Airdrie United 3 Accies 0

Airdrie United 3 Hamilton Accies 0

Excelsior Stadium, Airdrie, 2 March 2004

Report by Gilbert Mowat

Accies hopes of promotion this season were given a body blow in this 3-0 drubbing at the hands of local rivals Airdrie United at Excelsior Stadium on Tuesday night. With Jose Quitongo, Robert Walker and Brian Carrigan unfit and Jim Sherry starting a two match suspension, this game highlighted just how paper thin Allan Maitland's squad really is.

The most depressing fact about the game was that Accies first shot on target came after about 66 minutes, when Mark McGeown easily held a shot from substitute Darren Gribben. Until that point, he had been virtually a spectator. To be honest, Airdrie had been in charge from the very start and could have taken the lead within a minute when Andy Whiteford made a hash of an attempted clearance, giving Owen Coyle possession near the byeline. He cut the ball dangerously across the face of the goal but there were no takers. That really set the tone for the evening, with the Accies defence struggling to cope particularly with young Willie McLaren on the left and the midfield being completely dominated by the home side.

Owen Coyle will undoubtedly be named as the star man of the night and it's hard to argue with that. His first two goals were simply executed close range efforts following lamentable defending by Accies. His third goal, however, was a beautiful left foot chip that left Dave McEwan helpless. Had it not been for a couple of good saves by McEwan and some Herculean defending by Steven Thomson, the margin of defeat would have been embarrassing.

There were hardly any positives to be taken from this display by Accies. I would give pass marks only to Dave McEwan, Steven Thomson, Brian McPhee and Darren Gribben, while Andy Arbuckle was the best Accies player on show. He ran his heart out and tackled anything that moved but it seemed that none of his midfield colleagues were able or willing to do the same. I would hope that his name would be first on the team sheet for the trip to Berwick on Saturday.

Unfortunately, this game exposed Accies as simply not being ready for promotion this term. Too many of the first team just aren't good enough and I suspect that we will watch in envy as the full time teams, Morton and Airdrie United, reap the rewards of their investment.

Airdrie Utd: McGeown, Christie, Lovering, McGowan, Scott Wilson, Dunn, Vareille, Docherty, Coyle, Gow, McLaren.

Subs: William Wilson, Marvyn Wilson, Roberts, McKeown, Hollis.

Hamilton: McEwan, Whiteford (Walker 79), Hodge, Thomson, Lumsden, Arbuckle, Convery, Aitken, Ferguson (Blackadder 58), McPhee, Corcoran (Gribben 58).

Subs: Walker, Blackadder, Gribben, Carrigan, Jellema.

Referee: W Young

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