Bell's League Division 1

New Douglas Park, Hamilton,

29th April 2006

Report by Gilbert Mowat

Accies concluded a successful season with this uninspiring draw against Ross County. Manager Billy Reid gave a final starting position to both Brown Ferguson and Juanjo, while Scott Tunbridge had to be content with a place on the bench. Mark McLaughlin was listed as a substitute as a precautionary measure; a yellow card in this game would have brought him a two match ban for the start of next term.

Both teams had decent spells of play in the game but a draw was probably about right. County came closest in the second half when David winters shot against the foot of Raymond Jellema's post but other than that they did little to cause much concern to the Accies defence, where youngster David Elebert looked to be completely at home. There was an impressive performance in the County midfield from the highly rated John Rankin but apart from that there was little to enjoy about the visitor's play.

Accies upped the tempo as the game drew to a close, with Scott Tunbridge showing his determination to leave on a high with a couple of great efforts that just went narrowly past the post. The second one knocked a ball boy off his stool, much to the amusement of the fans. Mark Gilhaney came onto a good game, particularly in the second half, but his progress was halted illegally on several occasions. At one point he looked to have broken clean through on goalkeeper Malin before being tripped, but the referee waved play on.

Mark McLaughlin had come on as a half time substitute for the departing Brown Ferguson and the big guy showed his colleagues the way to a goal with a well struck shot that was saved by Malin. However, the game never really caught fire and a goal never really looked likely. Mark Gilhaney deservedly won the sponsor's man of the match award. After the final whistle, the crowd gave the players a decent ovation for their efforts with Scott Tunbridge receiving the bulk of the applause.

So the season ended with Accies on a good run, with 4 wins and 2 draws in their last 6 games. Third place in the table, a Challenge Cup final and Scottish Cup quarter final represents real progress for the club and it was a season that they can take pride in. There is naturally some frustration in the number of injuries sustained, the disappointing nature of the cup defeat at Dundee and the lack of a genuine goalscorer up front, but as a first season as a full time club they have made huge strides in the right direction.

Hamilton Accies: Jellema, Ferguson (McLaughlin 46), Elebert, Thomson, Fleming, Juanjo (Torres 56), McArthur, Neil, Galloway (Tunbridge 51), Wake, Gilhaney. Subs Not Used: McJimpsey, McLenaghan.

Ross County: Malin, Niven, Anderson, Webb, Djebl Zadi, Hooks, Rankin, Tiernan (Gunn 76), McKinlay, Higgins, Cowie. Subs Not Used: Winters, Cowan, Nicholson, Stewart.

Booked: Djebl Zadi, Niven, McKinlay.

Att: 1,297

Ref: C Thomson

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