	2	B Winter
23 August 2008	Dundee	Dens Park, Dundee	0–1		4,032	2	J McKendrick
30 August 2008	Airdrie United	Shyberry Excelsior Stadium, Drumgelloch	0–5		1,793	2	A Muir
13 September 2008	Queen of the South	Cappielow Park, Greenock	0–0		2,235	3	C Allan
20 September 2008	Partick Thistle	Firhill Stadium, Glasgow	1–2	Iain Russell 44'	3,368	3	S Finnie
27 September 2008	Dunfermline Athletic	Cappielow Park, Greenock	1–1	Brian Wake 60'	2,156	4	S Nicholls
4 October 2008	Ross County	Victoria Park, Dingwall	0–3		2,290	4	A Muir
18 October 2008	Clyde	Cappielow Park, Greenock	1–0	James Grady 37'	2,041	7	E Norris
25 October 2008	Dundee	Cappielow Park, Greenock	2–0	Peter Weatherson 26' Ryan McGuffie 59' (pen.)	1,741	10	C Thomson
1 November 2008	Livingston	Almondvale Stadium, Livingston	0–1		1,733	10	B Winter
8 November 2008	Queen of the South	Palmerston Park, Dumfries	4–1	Peter Weatherson 19' 28' Allan Jenkins 37' Stewart Greacen 74'	2,944	13	D Somers
22 November 2008	Dunfermline Athletic	East End Park, Dunfermline	0–1	Erik Paartalu 24'	4,400	16	M McCurry
25 November 2008	Airdrie United	Cappielow Park, Greenock	2–0	Brian Wake 34' Allan Jenkins 90'	1,642	19	C Allan
13 December 2008	St Johnstone	McDiarmid Park, Perth	0–1		2,749	19	S O'Reilly
20 December 2008	Ross County	Cappielow Park, Greenock	2–1	Steven Masterton 35' Brian Wake 64'	1,853	22	C Charleston
27 December 2008	Airdrie United	Shyberry Excelsior Stadium, Drumgelloch	0–1	Kevin Cuthbert  44'	1,663	22	C Murray
30 December 2008	Partick Thistle	Cappielow Park, Greenock	2–0	Steven Masterton 17' Peter Weatherson 65'	2,385	25	J McKendrick
3 January 2009	Queen of the South	Cappielow Park, Greenock	2–2	Peter Weatherson 33' 90'	2,647	26	S Nicholls
17 January 2009	Dundee	Dens Park, Dundee	0–0		3,736	27	C Brown
24 January 2009	Livingston	Cappielow Park, Greenock	2–2	Brian Wake 13' Ryan McGuffie 16'	2,307	28	I Brines
31 January 2009	St Johnstone	Cappielow Park, Greenock	0–0		2,810	29	C Thomson
21 February 2009	Partick Thistle	Firhill Stadium, Glasgow	0–1		3,348	29	C Charleston
28 February 2009	Dunfermline Athletic	Cappielow Park, Greenock	2–1	Peter Weatherson 28' Stewart Greacen 48'	2,092	32	M Tumilty
3 March 2009	Clyde	Broadwood Stadium, Cumbernauld	4–2	Erik Paartalu 32' Iain Russell 70' Brian Wake 86' 90'	1,165	35	M McCurry
7 March 2009	Queen of the South	Palmerston Park, Dumfries	1–1	James Grady 41'	2,643	36	B Winter
10 March 2009	Airdrie United	Cappielow Park, Greenock	0–0		1,865	37	E Norris
14 March 2009	Clyde	Cappielow Park, Greenock	2–0	Allan Jenkins 18' Steven Masterton 68' (pen.)	2,168	40	S Conroy
21 March 2009	Ross County	Victoria Park, Dingwall	1–1	Iain Russell 90'	2,236	41	C Boyle
4 April 2009	Dundee	Cappielow Park, Greenock	2–0	Peter Weatherson 29' 79'	2,133	44	C Murray
11 April 2009	Livingston	Almondvale Stadium, Livingston	2–0	Brian Wake 19' 83'	1,815	47	G Salmond
18 April 2009	Partick Thistle	Cappielow Park, Greenock	0–1		3,323	47	A Law
2 May 2009	St Johnstone	McDiarmid Park, Perth	1–3	Ryan McGuffie 25' (pen.)	6,453	47	S Nicholls
5 May 2009	Dunfermline Athletic	East End Park, Dunfermline	1–3	Carlo Monti 62'	1,438	47	B Winter
9 May 2009	Ross County	Cappielow Park, Greenock	0–2		1,956	47	S Dougal

Homecoming Scottish Cup

Date	Round	Opponents	Stadium	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance	Referee
29 November 2008	Round 3	Peterhead	Balmoor Stadium, Peterhead	1–2	Steven Masterton 24' Peter Weatherson  66'	817	S MacDonald

League Cup

Date	Round	Opponents	Stadium	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance	Referee
5 August 2008	Round 1	Stranraer	Stair Park, Stranraer	6–3	Ryan McGuffie 5' Brian Wake 12' 85' Iain Russell 23' 32' Erik Paartalu 42'	317	S Finnie
26 August 2008	Round 2	Hibernian	Easter Road Stadium, Edinburgh	3 – 4 AET	Iain Russell 29' 115' (pen.) Steven Masterton 66' Ryan Harding 118'	6,329	I Brines
23 September 2008	Round 3	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Cappielow Park, Greenock	1 – 2 AET	Jim McAlister 34'	2,023	M McCurry

Challenge Cup

Date	Round	Opponents	Stadium	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance	Referee
13 August 2008	Round 2	East Stirlingshire	Ochilview Park, Stenhousemuir	3–0	Steven Masterton 22' Ryan McGuffie 32' 53'	753	S O'Reilly
7 September 2008	Quarter Final	Queen of the South	Palmerston Park, Dumfries	2–0	Brian Wake 48' Ryan McGuffie 77'	2,991	W Collum
12 October 2008	Semi Final	Ross County	Victoria Park, Dingwall	1–4	Allan McManus  55' Peter Weatherson 77'	1,396	M Tumilty

Player statistics

Overall

#	Player	Played	Subs
GK	Kevin Cuthbert	34	00	00
GK	Colin Stewart	02	02	00
DF	Stewart Greacen	29	00	02
DF	Dominic Shimmin	28	00	00
DF	Alex Walker	27	01	00
DF	Chris Smith	22	02	00
DF	Allan McManus	21	02	00
DF	Ryan Harding	12	02	01
DF	David MacGregor	11	00	00
DF	Alan Reid	00	02	00
MF	Jim McAlister	42	00	01
MF	Ryan McGuffie	38	01	08
MF	Steven Masterton	28	08	06
MF	Kevin Finlayson	27	11	00
MF	Erik Paartalu	24	09	04
MF	Allan Jenkins	22	13	03
MF	Carlo Monti	03	01	01
FW	Peter Weatherson	33	08	10
FW	Brian Wake	25	15	12
FW	Iain Russell	17	15	07
FW	James Grady	16	05	02
FW	Jon Newby	05	02	01

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
4	Dundee	36	13	11	12	33	32	+1	50
5	Queen of the South	36	12	11	13	57	50	+7	47
6	Greenock Morton	36	12	11	13	40	40	0	47
7	Livingston (R)	36	13	8	15	56	58	−2	47[a]
8	Ross County	36	13	8	15	42	46	−4	47

Source: BBC Sport
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Demoted to 3rd Division for Financial Irregularities

See also