Scottish League Division 2
New Douglas Park, 10 April 2004
Report by Gilbert Mowat
Just take a look at that scoreline above. Soak it in. This was just the best Accies performance in years, certainly their best in the three seasons since they returned to Hamilton. To take 6 off the league leaders is quite an achievement - and it reminded me of the day in November 1985 when John Lambie's side thrashed then league leaders Dumbarton by the same scoreline at Douglas Park.
But enough reminiscing. Accies went into the game in the knowledge that a defeat would have killed off their promotion challenge completely. With Accies having no option other than to attack from the start, manager Allan Maitland made a surprise move by leaving defender Sandy Hodge on the bench for the first time, with Ricky Waddell and Mark Corcoran both being used.
Accies got stuck into the visitors from the start and for a while they really dominated the game. Brian McPhee had a couple of good opportunities early on, with one of them an agonising miss right in front of goal following great play by Chris Aitken and Brian Carrigan. For a wee while it was like the game between the teams in December, in which The Bee missed a couple of great chances and Morton nicked the points right at the end. But that wasn't to happen this time and it only took Accies 13 minutes to take a well deserved lead.
The goal came after a couple of shots had been charged down by the Morton defence, but the ball fell kindly for "defender" Robert Walker and he thumped home his third goal in four games from close range.
Accies had a couple of chances to increase the lead, with The Bee lashing the ball wide when clear on goal. But Brian was to take the game beyond the visitors with two well taken goals within a magical minute before the interval.
The two goals were practically identical, the first came from with a good through ball down the inside right channel which The Bee tucked past the exposed Craig Coyle without difficulty. We had hardly settled back down when he did it again. This time the ball should have been cleared by the Morton defender, but Brian dispossessed him before smashing it high into the net before celebrating with his delirious teammates and supporters.
Accies had another chance before the interval, but Mark Corcoran was sadly unable to stretch his leg to a fabulous cross from Andy Arbuckle on the right. Morton's efforts were restricted to two shots in the half, which were routinely dealt with by Dave McEwan. Accies were given a standing ovation at the interval and they really deserved it.
Sometimes when a team dominates another in the first half, the interval kills the mood and the second period is drab in comparison. Not this time. Despite Morton having made two substitutions at the break, Accies continued their hunt for goals against a surprisingly static and slow Morton defence. The game was killed completely with another two goals from Accies in a couple of minutes just before the hour. First of all Chris Aitken strode through the midfield, beating off a couple of half-hearted tackles along the way. As he reached the edge of the area it was clear that he didn't intend to pass to anyone - and he cracked it low past Coyle into the bottom corner with his left foot. It must have been a great moment for the wee guy to score against his old club.
By now the game was really safe and the Morton heads went down - many of their impressive support were heading for the exits by this time. A couple of minutes after Aitken's goal, Brian Carrigan tricked his way through the Morton defence before slotting the ball past Coyle for No 5. For a brief moment, I think I almost felt sorry for Morton before having a reality check! The Accies fans were in heaven by this time.
The stunned Accies fans only had another 9 minutes to wait before goal number 6 arrived. This time it was brilliant play on the right wing between Carrots and Mark Corcoran, with Corky sprinting into the box to flick the ball home from a perfect cross.
I am sure many Accies fans had dreams of further goals, but that was it as far as the hoops were concerned. Allan Maitland took off Brian McPhee, Chris Aitken and Brian Carrigan to well deserved standing ovations. Morton scored a consolation goal near the end when Scott Bannerman shot home a loose ball from just outside the penalty area. Some Accies fans applauded sarcastically. The only sad point was that Mark Corcoran was tackled heavily near the end and Accies had to play the final 4 minutes with only 10 men.
This was a terrific performance by Accies. The defence were outstanding against what had been billed as the top striking partnership in the league. Steven Thomson and Todd Lumsden controlled Williams and Weatherson very well, but at right back Accies have a star in the making in young Robert Walker. He won almost everything and has found the happy knack of scoring too.
The midfield was outstanding, with Jim Sherry tackling everything in a yellow shirt - moving or otherwise. Andy Arbuckle was fantastic. Chris Aitken had his best game for a while and scored a great goal. On the left, Ricky Waddell and Mark Corcoran combined very well and it could be some time before Sandy Hodge can force his way back into the team. Up front, Brian McPhee was not deterred by a couple of first half howlers and he took his goals very well. Brian Carrigan looked more like his old self with a barrage of tricks that fooled the Morton defence.
Let's not kid ourselves, Morton are still favourites to go up. But this crushing display by Accies will hopefully have knocked their confidence for 6. Ronnie McDonald, George Fairley and all the rest of the board deserve great credit for saving the club and allowing days like this to happen. For that alone, this was a great day to be an Accies fan.
Finally, the Morton players deserve credit for not resorting to rash tackles when they were on the end of a hiding. Their fans were excellent and most of them stayed in numbers right to the bitter end. This could turn out to be a momentous day in this season's Division 2 race - at least Accies are still in it.
Hamilton: McEwan, Walker, Thomson, Lumsden, Arbuckle, Carrigan, Sherry, Aitken, Corcoran, McPhee, Waddell. Subs: Quitongo, Blackadder, Hodge, Gribben, Jellema.
Morton: Coyle, Collins, Henderson, Greacen, Bottiglieri, Millar, John Maisano, Bannerman, Marco Maisano, Williams, Weatherson. Subs: Walker, Cannie, Uotinen, McLeod, McGurn.
Referee: G Mitchell
© AcciesWorld 2004
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