Motherwell 2 Accies 1: 23 August 2005

CIS Insurance Cup Round 2

Fir Park, Motherwell, 23 August 2005

Report by Gilbert Mowat

Accies were knocked out of the CIS Cup under the cruellest of circumstances on Tuesday, when the Assistant Referee controversially decided that Jim Hamilton's close range shot had just crossed the line before being cleared. This gave the home side the lead for the first time in the game and 10 man Accies were unable to claw it back.

With several key players unavailable through injury, manager Billy Reid was forced to use one or two players who were not fully fit. It is to the huge credit of the players who took part that they gave their SPL hosts a real fright and almost forced the game into extra time. Motherwell got off to a good start and the general pattern of play was established early on, with the home side doing most of the attacking and Accies doing their best to stifle them in midfield and defence. Accies did come agonisingly close to opening the scoring after just 7 minutes, when Graeme Jones broke clear of his marker and fired the ball just wide of Colin Meldrum's goal.

After a narrow escape when Motherwell almost scored with a shot that scraped the post, Accies played their best spell of football when Lee Hardy got down the left and fired over a brilliant low cross that was just turned wide by Brown Ferguson. Accies were giving a good account of themselves, but it was still a surprise when they took the lead just after the half hour. Brian Carrigan swung over a brilliant free kick and it was Graeme Jones who scored with a superb diving header at the back post. It was probably against the run of play and Accies perhaps started to take a little extra time and tried to calm things down as the interval approached.

However, their lead did not last long as Scott McDonald fired home an expertly taken penalty after the referee had spotted an infringement in the area. So it was level at the break and Accies were doing a good containment job.

Unfortunately, the bulk of the action in the second half was in the Accies half, but despite the poor view from the far end it was clear to see that, in David McEwan, Accies have themselves a very fine young goalkeeper. He made several fabulous stops with one, from a Scott McDonald header, one of the best you will ever see. The home team struck the crossbar once and the post twice and a winning goal always looked to be inevitable.

Accies attacked only sporadically, but Colin Meldrum had to be at his best to turn a Brian Carrigan free kick around the post. The game swung in favour of the hosts after 67 minutes when Lee Hardy was shown a straight red card for tripping a Motherwell player inside his own half. Brian Carrigan was withdrawn shortly afterwards, with young Paul McLeod taking over up front.

Motherwell still had the bulk of the ball but were low on inspiration against a hard working Accies. With extra time looming, the ball was bundled past Dave McEwan by Jim Hamilton and the Assistant Referee immediately sprinted towards the half way line to award the goal. There were some futile protests by the anguished Accies players but there was to be no way back, despite some last ditch attacks towards the end.

The bad news continued after the game with news that Alex Neil was summoned to the referee's room with his manager to be informed that he was to receive a red card for comments made after the end of the game. With Billy Reid's squad already hit by injuries to key men, this was the last thing he needed.

The best men for Accies on the night were the defence, with McEwan, Thomson, McLaughlin and Hodge particularly effective. Neil and Wilson battled hard in midfield and Brian Carrigan and Graeme Jones caused the home defence problems too. But this was a game in which the better side unfortunately won.

Accies : McEwan, Robertson, Hodge, Thomson, McLaughlin, Neil, Ferguson, Wilson, Jones (Tunbridge 46), Hardy, Carrigan (McLeod). Subs Not Used: McArthur, Jellema, Anderson

Booked : Ferguson

Ordered off : Hardy, Neil

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