Morton 1
Dundee Utd 2
League (Division One)

Match Report

With two wins under their belt, Jerry Kerr's United looked ahead to Cappielow, where they would attempt to take their winning form on the road against a Morton side who were sitting eight places above them in the league. The only change to the squad was on the substitute's bench, as Walter Smith replaced Alan Gordon.

The Tangerines drew blood after only three minutes. Morton's John Clark was adjudged to have handled the ball just outside the penalty box and from the resultant free-kick, Andy Rolland stepped up to power the ball home for the opener. A weak effort from Billy Osborne at the other end saw the striker fire past Hamish McAlpine's post. Alan Devlin almost made it two for United shortly after when he picked up an Alec Reid pass and shot hard at Erik Sorensen.

Altogether, United's more studious approach had Morton in a tangle and it wasn't until after the interval that the home side truly threatened. Making a better fist of it this time around, Osborne rattled the crossbar, as did Paul Smith shortly afterwards. Despite Morton's attempts to equalise, it was United who broke away to score their second. Tommy Traynor created the opening for Jackie Copland, who converted to score his fourth goal in two games. The Danish substitute Borge Thorup pulled one back for the home side with seven minutes left, but United held on to score a rare win at the oft unlucky turf at Cappielow, making it three wins in a row.