Accies made the long trip to Dingwall yesterday for what promised to be a tough opening match against a Ross County whom many have made the favourites for immediate promotion into division 1.
In the opening stages, it did indeed look as if Accies would be swept off the park by the home team. They had invested heavily over the summer, (in second division terms), bringing in the experienced trio of Brian Irvine (the Tommy Burns* of the second division), George Shaw and Michael Geraghty. The difference in quality was quite clear in the opening stages as their passing was usually quite crisp and their movement good off the ball. Unfortunately, Ross County took the lead after only 3 minutes, when the ball broke free to John McGlashan in the box after a "stramash" in the box. He wasted no time in thumping it past the exposed Chris Reid.
Fortunately, the expected onslaught never materialised after this and as the half wore on Accies began to grow in confidence. However, they never really tested Nicky "sunbed" Walker in the home goal. That is, until one of the Accies fans shouted at the team to have a shot at goal. Straight away, a long clearance from Chris Reid was flicked on to David MvFarlane, who thumped a beauty into Walker's postage stamp corner. Sadly, the keeper made a brilliant save. From the resultant corner, the ball broke to Steven Thomson, who acrobatically put the ball over the bar from close range. The last 5 minutes of the first half was Accies best period, when they really had County on the rack.
In the second half, Accies were attacking the away end and must have been encouraged by the large numbers who had made the trip north. Several reasonable chances were created and scorned and it seemed to me that players such as Bill Davidson , Davie McFarlane and Michael Moore will do very well at this level when they gain a bit of confidence. It was particularly infuriating to see Bill Davidson create a good chance and then square the ball fruitlessly when a good shooting opportunity was available.
Changes had to be made - and the most popular change came when manager Colin Miller had himself substituted by Steven McCormick just after the hour. His appearance had an immediate impact and he scored an equaliser three minutes later. I can't remeber how the move developed, but it ended with Steve McCormick facing only Nicky Walker and he lifted the ball over the advancing goalie to score. After this, Accies had a great chance to take the lead. Michael Moore passed superbly through to David McFarlane, who was left with only the keeper to beat. He managed to do that, but his low shot went into the side netting.
For the rest of the match, most of the action was up at the far end as County piled on the pressure. This paid off with 12 minutes left when captain Brian Irvine scored with a bullet header when he was left unmarked at a corner. To my unbiased eye, it looked as if he pushed a defender out of the way - but maybe I'm clutching at straws. there was the usual flurry of substitutions, as Allan Russell replaced the ineffective Dean Muir and Paul Gaughan came on for Michael Moore. They were to no avail, however, as County held on to win 2-1.
My conclusion from the game is that, if County are the best team in the league, then there's every chance that we'll finish in the top 3 and gain promotion. However, the team is sadly lacking in experienced players who can tell the young players what to do during the game. As with last season, we desperately need a good creative midfield player to produce chances for the young strikers. However, when the younger players can add some confidence to their undoubted quality, I think we'll do OK.
Team : Reid, Martin, Cunnington, Miller (McCormick 64), Maclaren, Thomson, Muir (Russell 82), Davidson, McFarlane, Moore (Gaughan 87), N Henderson.
* For younger readers, Tommy Burns is very famous as a Celtic legend and failed manager. However, this reference applies to the twilight of his career, when he slummed it in divisions 1 and 2 with Kilmarnock. Referees tolerated his continual foul play and players gave him far too much respect, simply because he was famous.
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