Morton were fresh off a convincing 3-1 victory in Dunfermline the weekend prior, with Gus MacPherson’s side looking replicate this result against Killie at Cappielow.
This would be a very difficult task, as Killie boasted the best defence record in the league heading in to this contest, with Morton being the lowest scorers in the Championship this season.
Nonetheless, Morton did start off the brighter of the two sides, with chances falling to Robbie Muirhead and the in-form Gozie Ugwu.
Muirhead cut inside on to his favoured left foot, whipping in an in-swinging cross towards the back post. The cross nearly crept its way in, forcing a reaction save from Zach Hemming.
This was then followed by a looping header from Ugwu, who’s effort bounced off the crossbar, with the striker inches away from giving Morton the lead.
Despite the positive start, Killie would take the lead through Blair Alston. Chris Burke floated a cross towards the back post, finding the unmarked Alston who poked his shot towards goal, deflecting off Jack Hamilton as it reached the back of the net.
In what was a recurring theme in this match, further great play from Chris Burke down the Killie right-hand side eventually led to Kilmarnock’s second of the day.
Burke’s low driven cross picked out Ollie Shaw, with the striker making no mistake, placing his shot past the helpless Hamilton for his seventh goal in the league this season.
Morton would go into the break two goals down, feeling frustrated considering their positive start to the game.
Halftime substitute Gavin Reilly would test Hemming in the Kilmarnock goal, with his left-footed shot nearly tumbling into the bottom-right corner.
However, this would be Morton’s only real chance to get back into the match as the visitors would dominate proceedings to see out the game with relative ease, with Chris Burke continuing to cause Morton problems at the back.
Morton manager Gus MacPherson remained positive despite the defeat. He said: “There were positives, we were competitive in the game. We created opportunities, we’ve given minutes to young players who got on to the pitch, which is part of their development as well.
“The gulf between the two clubs is massive, we can’t kid anyone on with that. Their objective is to get back to the premier league at the first opportunity, and they’ve built a squad which is more than capable of doing that. So we have to be realistic, but within realism, you have to be disappointed and frustrated and that’s what we are.”
Morton’s difficult run of fixtures continue, as they travel to Kirkcaldy to take on an in-form Raith Rovers who haven’t lost in the Championship since September.
