Hamilton Accies 1 Morton 2
New Douglas Park, Hamilton, 2 December 2003
Report by Gilbert Mowat
If ever a game could be subtitled "A Tale of Two Strikers" it would be this exciting match at New Douglas Park. The two men who were critical to the outcome of the match were Accies' popular striker Brian McPhee and highly rated youngster Alex Williams of Morton.
Accies lined up with just one change from the usual selection, with Jim Sherry returning to the heart of the midfield after an extended injury layoff. Stevie Convery was the man relegated to the bench. The Morton team was almost at full strength, with only Derek Collins unavailable. The home team started quite slowly and Accies gave the impression that they were suffering from big match nerves. Quite why that should be against Morton I'm not too sure.
Morton played pretty well in the first half, with Alex Williams and Peter Weatherson testing the farside linesman's abilities to the limit. They played right on the edge of the Accies defence and caught out the offside trap on several occasions. Accies got away with it early on, when a decent through ball hit Weatherson in the back before bouncing clear. Accies failed to take heed of the warning and from a similar opportunity, Alex Williams made a great job of putting the visitors ahead after 29 minutes. I think it was the visitors' first shot on goal, but they certainly made it count. Some Accies fans felt that Williams was offside, but it looked OK-ish to me.
If anything, the goal gave Accies some impetus and they took the game to Morton for the remainder of the half. Unfortunately, they were unable to turn their fine play into goals and I'm afraid that the blame for this has to lie at the feet of Brian McPhee, who had probably his worst game in his Accies career. Nothing seemed to go right for The Bee in the first half. Passes went astray and headers largely didn't find their target. But his double miss before half time ranks up there beside the famous misses by Peter van Vossen, Ronnie Rozenthal and even Allan Russell. Andy Arbuckle made the chance with some great play wide on the right and he cut inside the full back with ease. His cutback to the penalty spot was sclaffed forward by one of the Accies players (probably Brian Carrigan) with the goal at his mercy. Not to worry we thought - as the Bee was lurking at the back post just a few feet from goal. It had GOAL written all over it and some of us were even rising from our seats in anticipation. Sadly, Brian could only tap the ball towards the goal and it was blocked easily by Craig Coyle in the Morton goal. It rebounded to McPhee, but his second effort was just as rubbish as the first and Coyle held the ball easily. Looks of disbelief all round and Allan Maitland flung down his clipboard in dismay.
So Accies trailed by that single goal at half time but the mood amongst the Accies fans was generally quite optimistic. Accies came out for the second half and really took the game to the visitors. Another gilt-edged chance was created shortly after the interval and once again it fell to Brian McPhee. This time he was fed the ball just inside the area after some fancy footwork by wee Jose. He looked as if he might have been offside but the linesman didn't raise his flag. The Bee took his time, beat a defender, rolled the ball to the side and expertly chipped it over the diving Coyle. To everyone's horror he conspired to miss the target AGAIN - with the ball going wide of the untended net. For a man of Brian's undoubted skill it was another astonishing mistake.
That Accies DID manage to get back on level terms just after the hour was once again due to the effort of young Andy Arbuckle. He ran onto a great through pass and beat the keeper to the bouncing ball. Coyle clattered into him, giving referee Tom Brown no option other than to award the spot kick. Brian Carrigan tucked it away with his usual aplomb.
It was "game on" now and Accies threw everything they could at Morton for the remaining 25 minutes of the game. A series of great crosses were delivered into the box by Brian Carrigan and Sandy Hodge but that final finishing touch was missing. Brian Carrigan came closest with an acrobatic overhead kick and Todd Lumsden tried a similar effort soon afterwards. Morton attacked sporadically with one great shot skimming the bar, but for the the huge bulk of the second half they were certainly the inferior team on the park.
However, there was a critical moment with about 10-15 minutes left, when Morton manager John McCormack made a double substitution. Not that the incoming players were that great you understand, it was just that they increased the energy level of the Morton team by about 50%. Allan Maitland made a few changes as well, with Jose Quitongo, Brian McPhee and Andy Arbuckle being replaced by Darren Gribben, Mark Corcoran and Stevie Convery.
For some reason, presumably their full time fitness, the last few minutes of the game really belonged to Morton. Time and again they got down the left side, with young Robert Walker tiring noticeably. Accies began to ride their luck but were devastated when it eventually ran out in the 90th minute. Alex Williams was the man who delivered the killing blow, with a well placed header from a superb crossball. Accies tried their hardest to reclaim a point, but they didn't have their shooting boots on and the game was lost.
The Morton players and supporters celebrated in fine style at the final whistle and it may well be that this result will help to propel them out of Division 2 in one season. But for Accies this was a hugely disappointing result. They really deserved to take tangible something from the game. What they will take however is the knowledge that they have the ability to take on and stretch the best team in the league. If they can carry this form and that belief with them to Methil on Saturday, they should do really well.
Hamilton Accies: McEwan, Walker, Hodge, Steven Thomson, Lumsden, Arbuckle, Carrigan, Aitken, Quitongo, McPhee, Sherry.
Subs: Corcoran, Gribben, Convery, Whiteford, Jellema.
Morton: Coyle, Henderson, Bottiglieri, Macgregor, Greacen, Marco Maisano, Millar, John Maisano, Williams, Weatherson, Walker.
Subs: Bannerman, Gaughan, Cannie, McAlistair, McGurn.
Referee: T Brown
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