Scottish League Division 2
Ochilview, 6 April 2004
Stenhousemuir 0
Hamilton Accies 2
McPhee 79, 82
Report by Gilbert Mowat
Accies kept their faint promotion hopes alive with this well deserved win against relegation haunted Stenhousemuir at Ochilview. Manager Allan Maitland made a few changes to the team that had won at Methil at the weekend, with a very attacking set of substitutes in the form of Ryan Blackadder, Brian Carrigan, Darren Gribben and Ricky Waddell.
Accies got off to a great start and really ought to have been a couple of goals ahead in the first fifteen minutes. First of all, both The Bee and wee Jose beat the offside trap to a neat through ball. Jose took charge but his insipid shot was easily blocked by Willie McCulloch in the Stenny goal. Jose was next to have a go when a good ball down the inside left channel gave him a clear sight of his goal, but his dreadful shot hit the roof of the temporary stand!
Accies had another couple of decent moves before the interval, with Mark Corcoran unlucky not to convert a great ball across the face of the goal by Andy Arbuckle - and Steven Thomson fired a header narrowly over the bar from a corner on the left. With Accies unable to score in the first half, the home team began to gain in confidence and had several good moves of their own. None of their first half efforts caused Dave McEwan any problems however.
The first half was played out against a very bizarre visual backdrop. Not only was the setting sun behind the Accies goal causing everyone in the stand to have to squint to see what was going on, there was also a large funfair operating over the wall opposite the main stand. As the sun went down, their lightshow was more impressive than much that happened on the park in the first half.
I think it would be best for everyone if we just draw a veil over the first half an hour of the second half. It wasn't quite as bad as the first half at New Bayview on Saturday, but it was instantly forgettable. The home team huffed and puffed but only managed to force one save worthy of the name out of Dave McEwan. At the other end Willie McCulloch did really well to tip a close range effort from Jose Quitongo over the bar.
Both managers made a few substitutions, with Allan Maitland replacing Sandy Hodge and Jose Quitongo with Ricky Waddell and Brian Carrigan. Although neither of the replaced guys had done much that was wrong, things seemed to improve right away. Accies looked the more likely team to score and were very unlucky when Brian McPhee headed just wide of goal. He also got round McCulloch but was forced fruitlessly wide of goal.
Just when it looked like ending in a promotion-killing goalless draw, Accies stepped it up a gear and won the game with two goals in the space of a few minutes. The first came after 79 minutes when Brian McPhee sent a great ball up the left wing for the impressive Mark Corcoran to chase. Corky held the ball up before cutting it back to Ricky Waddell. Waddell sent over a high looping cross which was misjudged by McCulloch. Brian Carrigan knocked it towards the goal where The Bee sent it over the line - having sprinted 50 yards to get there. Although Carrots did his customary cartwheel and the announcer gave it to him - it was later confirmed by the referee that it was McPhee's goal.
We didn't have long to wait for goal No 2. It came thanks to a defence splitting through ball that was diverted past the advancing Brian McPhee, with Mark Corcoran on hand to shepherd it over the line in case of accidents. The home defence was all over the place by this time but there were no further incidents of note. Brian McPhee was replaced by Darren Gribben near the end.
This was a fairly comfortable win for Accies, although they certainly took their time about it. Top marks to Brian McPhee, Andy Arbuckle, Steven Thomson and Todd Lumsden, although I thought Mark Corcoran was the best player on the pitch.
Stenhousemuir: Willie McCulloch, Hamilton, Miller, Keith Knox, Paul Murphy, Cosgrove, Waldie, Greig McCulloch, Craig, Brown, Carr.
Subs: Cairney, Morrison, Hardie, Booth, Harty.
Hamilton: McEwan, Walker, Hodge, Thomson, Lumsden, Arbuckle, Quitongo, Sherry, Aitken, McPhee, Corcoran.
Subs: Blackadder, Carrigan, Waddell, Gribben, Jellema.
Referee: John Gilmour
© AcciesWorld 2004
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