Accies were held to a 1-1 draw by Dundee at Dens Park on Saturday. Paul McLeod (left) scored with a fine header to give Accies the lead after 25 minutes, but defender Greg Strong gave the home side a well deserved point with his equaliser during the second half. Following this week's results, Accies slip down to 4th place in the league just two points behind St Johnstone and Partick Thistle.
Saturday, 21st October 2006
Dens Park, Dundee
Dundee 1 Hamilton Accies 1
Manager Billy Reid made three changes following the midweek victory over Clyde. Mark McLaughlin and Mark Gilhaney missed out through injury, while Tony Stevenson was on the bench. Taking their places were Derek Fleming, Marvyn Wilson and Paul McLeod. Billy Reid went for a familiar tactical plan for difficult away games, with Richard Offiong on his own up front in front of a five man midfield. If the plan had been to stifle Dundee, then it worked for most of the game.
Accies found it hard to make attacks worthy of mention, particularly in the first half, and in the early stages it was the experienced figure of Andy McLaren who was causing them most of their problems. His best chance came in the first half when his header from a corner kick was brilliantly tipped over the bar by Raymond Jellema. Dundee came mighty close to taking the lead when a fine shot thumped off the junction of post and crossbar.
It was a bit of a surprise when Accies took the lead after 26 minutes with must have been their first attempt on goal. Richard Offiong had been quiet at the start of the game but his first decent run at the Dundee defence was thwarted illegally by Bobby Mann, earning the Dundee man the game's only yellow card. After 26 minutes, Offiong's pass found Derek Fleming wide on the left. Flea's fine cross was bulleted past Ludovic Roy from close range by Paul McLeod. Shortly afterwards, McLeod had a half chance to double the lead from close range but he couldn't make contact with the ball.
For all their territorial dominance, Dundee were finding it very hard to get behind the Accies defence where Brian Easton was having another outstanding display for the hoops. As the game progressed their reliance on aerial bombardment was very telling and Easton and David Elebert did well to defend a large number of corner kicks and long throws from the touchline. While it was clear that the defenders were missing the calming influence of Mark McLaughlin, the defenders all did their jobs very well.
With so many balls being fired high into the penalty area, it was inevitable that someone, somewhere, would make a mistake. From the stand at the far end it was difficult to make out exactly what happened, but one cross was not defended well and Greg Strong was able to shoot the ball home from close range after 55 minutes.
While Dundee had not deserved to be behind, it was still very disappointing that the equalising goal had been given away so cheaply. If anything, Accies improved after losing the goal and Billy Reid replaced Marvyn Wilson with Brian Wake. This led to a tactical switch and Accies had two men forward for long spells of the remainder of the game.
This led to some chances being created at last and Richard Offiong twice came close to restoring Accies' lead. The first effort was a powerful left footed shot that Roy did well to parry and the second came when both he and James McArthur went for a brilliant Derek Fleming cross. They got in each other's way on the 6 yard line and the ball rebounded to safety. It was a really frustrating moment.
However, Dundee player/manager Alex Rae was possibly the game's most effective performer and some of his excellent passing gave his players more chances to send crosses into the area. For all their possession of the ball, the home team did little to threaten Raymond Jellema's goal and the credit for that must go to the Accies defence for their fine display.
As the game drew to a conclusion, Tony Stevenson replaced a tiring Derek Fleming, who had put in a great shift on the left. Tony's first action was an embarrassing attempt to take a throw-in, which the referee ordered to be retaken as the ball had not gone into play. Right at the final whistle, Dundee launched another couple of long balls into the area but the danger was cleared. The final action was the introduction of 15 year old James McCarthy for Richard Offiong but as soon as he came on the referee blew for full time.
While this was not a classic performance by Accies, it was a solid rearguard showing and a hard earned point. The standout player for Accies was 18 year old Brian Easton in the heart of the defence. He did well in the air, timed his tackles well and was able to anticipate danger and help out his teammates when required. He looks like a player with a big future in the game.
Dundee: Roy, Griffin, Mann, Strong, Dixon, McLaren, Rae, Kevin McDonald, Robertson, McGinty (Campbell 61), Swankie. Subs Not Used: Reidford, Harris, Calum McDonald, Gates.
Booked: Mann.
Goals: Strong 55.
Hamilton: Jellema, Parratt, Fleming (Stevenson 86), Easton, Elebert, McArthur, Winters, Wilson (Wake 67), Neil, Offiong (McCarthy 90), McLeod. Subs Not Used: White, Agnew.
Goals: McLeod 26.
Att: 3,851
Ref: A Muir
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