Accies 0 St Mirren 0: 12 March 2005

Bell's Scottish Football League Division 1

New Douglas Park, Hamilton, 12 March 2005

Report by Gilbert Mowat

It's no disgrace to draw with the third top team in the league. Accies and St Mirren played out a largely uneventful game at New Douglas Park on Saturday. There were to be no goals and a share of the points was just about right. The good news for the Accies support was that Partick Thistle and Ross County also played out a goalless draw, which effectively improves things slightly for the Hoops. The only disappointing aspect to the weekend was Queen of the South's surprise win at Broadwood; a result that gives them a great chance of survival.

Accies manager Allan Maitland played what would probably be his ideal starting X1, which meant that Pat Keogh returned from injury and swapped places with Colin Cramb, who reverted to the bench. That meant that Brian McPhee missed out yet again. St Mirren were certainly short of fire power, with their only available recognised striker being former Accies man Allan Russell, who had scored in two previous games between the sides this season.

St Mirren were probably the better of the sides in the first half, and they made Dave McEwan earn his money on two occasions with good saves. The first came from a direct free kick which he did well to reach and punch to safety and the other was when he managed to block a St Mirren player's shot after Steven Thomson had been uncharacteristically short with a pass back. Accies huffed and puffed to no great effect in the first half and their best effort was a stinging Mark Corcoran shot a few minutes before the interval that Craig Hinchcliffe did well to hold.

Pat Keogh had a good game for the hour that he was on the park. He held the ball up well, linked well with the midfield and was of great nuisance value to the Saints defence. It was a pity that he missed Accies best chance of the game shortly after the restart. A good move in midfield led to the ball being knocked wide for the impressive Jean Phillippe Javary. He stormed down the right wing and put over a great cross towards Pat at the back post. It wasn't quite right for a header or a volley, so the big man attempted to control the ball instead of trying to score. Sadly, the ball didn't really fall for him and it dribbled past the post.

He was replaced shortly afterwards, but his contribution was well received by most Accies fans. (Sadly, I heard some old gits in the car park complain about his performance after the game.) Anyway, this was the chance for Colin Cramb to claim the record of scoring at both Douglas Parks that he was talking about in the papers. Unfortunately, I don't think Colin really got into the game and Accies were definitely the poorer for Pat Keogh's absence. Mark Corcoran was the next to have a go when he made a good run with the ball at his feet. With several players in support, he tried to cut inside the defender and shoot with his left foot. The shot was blocked and there were quite a few pissed off Accies players in good positions for a pass.

Corky was hooked soon afterwards - a decision that was unpopular with quite a chunk of the Accies support. I thought that Lee Hardy should have gone off instead with Mark perhaps being repositioned out on the left. Perhaps he wasn't fully fit - I know that a fitness test had been planned for him before the game. Anyway, Brian Carrigan came on to replace him with the sound of some booing echoing around the stadium. That wasn't for his arrival, it was for the withdrawal of Corcoran.

The next change to be made was the replacement of Javary by David Hamilton. Javary had done pretty well but had received another injury on top of the one from the assault on him during the Airdrie game in midweek. David Hamilton was the logical choice for the right side of midfield, although he has yet to show much to justify his appearance in the hoops.

As the game wore on, St Mirren looked quite strong and they threatened the Accies goal on a couple of occasions. The first was a header that Dave held quite easily and the second came when Allan Russell pulled Paquito's jersey to get possession of the ball. His shot scraped the post but there would have been outrage if he had scored.

So that was really it. There was no hearty round of applause form the fans at the end. However, when you consider the results elsewhere and the team we were playing, I think a draw was fine. If you had suggested before the game that it would be 1-1 or 2-2, most people would have been quite happy. A goalless draw feels like a defeat for both teams, however.

This was a reasonably solid performance by Accies but they did lack flair and power in attack. To end the quartet of league games with St Mirren all square is quietly impressive and an indication of the progress we have made. The heat is not on Accies just now but a win next Saturday against Queens will be imperative to let us all sleep well at night. (Instead of during the game!)

Hamilton: McEwan, Paquito, Thomson, McLaughlin, Hodge, Javary (Hamilton 74), Ferguson, Mahouve, Hardy, Keogh (Cramb 61), Corcoran (Carrigan 70). Subs Not Used: McArthur, Jellema.

Booked: Hardy.

St Mirren: Hinchcliffe, Reid, Millen, McGowne, Broadfoot, O'Neil, Lappin, Reilly (Murray 52), Ellis, Russell (Baird 79), McGinty (Gillies 56). Subs Not Used: Crilly, Woods.

Booked: Reilly, Millen.

Att: 1,950

Ref: C Richmond

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