Report by Gilbert Mowat
Accies suffered their heaviest defeat for several years when they went down 5-1 to St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park on Tuesday night. Accies manager Billy Reid made a couple of changes to the side that had swept past Brechin at the weekend, with Pat Keogh and Sandy Hodge replacing Graeme Jones and Steven Thomson.
Accies got off to a good start and made some great chances in the opening 20 minutes of the game. The best of these were a Pat Keogh header that went just over the bar and a shot by the big man that should have given Accies the lead. This happened when a Saints defender sliced the ball inside his own area. It fell nicely for Paddy and he only had Kevin Cuthbert to beat but his powerful shot hit the side netting. Derek Fleming got into the act too with a long range free kick that Cuthbert did well to tip around the post.
However, these misses were to prove very costly as the home side opened the scoring after 27 minutes when Jason Scotland was given acres of space inside the area and he fairly blasted the ball past the exposed Dave McEwan. Worse was to follow just 9 minutes later when the ball broke kindly to Ryan Stevenson and he found the top corner from close range. Around this time, manager Billy Reid made his first change of the night when he replaced captain Marvyn Wilson with young Mark Gilhaney. Wilson did not appear to have been injured but must have been suffering the after effects of the knock he sustained at the weekend.
As if that wasn't bad enough, Paul Sheerin scored twice within a couple of minutes before the break (one from the spot after Brown Ferguson had been penalised for a nudge on a Saints man) and the game was over as a contest by the break.
The second half was a much more even contest and accies pulled a goal back with an excellent diving header by Pat Keogh from an inch perfect John Robertson cross. However, David McEwan was the key man for the hoops as the Saints tried to exploit the gaps that were left by Accies attacks. Brian Carrigan came on for Brown Ferguson but despite his clear skill and appetite for the ball there was to be no way back for Accies.
Goran Stanic rubbed salt into the wounds with a thundering shot into the top corner from long range with 18 minutes left as Accies faced the prospect of a genuine thrashing. It could have happened too but happily the scoreline didn't get any worse before the end. Graeme Jones replaced Pat Keogh but made no real difference to the pattern of the play.
It's hard to think of any positives from this game other than the fact that it's over!
Best for Accies was probably Dave McEwan but this was a game in which the team missed a few chances and was then overwhelmed. The important thing will be that they react in the proper manner against Stranraer on Saturday.
St Johnstone: Cuthbert, Mensing, Stanic, Rutkiewicz, James, Stevenson, Henry (McCann 64), Sheerin, Sheridan, Milne (Coyle 84), Scotland (Dobbie 80).
Subs Not Used: Anderson, Paston. Booked: Stevenson. Goals: Scotland 27, Stevenson 36, Sheerin 44 pen, 45, Stanic 72.
Hamilton: McEwan, Robertson, Fleming, Hodge, Balmer, Neil, Ferguson (Carrigan 56), Wilson (Gilhaney 38), Keogh (Jones 67), MacKenzie, Tunbridge.
Subs Not Used: Thomson, Jellema. Booked: MacKenzie, Ferguson, Neil. Goal: Keogh 58. Att: 2,233
Ref: A Hunter
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