Hamilton Accies 2 Arbroath 0
New Douglas Park, Hamilton, 22 November 2003
Report by Gilbert Mowat
Accies continued their recent return to form with a richly deserved win against a poor Arbroath side. Manager Allan Maitland brought all of the "Forfar Three" back into the team, which meant that there was no place in the starting lineup for Ciaran Donnelly, Mark Corcoran and Barry Forbes.
The first half was quite entertaining but Accies showed little finesse in front of goal. Their best opportunity fell to Brian Carrigan, who was unmarked just inside the penalty area. His exquisite chip shot beat the visiting goalkeeper but came back off the face of the crossbar. Arbroath created few chances but ironically almost took the lead in the very first minute, with the Accies goal leading a charmed life. However, the defence held firm and the fact that they have recorded their second clean sheet in consecutive matches will have given them a real boost. I think the forced introduction of Robert Walker has been an important factor in this.
If Accies had been the better team in the first period it was disappointing that they had no goals to show for it. Happily, it took only two minutes of the second half for that situation to be rectified, with Brian Carrigan the scorer. An Arbroath defender made a hash of an attempted header back to his goalkeeper. Carrigan was onto the ball in a flash and he controlled the ball before lashing it high into the net. Time for his trademark somersault!
The goal gave Accies a huge lift and they surged forward in numbers. Naturally, this meant that things were a bit more ragged at the back and Arbroath did look dangerous on the break. The visitors won a free kick about 20 yards out after Andy Arbuckle illegally stopped a promising Arbroath attack. He was correctly yellow carded. The free kick was a beauty - curling towards the goal. It was met by the forehead of one of the Arbroath forwards but happily thudded off the crossbar before being cleared.
Accies took this as a warning and raised their game a bit more. Jose Quitongo was getting into the mood and he cut inside from the wing before squaring the ball to Brian Carrigan on the edge of the area. Carrots' left foot shot took the goalie by surprise as it flew past him into the corner for yet another cracking goal. Carrigan ran himself into the ground and showed several touches of great skill before being substituted by Mark Corcoran late on. Stevie Convery seemed to sustain an injury and was replaced by Ciaran Donnelly.
Accies had a few chances to increase their lead towards the end, the best coming from some superb footwork by wee Jose inside the area. His shot was easily gathered by the 'keeper, with Chris Aitken (standing in a great position) yelling at him in frustration.
Towards the end, Darren Gribben came on for Jose Quitongo to provide more enthusiasm for the Arbroath defence to think about. Arbroath had a couple of decent opportunities but their finishing was woeful. The game petered out and Accies deservedly collected all three points.
The sponsor's awarded their man of the match prize to central defender Todd Lumsden. While I thought the big guy did reasonably well, you can't argue with the well taken goals by Brian Carrigan. He knows how to score and had some great touches throughout the game.
Accies are still in 6th position in the table, but are only three points adrift of second place. That's not a bad position to be in when you consider that this is effectively a brand new Accies team. But there are some tough matches looming in the next few weeks...
Hamilton Accies: McEwan, Walker, Thomson, Lumsden, Hodge, Carrigan (Corcoran 70), Aitken, Arbuckle, Convery (Donnelly 71), McPhee, Quitongo (Gribben 79).
Subs: Gribben, Corcoran, Donnelly, Whiteford, Jellema.
Arbroath: Peat, McMullen, Rennie, Browne, King, Cargill, Henslee, McGlashan, Dow (Herkes 64), Graham (Durno 70), Diack.
Subs: McAulay, Herkes, Durno, Newall, Woodcock.
Referee: M Tumilty
- Read the fans' memories, or add your own, via this link.
- Please contact us if you have any information that will improve this page or if you spot any mistakes.
Images
Videos
Links and References