Accies slipped back to 4th spot in the league on Saturday when they went down 2-1 to Clyde at Broadwood. James McArthur (left) gave Accies the lead with a fine goal after 71 minutes, but Clyde fought back to grab all three points. The bad news for Accies was that debutant Omar Rezgane was sent off and that striker Richard Offiong became the third player in recent weeks to suffer a hamstring injury.
Broadwood Stadium
Saturday, 4th November 2006
Clyde 2 Hamilton Accies 1
Accies lost ground in the title race when they went down to a 2-1 defeat to Clyde at Broadwood. Manager Billy Reid was forced to make a change to the team that had defeated Gretna 7 days earlier, with debutant Omar Rezgane replacing the injured Derek Fleming in defence. Rezgane joined the club on an amateur contract earlier in the week, but this was to be an unhappy 25th birthday for the big Frenchman.
In the early stages of the game Rezgane looked quite assured. He won several balls in the air and his passing was confident and accurate. However, all of this was to become irrelevant in the 36th minute, when he was shown a straight red card by referee Willie Collum for an extremely "robust" tackle on Roddy Hunter of Clyde. Until that time, Accies had played reasonably well and Richard Offiong had looked to be on form again as the solitary striker. Things went from bad to worse for Accies just a few minutes after Rezgane's dismissal. Offiong was sent clear through the middle, with a Clyde defender in hot pursuit. He put the ball a bit too far ahead of him and over stretched in trying to retrieve the situation. He then went down inside the area with a hamstring injury and was replaced by Brian Wake.
Accies did quite well in the first period although they were fortunate when an inswinging corner kick by Stephen O'Donnell hit the crossbar and rebounded to safety. Other than that, Clyde were restricted to long range shots that did not cause Raymond Jellema to break sweat in the Accies goal. The first period was not exactly a feast of football but the 10 men of Accies were putting in a good shift to stifle Clyde as much as possible.
In the early stages of the second half it looked like the game was heading for a goalless draw, with neither side able to create much in the way of reasonable chances. Then, after 71 minutes, the game burst to life when Accies took the lead with an excellent goal. It was started by big defender Brian Easton, who won the ball inside his own half and then decided to make a rare venture forwards. the Clyde midfield parted like the Red Sea and he was able to advance nearly to their penalty area. He gave the ball to Brian Wake, who in turn passed it out wide to James McArthur. Without hesitation, young James sent a brilliant curling shot into the top corner before being engulfed by his ecstatic teammates. It was only his second goal for the top team and it was a belter.
Sadly, the rest of the game really belonged to Clyde. They had done little to impress for much of the game but McArthur's goal proved to be the catalyst for their revival. Accies were only ahead for 6 minutes until Clyde grabbed an equaliser, with Neil McGregor deflecting a wayward shot into the net from inside a packed 6 yard box. The home team had the scent of victory in their nostrils now and it was Eddie Malone who gave them the winner just 4 minutes later, with an expertly taken free kick from just outside he area that gave Raymond Jellema no chance.
So it was a very disappointing defeat for Accies, although there were some crumbs of consolation to be had from the game. Brian Easton and David Elebert were steady at the back and it's possible that Accies have discovered a genuine talent in Omar Rezgane. Unfortunately, he left the game before and real verdict could be made but will have learned to be a bit more cautious in his tackles in the future. Further forwards, Alex Neil held things together well in midfield and Richard Offiong was always dangerous going forwards. It's to be hoped that his injury does not prove to be too serious.
Clyde: Hutton, McKeown, McGregor, Higgins, Michael McGowan, Bryson (Ryan McCann 88), McHale, O'Donnell, Malone, Imrie (Arbuckle 54), Hunter (Ferguson 58).
Subs Not Used: McKenna, Cherrie. Booked: Malone, McHale.
Goals: McGregor 77, Malone 81.
Hamilton: Jellema, Parratt, Elebert, Rezgane, Easton, Neil, Wilson (Stevenson 79), McArthur, Winters (Tunbridge 73), McLeod, Offiong (Wake 40).
Subs Not Used: McCarthy, White.
Sent Off: Rezgane (36). Booked: Wilson, Easton.
Goal: McArthur 71.
Att: 1,200
Ref: W Collum
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