Accies 1 Partick Thistle 0: 19 February 2005

Bell's League Division 1

New Douglas Park, Hamilton, 19 February 2005

Report by Gilbert Mowat

In the future, this game will be remembered by all as the game in which Pat Keogh finally broke his duck. When big Paddy Keogh joined Accies from Clyde in the summer, he brought with him a reputation as a goalscorer. That it hadn't worked out for him before this game was the result of a combination of factors, including injury and loss of form. He was consigned to the bench for this game but came on to make a huge impact in the second half.

Accies lined up with Marcel Mahouvé and Paquito making their home debuts. Pat Keogh and Mark Corcoran were relegated to the bench, with Derek Ferguson and Colin Cramb reclaiming their positions in the team. The bench was very strong, with Brian McPhee, David Hamilton and Raymond Jellema being the other three subs. Accies got the game off to a cracking start and Colin Cramb was presented with a great chance inside the first couple of minutes when he broke clear on the right. Unfortunately, when he got to within shooting range of Kenny Arthur he was only able to shoot feebly into the Thistle 'keeper's arms. Cramb was nearly given another chance shortly afterwards when a great ball over the top was just out of his reach, although he did look a bit slow.

Thistle were probably the better team in the first half, although they seldom endangered Dave McEwan's goal. Their best effort came from a chip by Stephen McConologue from just outside the area which clipped the top of the crossbar. The majority of their attacks floundered when they reached the Accies defence, all of whom had terrific games. It was particularly gratifying to see Sandy Hodge play really well, given the amount of stick the player took when he was used in the left back position. Now that Mark McLaughlin is back in the team, Sandy can continue to provide an excellent centre back partnership with the ever reliable Steven Thomson. Not long before the break Colin Cramb missed yet another good chance when he was again sent clean through. This time he delayed his shot too long and Kenny Arthur did well to save at his feet.

The visitors kept up their territorial advantage in the opening stages of the second half and for a while it looked like a goal was inevitable. Happily, their long range shots were easily held by Dave McEwan and the Accies defence tackled and blocked anything that came within range of the goal. Paquito more than earned his wages with some brilliant play out of defence and possibly even a goalline clearance.

The game really swung with a double substitution after an hour which I have to confess I thought was bonkers at the time. I have no problem with the decision to hook Colin Cramb, who was off the pace and unimpressive. I thought Brian Carrigan was a wee bit unfortunate to be replaced and would have preferred to see Lee Hardy go off. In addition, although the introduction of Mark Corcoran was perhaps a bit overdue, I would have preferred to see Brian McPhee come on instead of Pat Keogh. It was hard to see where goals would come from and I know I wasn't alone in thinking that we would now lose the game.

I have to add at this point that your writer has never played football at anything higher than under 11 level! Anyway, that double change turned out to be a masterstroke on Allan Maitland's part. Corky looked hungry for the ball and wasted no time in getting stuck into the lumbering Jags defence. Big Paddy was good too - he held the ball up or flicked it on well as necessary.

And so we come to the goal. Accies won a free kick about 25 yards out which was thumped powerfully goalwards by lee Hardy, forcing Kenny Arthur to dive full length to keep out. The ball went wide left, where it was fed to Pat Keogh just outside the area. Paddy passed the ball to Marcel Mahouvé, who judged the return pass to perfection, splitting the defence. Pat ran in on the unprotected Kenny Arthur and beautifully "dinked" it over the advancing 'keeper. He then ran to stand in front of the large visiting support, milking it for all he was worth. Not surprisingly, he didn't really celebrate with the fans, although his teammates went berserk.

After the goal, Thistle poured more men forward and had as many as four men up front at times. The closest they came was a close range McConologue header which flew just wide of the goal. Mark Corcoran broke clear near the end but after a 50 yard run his shot was well held by Kenny Arthur. The referee played a couple of extra minutes but Accies held on for a welcome, if not particularly deserved, victory.

Marcel Mahouvé won the sponsors man of the match award, but I thought he had a quiet game in midfield. I was more impressed by the entire back four and there might have been an argument for giving the award to Pat Keogh or Mark Corcoran, even though they only played the last 20 minutes. Corky was yellow carded for kicking the ball away, while Lee Hardy received the same punishment for an elbow offence that few saw. Mahouvé also had his name taken for a foul, but this was not a dirty game.

Neither was it a very good one. Accies have given themselves a very real chance of escaping the dreaded drop with this win. How it was achieved just does not matter but it was gratifying to see Accies provide the one bit of inspired play that secured the points.

Hamilton: McEwan, Paquito, Thomson, McLaughlin, Hodge, Javary, Ferguson, Mahouve, Hardy, Carrigan (Keogh 63), Cramb (Corcoran 63).

Subs Not Used: Hamilton, McPhee, Jellema.

Booked: Mahouve, Hardy, Corcoran.

Goal: Keogh 70.

Partick: Arthur, Murray, Dowie, Madaschi, Fleming, Andy Gibson (Strachan 71), Ross, Brady, McConalogue, One (Hinds 56), Escalas.

Subs Not Used: Billy Gibson, Fulton, Pinkowski.

Booked: Madaschi.

Att: 3,128

Ref: C MacKay

© AcciesWorld 2005

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