Accies went through to the second round of the Challenge Cup on Tuesday with a 3-1 defeat of third division Berwick Rangers. The visitors grabbed a shock lead courtesy of Robbie Horn after just two minutes but Scott Tunbridge headed Accies level after 24 minutes. Accies really took control after the break and goals by Javier Payo in the 54th minute and a last minute Richard Offiong (left) solo goal gave them the win in an entertaining game. Payo was awarded the sponsor's man of the match award but this game was more notable for the youthful lineup put out by Billy Reid, with several teenagers featuring.
Challenge Cup Round 1
New Douglas Park, Hamilton, 15th August 2006
Hamilton Accies 3 Berwick Rangers 1
Accies manager Billy Reid rang the changes for this game, which meant that Mark McLaughlin, Alex Neil, James McArthur and Paul McLeod were all omitted. In came teenagers Ross McCabe and Brian Easton at the back plus forwards Scott Tunbridge and Richard Offiong. The result of all these changes was that the team took a wee while to settle and the confusion was evident when Robbie Horn opened the scoring for Berwick in the second minute. It was one of those unexpected goals that came out of a goalmouth scramble and ended with Horn looping the ball over Dave McEwan. The crowd was stunned into silence and the visitors took charge for the next few minutes.
Gradually, Accies began to assert themselves in the midfield with Marvyn Wilson and Tony Stevenson playing well and Mark Gilhaney full of running and trickery out on the wing. With Scott Tunbridge restored to the side and a forward pairing of Payo and Offiong, Accies had plenty of options in forward positions but the Berwick defence were able to stifle most of the attacks without too much concern. It was no real surprise when Accies finally got their equaliser in the 24th minute, with Scott Tunbridge celebrating his return by nodding the ball home from close range following a corner on the left. The big Aussie was clearly delighted to have made a scoring return to the club.
An interesting feature of the first half was that Berwick had been forced to use two of their substitutes due to injuries. This was to have repercussions in the second half. Accies quickly got into their rhythm after the break and took the lead after 54 minutes under unusual circumstances. Mark Gilhaney cut into the penalty area for what felt like the umpteenth time and this time his shot caught one of the Berwick defenders in the stomach. The defender was flattened by the shot but referee Mr Conroy elected not to halt play. Accies switched the ball out to Scott Tunbridge on the right wing and his excellent driven cross was expertly converted by Javier Payo for his first Accies goal. The visitors were very unhappy about this but the referee was unrepentant.
Accies dominated the game from then on and the Berwick goal led a charmed life as the shots flew in. Unhappily for Accies, most of them did not hit the target. Had the players been in shooting form the margin of victory would have been far greater. Ironically, Berwick came very close to grabbing an equaliser when a near post header from a rare corner kick was headed off the line by substitute Tom Parratt. Parratt himself had an attempt on goal from the edge of the area but it agonisingly curled just wide of the far post.
Towards the end, one of the Berwick defenders went down after a clash of heads with Javier Payo that was clearly audible in the stand. The good news for the player was that he was able to walk off the park but he could not continue and his side was left with only 10 men. They won a corner in the 90th minute and when it was cleared to Payo near the half way line, he had the easy task of passing the ball for the Accies forwards to run on to. In this case it was the surprising figure of Marvyn Wilson who was racing upfield alongside Richard Offiong. Wisely, the striker took command of the situation and he ran on before lifting the ball delightfully over the goalkeeper to make it 3-1. Marvyn's first Accies goal will have to wait just a little bit longer.
This was a decent showing by a very young Accies team. Javier Payo received the champagne from the sponsors as the man of the match but there were good displays throughout the side, especially from some of the younger players. It all augurs well for the future.
Hamilton Accies: McEwan, Stevenson, McCabe (Parratt), Elebert, Fleming, Easton, Wilson, Gilhaney, Turnbridge, Payo, Offiong. Subs Not Used: McCarthy, Agnew, McLeod, Jellema.
Goals: Turnbridge 24, Payo 54, Offiong 90.
Berwick Rangers: Flockhart, Horn (Fraser 35), Wood, Smith, Notman (Robbie Manson 23), Thomson, Gary Greenhill (Paliczka 71), Noble, Campbell, Haynes, McCallum. Subs Not Used: Lucas, O'Connor.
Booked: Gary Greenhill. Goal: Horn 2.
Att: 590
Ref: S Conroy
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