Accies 1 Airdrie United 1: 9 April 2005

Bell's Scottish Football League Division 1

New Douglas Park, Hamilton, 9 April 2005

Report by Gilbert Mowat

Accies manager Allan Maitland was able to name an identical team for this penultimate home game of the season, although there was a change amongst the substitutes with young Tony Stevenson (the nephew of the late John McNaught) taking the place of the injured Brian Carrigan. It turned out to be a very edgy game, with little in the way of decent football. I suppose that was to be expected given the position at kick off. Airdrie were nicely in the comfort zone, while on the other hand the Partick obsessed Scottish media keep hoping for Accies to slip up and offer their beloved Jags a lifeline. As it turned out, it didn't matter that Accies failed to win the game as Partick are doing a fine job of ensuring relegation on their own.

Airdrie got off to a flying start and they came damned close to an opening goal in the very first minute. Owen Coyle had his jersey pulled just outside the penalty area and Alan Gow was given a good opportunity to open the scoring before some of the fans had taken their seats. His left footed free kick was well struck but Dave McEwan reached it fairly comfortably to tip the ball over the bar. The next highlight came after 20 minutes, when Jean Phillippe Javary fouled Paul Lovering inside the Accies half. Lovering decided to hand out some traditional Scottish justice before referee Dougie McDonald arrived and thumped Javary right in the face. It was a sore one for the Accies man but I bet the Airdrie player didn't enjoy his half time chat with manager Sandy Stewart.

Accies didn't create that many chances but there was one painful moment when Mark Corcoran was given an opportunity to run in on McGeown's goal. Unfortunately, Corky was being used on the right side of the attack and his right foot isn't his strongest. Rather than shoot, he held the ball up waiting for a teammate and the chance was lost. Corky was involved in a controversial incident a few minutes before the interval when he chased another pass into the area. He went down under a challenge from Kevin Christie and I have to confess that I thought he would be yellow carded for this theatrics. Happily, the standside assistant raised his flag to chat with the referee and that had the inevitable result of a penalty to the Accies.

With Brian Carrigan, Brian McPhee and Colin Cramb not on the park (and big Paddy presumably relieved of the responsibility after his poor effort at Perth) it was the unlikely figure of Lee Hardy who strode forward with the ball under his arm. His penalty was poor - just at the right height for McGeown to save - but the ball rebounded and Hardy tapped it in from close range. This was great - one up against ten men and we knew that Thistle were trailing at Kirkcaldy. Unfortunately that lovely game of football will happily slap you right in the face when you're feeling smug and that's exactly what happened just moments later when Airdrie equalised. They took a corner from their left and the ball was not cleared properly. It bounced nicely for Kevin Christie to head past an exposed Dave McEwan. It was 1-1 at half time but the biggest roar of the day was reserved for the scoreflash from Starks Park.

The first half had not seen much in the way of quality football and the second period was no different. The game was interrupted too often by officious referee Dougie McDonald. It WAS a keenly contested match but he was not at all keen to let the game flow. After quarter of an hour of generally dull football, Allan Maitland made his first change, with Brian McPhee replacing Todd Lumsden. This was no reflection on the performance by Todd, who had played well, but it was clear that Maitland wanted Accies to play more attacking football and with three at the back and three at the front this was what happened for a while.

Accies had the visitors on the back foot for a while, with Javary in particular unlucky to see his shot blocked. But to be honest this was a game in which defences dominated and very little in the way of good football broke out. Mark McLaughlin was booked for a pointless tackle on Alan Gow on the touchline and his 7th yellow card of the season will see him miss the trek to Dingwall next week. Pat Keogh was also booked for going for a loose ball in the six yard box. Neil McGowan beat him to it by a fraction but Pat caught the guy with a beauty, ruling him out of the rest of the game. Does this yellow card mean that you're not entitled to try to score a goal when the ball is bouncing loose in the area? McDonald did indicate that the booking was for persistent fouling, which was a joke given the innocuous challenges for which the big man had been penalised throughout the game.

As the game wore on, James McArthur (who had a terrific game) began to tire and he gave the ball away a couple of times. Mind you, the impressive and experienced Marcel Mahouvé did that too. Stevie Convery replaced Mark Corcoran near the end and while it was great to see him back on the park, he was unable to provide any inspiration and the game fizzled out for the draw.

Sadly, a few fans saw fit to boo the players as they left the pitch. I thought it was a good point against one of the better teams in the division. Accies certainly didn't do enough to deserve to win the game and on another day they could have lost it. With any luck Airdrie will have to sell Alan Gow in the summer and their danger will be hugely reduced.

Top players for Accies were Mark McLaughlin and Paquito at the back and Marcel Mahouvé and James McArthur in midfield. Young James in particular looks like he has been playing at this level for years and, given careful nurturing, he could prove to be a real class player for Accies. The result at Kirkcaldy means that Accies just have to gather 5 points from the remaining games to be assured of safety. (That's based on the assumption that the Jags go on an unprecedented winning streak.)

To be honest, I think they may already have enough points to survive but it will be a fascinating few weeks until the season ends.

Hamilton: McEwan, Paquito, Lumsden (McPhee 62), McLaughlin, Hodge, McArthur, Javary, Mahouve, Hardy, Keogh, Corcoran (Convery 81).

Subs Not Used: Hamilton, Stevenson, Jellema.

Booked: McLaughlin, Keogh.

Goal: Hardy 42.

Airdrie Utd: McGeown, Docherty, Christie, McManus, Lovering, McKeown, Marvyn Wilson, McGowan (William Wilson 66), Hardie, Coyle (McLaren 81), Gow.

Subs Not Used: Barkey, Roberts, Hollis.

Sent Off: Lovering (18).

Booked: Hardie.

Goal: Christie 44.

Att: 2,030

Ref: D McDonald

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