Accies were held to a 1-1 draw by Queen of the South at New Douglas Park on Saturday. Richard Offiong gave Accies the lead with a well taken goal after 26 minutes, but John O'Neill gave the visitors an equaliser just before the break with a well taken header.
New Douglas Park
Saturday, 30th September 2006
Hamilton Accies 1 Queen of the South 1
That this game ended in a draw could not have come as a surprise to many. Accies were missing regular right back Tom Parratt as well as the injured quartet of McEwan, McLaughlin, Wilson and Neil. Manager Billy Reid therefore had no option other than to persevere with the extremely young squad that had played in the last few games. Young James McCarthy, aged just 15, was amongst the substitutes. The visitors also had several players missing through injury.
The game got off to a decent start with the visitors perhaps the earliest to settle. Their outstanding chance of the opening period came when James McArthur was short with a headed passback to Raymond Jellema. Queen's striker Andrew Barrowman was onto the ball quickly but could only look on in anguish as his lob over the Accies goalkeeper then bounced up and over the crossbar. Richard Offiong was looking very sharp early on and one brilliant run took him past three visiting defenders. he was left with just the goalkeeper to beat but Barry John Corr saved well to keep his goal intact. He had no such luck after 25 minutes, however, when Offiong gave Accies the lead. Scott McKenzie was dispossessed in midfield and Scott Agnew released Offiong with a superbly weighted pass. Richard took his time and fired a low shot into the net off the post.
Accies nearly doubled their lead shortly afterwards when Offiong was sent wide through in a move similar to the one that created the goal. This time he squared the ball unselfishly to Scott Agnew, but Scott was forced wide by Corr and Offiong was unable to get much power on his header from the resulting cross. Offiong was proving to be a real handful for the Doonhamers defence and veteran Jim Lauchlan was yellow carded for a clear foul that prevented another dangerous Accies attack.
The visitors came back into the game although the Accies goal wasn't really threatened until just before the interval. Raymond Jellema made a brilliant one handed save to keep out a long range shot but the Accies defence were caught flat footed from the corner kick that followed. The ball was initially cleared but John O'Neill was given plenty of space to attack a good cross from the left wing and his firm header gave Jelly no chance.
The first significant action of the second half was a double substitution by Billy Reid after 55 minutes. He withdrew Scott Agnew and David Winters and brought on Paul McLeod and James McCarthy. Young James was remarkably wearing a shirt with his age on it; he's just 15. As it turned out, he gave a performance that belied his tender years and was not afraid to put in some solid tackles. He also showed that he has a good football brain and played some neat passes too.
The game turned against Accies just after the hour when young Brian Easton was given a straight red card by referee Stephen Finnie. He was penalised for what looked like an innocuous foul about 25 yards out and looked stunned to be ordered off. The referee indicated that Easton had denied the visitors a clear goalscoring opportunity by pulling the shirt of a Queens player but there appeared to be little danger at the time. Easton was applauded from the park by the Accies support and was clearly upset at the decision.
This shifted the balance of the game and Queens looked the likelier team for the bulk of the remainder of the game. The free kick for Easton's foul was thumped off the crossbar with Jellema beaten, but the header that came from the rebound was gathered easily. Things got a bit frantic at the back for Accies and forward players like Scott Tunbridge and Mark Gilhaney even got involved in defensive duties at times. John O'Neil came mighty close to giving his team the lead but his close range shot was superbly turned onto the post by Jellema, who was having an inspired afternoon.
Accies were unable to create much in the way of chances. Their best effort came when Brian Wake very nearly beat Corr to a bouncing punt from Jellema. Mark Gilhaney had a quiet afternoon but one cross was just diverted past the post by a stretching Scott Tunbridge. As things got a bit frantic for 10 man Accies, James McArthur and David Elebert were cautioned by the referee but the Accies defence held on for a well deserved point.
Hamilton: Jellema, Stevenson, Elebert, Easton, Fleming, Tunbridge, McArthur, Winters (McLeod 55), Gilhaney, Offiong (Wake 71), Agnew (McCarthy 55). Subs Not Used: Gibson, White.
Sent Off: Easton (61).
Booked: Elebert, McArthur.
Goals: Offiong 25.
Queen of South: Corr, Thomson (Mullen 74), McKenzie, Lauchlan, Gibson, Scally, Burns, Henry (Callaghan 60), McCaffrey, Barrowman (Moon 83), O'Neil. Subs Not Used: Scott, Robertson.
Booked: Lauchlan.
Goals: O'Neil 45.
Att: 1,396
Ref: S Finnie
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