Stranraer 0 Hamilton Accies 1
Stair Park, Stranraer, 27 December 2003
Scottish Cup Round 2
Report by Gilbert Mowat
Accies advanced to the third round of the cup with this narrow win against Stranraer. To be honest, despite the fact that Accies waited until the 75th minute before breaking the deadlock, they were the stronger side for the bulk of the match and only a great display by former Accies man Andy McCondichie kept the home team in the game.
After the fortnight break, Brian Carrigan returned to the side but there was no place for the injured Jim sherry or Stevie Convery. This meant that Mark Corcoran was restored to the left side of midfield. Accies took the game to the home side from the beginning and nearly took the lead after just a couple of minutes, with McCondichie doing well to save a Brian Carrigan free-kick from 25 yards just under the bar. Accies made several chances in the first half, with Steven Thomson clipping the base of the post when clean through and wee Jose having a header (!) well held by McCondichie.
Carrots tried it again with another free kick but this time the ball was tipped round the post by McCondichie. Accies should have had a penalty kick just after the half hour when Chris Aitken was upended inside the penalty area. It looked like a "stonewall" award, but referee Brian Cassidy just smirked and waved play on. It was an outrageous decision.
Accies clearly had the best of things in the first half, but that's not to say that Dave McEwan was a spectator. He was under pressure a few times in the half and had to make a couple of saves to keep Stranraer out. However, none of the saves were anything more than routine and the only time the home side really looked like scoring was when Mark Corcoran had to clear a header from his own goal line.
With the Accies fans gathered in the covered enclosure in the second half, there was a bit more atmosphere in the ground. Stranraer certainly came into the game a bit more with former Accies man Michael Moore leading the line. It was interesting to watch his performance, given that there are rumours of interest in him by some lower league English clubs. It was difficult to see what anyone would be too impressed by, as Steven Thomson and Todd Lumsden took care of him very well. Despite having a fair chunk of the possession in the early stages of the half, Dave McEwan wasn't seriously tested.
Ten minutes into the second half, Allan Maitland made his first change, with the lacklustre Mark Corcoran being replaced by Ciaran Donnelly (pronounced as "See-ar-an" by the announcer.
The home team certainly had Accies rattled and it was frustrating to see the Accies midfield make little headway. But they did eventually get going and it took a couple of great stops by McCondichie from long range efforts by Chris Aitken to keep the scoreline blank. Eventually, after 75 minutes of hard work but little inspiration, Accies took the lead with a fine goal by Jose Quitongo. He was sent clear in the inside left channel by Brian Carrigan and ran 30 yards unchallenged before cracking the ball low into the corner. He was mobbed by his teammates as the fans went berserk.
The wee guy came close to doubling Accies' lead a few minutes later with a move that really summed up his career. He jinked his way into the penalty area, beating about 4 defenders on the way. But his shot was a terrible sclaff past the post. If only someone had coached wee Jose on shooting earlier in his career he wouldn't be part-time at a Division 2 club. Maybe the club should get Chris Aitken and Brian Carrigan to give him special tuition!
Brian McPhee was replaced by Darren Gribben but unfortunately Darren hardly got any chances to show what he could do. Twice in the closing stages of the game he was in a good position on the right but both times Brian Carrigan elected to give the ball to wee Jose (who was marked) on the left. It would have been good for Darren's confidence if he had been given at least one of these opportunities.
There was a flashpoint with 5 minutes to go when Robert Walker was injured by the Stranraer left back. I have to say that I followed the flight of the ball and missed it, and neither the referee nor his assistant saw anything either. Some of the Accies fans were outraged and Walker had to be stretchered off, with Andy Whiteford coming on in his place. Just before full time, Ciaran Donnelly was injured as well but there no more substitutions available.
So if it wasn't a classic Accies performance, it was certainly good enough to beat Stranraer and set up what should be a winnable match against Cowdenbeath in the next round. Best for Accies were Steven Thomson at the back and Brian Carrigan and Chris Aitken in midfield. Brian McPhee had a couple of good efforts but it wasn't really his day and he was yellow carded for alleged use of the elbow. Wee Jose was just Wee Jose! Frustrating one minute but inspired the next. He did score the one goal of the match and for that we must be very grateful.
Stranraer: McCondichie, Swift, Wright, Wingate, Henderson, Jenkins (McAllister 85 mins), Finlayson (Crawford 76 mins), Aitken, Moore, Graham, Sharp (Grant 85 mins).
Hamilton: McEwan, Walker (Whiteford 85 mins), Hodge, Thomson, Lumsden, Arbuckle, Carrigan, Aitken, Quitongo, McPhee (Gribben 80 mins), Corcoran (Donnelly 54 mins).
Referee: B Cassidy.
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