Accies 2 Berwick Rangers 0: 8 May 2004

Scottish League Division 2

New Douglas Park, 8 May 2004

Report by Gilbert Mowat

What a day! This was one of those unforgettable days when just about everything went right for Accies. A couple of well taken early goals made the game safe against a punchless Berwick side, while 40 miles down the road Morton were on the wrong end of a 4-1 thrashing by relegated Morton. Accies now take over from Morton in second place behind champions Airdrie United, with any kind of win at Forfar next week enough to ensure promotion to Division 1.

With Jim Sherry suspended after his reckless challenge at Airdrie last week, Allan Maitland brought in Andy Whiteford after a lengthy spell on the sidelines. To everyone's amazement, it was Andy who opened the scoring for Accies after just 50 seconds. A short passback by one of the Berwick defenders was intercepted by Mark Corcoran, who rounded the advancing goalkeeper. With a defender on the line, he cut the ball back to Andy Whiteford, who thumped the ball into the roof of the net from about 10 yards.

After the pandemonium calmed down, the Accies support were delighted to hear from text messages and the radio that Stenhousemuir had taken the lead down at Cappielow. I don't know if the players picked up on the news, but it wasn't long before Accies extended their lead. This time it was a brilliant volley from Chris Aitken, whose shot from the edge of the area dipped over Berwick goalie Neil Inglis. By this time, Morton had equalised and we all assumed that they would go on to take care of the upstarts from Ochilview.

Accies dominated the remainder of the first half but were unable to extend their lead. they played some lovely football, with the trio of Ryan Blackadder, Ricky Waddell and Mark Corcoran tearing the visiting defence to shreds. Brian McPhee was doing his usual best, although he was yellow carded by referee Jamie Downie for fouling just once too often.

The distractions continued, with news coming through that Stenny had somehow gone 3-1 ahead of Morton. This was unbelievable and for once there was genuine hope that Accies could gain promotion. There was quite a roar when announcer Stephen Woods confirmed the situation at the break.

The second half was a bit of a formality as Accies tried to extend their lead and make the game safe. Quite a few chances were created but things just didn't go their way. Berwick came into the game for a spell but they never really threatened Dave McEwan's goal. Accies made a few changes, with Darren Gribben, Ciaran Donnelly and John Gemmell coming on. The highlight of the second half was a stunning shot by Darren Gribben, which crashed off the crossbar with the goalie floundering. It would have been a classic.

The final whistle was the cue for a standing ovation from the Accies support. The guys have done remarkably well to get into this position, let's hope they can capitalise on it next week at Forfar.

There no failures in the Accies team today. Dave McEwan had approximately 1 save to make and coped easily. The defensive quartet of Robert Walker, Steven Thomson, Sandy Hodge and Ricky Waddell was just superb. Ryan Blackadder and Chris Aitken controlled the middle of the park, and it was great to see Andy Whiteford score such an important goal after his long spell out of the team. Further forward Brian McPhee and Mark Corcoran were brilliant and it was just a shame that the headed chances fell to other players rather than the Bee. Wee Jose was a bit disappointing today but has been very valuable since he rejoined the club in the autumn.

It's hard to take it in, but Accies are on the brink of promotion and it's now in their hands. COME ON ACCIES!!

Hamilton: McEwan, Walker, Thomson, Hodge, Waddell, Whiteford, Aitken, Blackadder, Quitongo, McPhee, Corcoran. Subs: Gribben, Gemmell, Donnelly, Nicoll, Jellema.

Berwick Rangers: Inglis, Murie, McNicoll, Neill, Bennett, Gordon, Darren Smith, Neil, Hampshire, Hutchison, McCutcheon. Subs: Cowan, Connelly, Elliot, Connell, Godfrey.

Referee: J Downie

© AcciesWorld 2004

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