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 Morton manager Jim Duffy was not best pleased with his side's performance in the Irn-Bru cup tie with Livingston which saw his side knocked out in the first round after a 2-0 reverse.Duffy admitted his side just never turned up. Speaking after the game he said: "I’m bitterly disappointed. We never started the game and didn’t lay a glove on Livingston the whole night. We got what we deserved, which was nothing. Livingston were the better team throughout and I can’t quite understand that type of performance, because it’s so unlike us. We made a couple of changes, but nothing overly dramatic; all the boys have been in and around the first team, so it’s not as if we threw in all young boys. There wasn’t a department that played well, taking Derek Gaston out of it. The defence was poor, the midfield looked dead on their feet, and up front there was no spark. I feel like the fans in a sense – frustrated. I’m angry, and I think if the players are honest with themselves, they’ll know they totally underperformed tonight."
Morton conceded two preventable goals, but it was more the reaction to them rather than the way they were conceded that angered the Ton manager: Duffy went on: "The first one is a mistake, but mistakes can happen in football. I’m not so worried about the mistake, it’s the response and the reaction. We had no reaction. Normally if we’ve made errors, we’ve had a really positive reaction from the players, but tonight there was nothing. I didn’t think we were up for the fight."
While castigating his side; Duffy was full of praise for the opposition whose manager, David Hopkin, the Morton manager had worked with during his time as Ton 20s coach. Duffy was big enough to wish Livingston well in the competition, saying: "Livingston were terrific. They’re on a great run of form and playing with real enthusiasm and determination. The manager changed it around tonight quite significantly and he got the perfect response: players throwing the gauntlet down to him and showed he’s got a strong squad there. So all credit to Davie Hopkin and Livingston. They thoroughly deserved their victory and we wish them well in the next round."
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