Bells Challenge Cup Round 1
McDiarmid Park, Perth, 31 July 2004
St Johnstone 2
Hannah (penalty) 5
Moore 66
Hamilton Accies 0
Report by Gilbert Mowat
Accies maintained their poor record at McDiarmid Park on Saturday when they lost this first round match in the Bells' Challenge Cup. That's Accies made 6 first team visits to the ground without winning. Manager Allan Maitland was able to name a side that must have been very close to his preferred starting X1, with only Pat Keogh absent through injury. The Saints had a number of new players in their side, the most notable being former Accies striker Michael Moore, who joined them in the summer for £35,000 after his goals helped Stranraer to promotion from Division 3.
Although Accies got off to a good start and played some nice football for the first few minutes, they lost an unnecessary goal after only 5 minutes play. It started with some sloppy play by Robert Walker on the right and the ball was quickly played into Michael Moore just inside the area. He controlled the ball with his chest but was then needlessly tripped by Scott Tunbridge. David Hannah made a superb job of the spot kick, sending it into Dave McEwan's "postage stamp" corner.
Although Accies had lots of possession in the first half, they found chances hard to come by. Brian Carrigan, The Bee and Mark Corcoran were proving to be a real handful for the home team, for whom only Michael Moore looked dangerous at times. Even then, he found it hard going as Accies fought for everything. The best opportunities for Accies in the first half came from Brian Carrigan, who shot over the bar from the edge of the area, and from Chris Aitken who had a good run into the area but his low shot was easily saved by Kevin Cuthbert in the Saints goal. Mark McLaughlin provided an aerial threat at corners but he was unable to hit the target.
Mark Corcoran was proving to be a real handful for the home defence and did really well to retain possession despite some ferocious tackling. At half time the general feeling was that Accies were doing pretty well and would have been favourites to win the game if it hadn't been for that penalty. Referee Dougie McDonald had infuriated the Accies fans with his general incompetence. He seemed to be keen to ignore fouls on Accies men while penalising the hoops players all the time. (Not that I'm biased or anything!) In the second half he gave St Johnstone a throw in after one of their players had sliced the ball out of play with no Accies player anywhere near the ball. That wasn't good for the blood pressure.
Saints were a bit better after the break, but the impressive central defensive pairing of Mark McLaughlin and Steven Thomson were in excellent form for Accies. They were able to mop up most of the high balls that were aimed at Moore. Still Accies found it hard to create any chances and as the game wore on St Johnstone started to take control. They forced several half chances, but ironically their second and decisive goal came after an Accies attack had broken down in the area, with some fans and players claiming that Brian Carrigan's progress had been thwarted by a handball. The ball was thumped upfield and when it came to Dave McEwan, he cleared it to halfway. It was immediately headed back towards him. I think the Accies central pair of Steven Thomson and Mark McLaughlin made their only mistake of the day and Michael Moore was able to run on to lob big Dave quite easily.
Accies made a couple of changes, with Iain Fyfe replacing the subdued Blackadder and Stevie Convery coming on for Mark Corcoran, who had done well. Despite winning a few corners - from which McLaughlin was always dangerous - Accies were unable to get anything from the game. Accies best chance was a powerful downward header from Scott Tunbridge that was well saved by Kevin Cuthbert. Chris Aitken had a good shot from the edge of the area that was blocked while a couple of good crosses failed to produce any reward.
Robert Walker was booked in the second half for a block on a Saints man. (Which was just as well, as Mark McLaughlin had been lured out of position by his manager for a tactics talk and was in no position to cover Michael Moore.)
Accies showed real signs that they will do pretty well this season, although they did lack that cutting edge up front. Perhaps the arrival of Pat Keogh will improve things in that area. Of the new players on display, I thought Mark McLaughlin had a terrific game and will be a real asset to the club. The partnership on the right of Robert Walker and Scott Tunbridge didn't do too well but hopefully things will improve in time. Brian Carrigan, Brian McPhee, Ricky Waddell and Mark Corcoran all played well, with Chris Aitken competing well in the heart of midfield. I was a wee bit disappointed in Ryan Blackadder's performance, but he was fouled quite a few times.
The club will make all the correct noises about being upset at being knocked out of the tournament, but I suspect that they will not be too disheartened. It's the least important of the four competitions Accies will play in this season and will allow us to concentrate on more important matters.
Hamilton: McEwan, Walker, Waddell, Thomson, McLaughlin, Tunbridge, Carrigan, Aitken, Blackadder (Fyfe), McPhee, Corcoran (Convery). Subs: Lumsden, Hamilton, Jellema.
Referee: D MacDonald
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