Scottish League Division 1

New Douglas Park, Hamilton,

21st January 2006

Report by Gilbert Mowat

Accies went into this game knowing that they really needed to win it to keep their promotion aspirations alive. Manager Billy Reid made three changes to the team that defeated Queen of the South in the Cup in midweek, with Scott MacKenzie, Brown Ferguson and Paul McLeod making way for Stuart Balmer, Paul McMullan and Mark Gilhaney. Spanish cup hero Rudy Torres was on the bench.

The first half was an excellent 45 minutes of football and it was clear from the start that Accies were intent upon having a real go at the league leaders. Mark Gilhaney came agonisingly close to scoring a classic after 13 minutes when his powerful shot from 22 yards thumped off the corner of the post and crossbar with Saints goalie Chris Smith well beaten. Saints came right back into it and a couple of minutes later they were awarded a free kick when Alex Neil committed an unnecessary foul 20 yards from goal. Neil was booked by referee Kenny Clark and the free kick by Charlie Adam was heading for the top corner until it was brilliantly tipped onto the crossbar by Raymond Jellema in the Accies goal. It was a fabulous save and a clear sign that "Jelly" is steadily growing in confidence.

The next notable incident came after 22 minutes when St Mirren full back Ian Maxwell was yellow carded for scything through Accies forward Mark Gilhaney at the touchline. Accies had several attacks after this, with Scott Tunbridge shooting over the top and Mark McLaughlin only able to head onto the roof of the net. Another promising attack ended with Brian Carrigan coming close, but he was in an offside position. St Mirren came back into it again and it was former Accies player Mark Corcoran who skipped past an Accies defender to whip over a low cross into the six yard box. It was missed by the first Saints man but then sliced wide by Charlie Adam from a great position. Shortly afterwards, John Sutton was superbly tackled inside the area and his inevitable appeal for a penalty was correctly ignored by Kenny Clark.

As the half drew to a close there were near things at both ends. First of all, some nimble footwork by Brian Carrigan ended with a delightful short pass to Steven Thomson just inside the area but Smith got down well to save at his feet. Then we had the highlight of the game, when Simon Lappin crossed into the Accies area. Mark Corcoran tried an audacious overhead kick and connected beautifully, with the ball heading for the top corner. Once again the visitors were to be denied by a piece of acrobatics by Raymond Jellema, who got up to tip the ball onto the crossbar. Alex Neil then cleared it from the line and Jellema blocked the follow-up shot from Ian Anderson with his feet. It was a remarkable save. Right before half time, Accies had another couple of efforts on goal courtesy of Scott Tunbridge and Paul McMullan, but Chris Smith was not under any great pressure.

The second half of the game didn't live up to the first but there was still plenty to enjoy. St Mirren upped the pace a wee bit and Raymond Jellema had to save a couple of threatening headers. When an Accies attack broke down just outside the St Mirren penalty area, the Saints broke upfield with Mark Corcoran in possession. It looked like a dangerous situation but he shot wildly past the post from a good position. Accies won several corner kicks but they didn't really trouble Smith's goal. The game took a nasty turn after 68 minutes when Alex Neil was elbowed in the back of the head by Charlie Adam. Amazingly, referee Clark took no action against the Saints man but Neil had to be replaced by James McArthur. Accies had moments earlier replaced Paul McMullan and Brian Carrigan with Rudy Torres and Brown Ferguson and to lose Neil at this stage was a major blow. The wee guy had been in fantastic form and at times it seemed that he was doing the work for his absent captain Marvyn Wilson as well as his own role.

Accies had a couple of close things after 73 minutes, with first Mark Mclaughlin heading over and then Stuart Balmer heading just past the post. It would have been a great time for Balmer to get his first Accies goal, but he had a brilliant game at the heart of the defence. The game kind of fizzled out after this. St Mirren had two more players booked; John Potter for a foul and Charlie Adam for kicking the ball away. Stuart Kean came on for Mark Corcoran and had a good chance to score, but his shot was well head by Jellema.

So St Mirren remained 11 points ahead of Accies after he game and St Johnstone have leapfrogged Accies into second place. Promotion hopes seem to be fading for Accies but while that's disappointing this was a good performance and a return to form after several lacklustre games. All of the Accies team did well, but best for the Hoops was the awesome Jellema in goals. Billy Reid will be delighted that he has a backup goalkeeper of such quality.

Hamilton Accies: Jellema, Thomson, McLaughlin, Balmer, Robertson, Neil (McArthur 70), Gilhaney, McMullan (Ferguson 66), Fleming, Tunbridge, Carrigan (Torres 66). Subs Not Used: McLeod, McLenaghen.

Booked: Neil.

St Mirren: Smith, van Zanten, Potter, McGowne, Maxwell, Lappin, Millen, Adam, Anderson, Sutton, Corcoran (Kean 77). Subs Not Used: Reid, Baird, Reilly, Bullock.

Booked: Maxwell, Potter, Adam.

Att: 3,320

Ref: K Clark

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