Accies 2 Arbroath 2: 27 March 2004

Scottish League Division 2

New Douglas Park, 27 March 2004

Report by Gilbert Mowat

In a week when the Scottish media have been searching though their thesauruses to find new ways of expressing their admiration of Celtic's rearguard action in the Nou Camp, it would probably be unfair to criticise Arbroath too much for the way they played in this game. This was a game that Accies dominated from the very start and they really deserved to win by several goals. Arbroath contributed very little in football terms and if Accies had been a bit more cohesive up front they would have taken a severe beating with them back up the road to Angus.

That they failed to do so was really just down to a combination of poor Accies finishing, bad luck and some inept refereeing by Martin Sproule. He blundered in a big way in the first half by only cautioning Ian Diack for the old one-two of a high tackle on Todd Lumsden and then an off the ball push on the same player moments later. Diack deserved to walk for that incident. Truth be told, his only worthwhile contribution in the game came after 35 minutes when the ball broke kindly to him in front of goal and he lashed it high past Dave McEwan to equalise. Apart from these incidents, Diack had a shocker and was only noticeable for his dodgy haircut.

Accies had started the game pretty brightly, with new signing Ricky Waddell looking particularly nimble out on the left wing. He looked useful whenever he got on the ball, but his teammates seemed reluctant to pass it to him too often. He showed great skill on several occasions and came close to opening the scoring with a fine shot that was well saved by Mark Peat.

Accies took the lead midway through the half when Mark Corcoran was sent clear on goal by a nice pass from Ryan Blackadder. He hit the ball too far in front of him and Arbroath goalie Mark Peat was able to block it. Happily, it went straight into the path of Brian Carrigan and Carrots smacked it low into the corner. Accies were well in command for long spells of the half and it was a bit of a shocker when Diack scored ten minutes later with their first shot on target.

Accies weren't put off for too long and Mark Corcoran was the next to send in a good shot that was well saved by Peat. It was a bit disappointing that Accies were only level at the interval but they were well on top at that stage.

Accies continued to work really hard after the break with the midfield quartet of Andy Arbuckle, Ryan Blackadder, Ricky Waddell and Jim Sherry really giving everything they had. The Arbroath defence were given a torrid time and Accies seemed to be camped in their half most of the time. Goalscoring opportunities were a bit scarce however, with Jim Sherry having a diving header cleared off the line and Ryan Blackadder hitting the crossbar with a 20 yard shot.

Accies were made to regret their profligacy when Arbroath took the lead with 13 minutes remaining with a great shot by John McGlashan. Still the Accies heads didn't go down and they kept up their siege of the Arbroath goal. Their persistence finally paid off when Robert Walker crashed a great header past Peat for his first goal for the club. That rescued a point for Accies but there were to be no further goals.

It's hard to be too critical of Accies even though those dropped points mean that promotion is almost out of the question now. They really missed Brian McPhee up front and I think he would have loved the crosses that Ricky Waddell was sending in from the left. Allan Maitland made all of his available substitutions, with John Gemmell, Jose Quitongo and Derek Ferguson getting involved. Of those three, I though Gemmell did best with a header from a Waddell cross that went just over the bar. Wee Jose found it difficult as the ball was always just out of reach!

Hamilton: McEwan, Walker, Thomson, Hodge, Lumsden, Arbuckle, Sherry, Blackadder, Carrigan, Corcoran, Waddell. Subs: Whiteford, Ferguson, Gemmell, Quitongo, Jellema.

Arbroath: Peat, McMullen, Rennie, King, McCulloch, Miller, Cusick, Henslee, Swankie, Diack, McGlashan. Subs: Maclean, Cargill, Euan Graham, Durno, Woodcock.

Referee: M Sproule

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