Greenock Morton 3
Ayr United 0
League (Championship)
Morton |
3 - 0 |
Ayr United |
 |
League (Championship) |
 |
| Goalscorers | |
| Muirhead (35', 57', 59') | None. |
| Team Managers | |
| Dougie Imrie |
Lee Bullen |
| Starting Eleven | |
|
1 Mullen 26 French 5 Baird 15 Broadfoot 3 Strapp 21 Gillespie 27 Wilson 8 Blues 14 Crawford 9 MuirheadS 22 Oakley |
Robbie Mutch George Stanger Elicha Ahui Patrick Reading Nick McAllister Ben Dempsey Jamie Murphy Jack Young Jack Senga Anton Dowds Logan Chalmers |
| Bench | |
|
4 O'Connor 7 Boyd 10 Quitongo 17 McGrattan 19 Bearne 20 Power 31 O'Boy 41 Murdoch |
Charlie Albinson Finn Ecrepont Roy Syla Aiden McGeady Mark McKenzie Fraser Bryden Paul Smith Franny Amartey Ahkeem Rose |
| Substitutions | |
| None. |
Ahkeem Rose for Jack Senga (64) Aiden McGeady for Logan Chalmers (64) Franny Amartey for Jamie Murphy (64) Paul Smith for Aiden McGeady (76) Roy Syla for Jack Young (83) |
| Cautions | |
| Strapp; Gillespie; |
Roy Syla Franny Amartey |
| Red Cards | |
| None. | None. |
| Match Officials | |
|
Duncan Williams (Referee) |
Match Report
Robbie Muirhead's hat-trick powered Greenock Morton past Ayr United, and three points above their Scottish Championship rivals in sixth place.
Muirhead netted with either foot and his head, taking his tally to 13 for the season.
The forward nodded in Cameron Blues' cross 10 minutes before half-time, then added two more in as many second-half minutes.
First, Muirhead drove down the left before cutting in to score, then measured a shot from the edge of the Ayr box to complete his treble.
Morton lie a point behind Dunfermline Athletic, and two shy of fourth-placed Airdrieonians.
Match report written by BBC
Squad Statistics (as at January 2nd, 2024)
| 2023-24 | All Time | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | Nat |  |
 |
|
|
|
| Robbie Mutch (GK) | - |
|
10 | - | 10 | - |
| Patrick Reading | 24 |
|
24 | - | 135 | 3 |
| Elicha Ahui | 20 |
|
12 | - | 12 | - |
| George Stanger | 23 |
|
18 | 1 | 18 | 1 |
| Jamie Murphy | 34 |
|
19 | 5 | 19 | 5 |
| Ben Dempsey | 24 |
|
12 | 2 | 65 | 10 |
| Nick McAllister | 22 |
|
16 | 1 | 62 | 2 |
| Jack Senga | - |
|
12 | - | 12 | - |
| Jack Young | - |
|
17 | - | 17 | - |
| Anton Dowds | 27 |
|
13 | 7 | 13 | 7 |
| Logan Chalmers | 23 |
|
16 | 5 | 27 | 8 |
| Roy Syla (sub) | 23 |
|
15 | - | 15 | - |
| Aiden McGeady (sub) | 37 |
|
14 | 1 | 14 | 1 |
| Ahkeem Rose (sub) | 25 |
|
20 | 4 | 20 | 4 |
| Paul Smith (sub) | 21 |
|
15 | - | 48 | - |
| Franny Amartey (sub) | 24 |
|
22 | 1 | 22 | 1 |
League Table (as at January 2nd, 2024)
| Pld | W | D | L | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Raith Rovers | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 44 |
| 2. | Dundee United | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 41 |
| 3. | Partick Thistle | 19 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 32 |
| 4. | Airdrieonians | 19 | 7 | 3 | 9 | 24 |
| 5. | Dunfermline Athletic | 18 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 23 |
| 6. | Morton | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 22 |
| 7. | Ayr United | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 19 |
| 8. | ICT | 19 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 18 |
| 9. | Arbroath | 18 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 17 |
| 10. | Queen's Park | 18 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 14 |