Accies slipped further down the table when they were defeated by 1-0 by Airdrie United, courtesy of an early Gary Twigg goal.
Airdrie United 1 Hamilton Accies 0
Excelsior Stadium, Airdrie
Tuesday, 2nd January 2007
Accies' slender hopes of forcing their way back into the promotion battle are just a dream now. With this defeat at Airdrie, they fell 16 points behind league leaders Gretna and have now dropped to 6th position in the league. The damage was done early, with a smartly taken goal by Gary Twigg after just 7 minutes. Accies tried all they could to battle back into the game but that vital goal eluded them.
With both Tom Parratt and David Elebert joining the very long list of injured Accies players, Billy Reid made a couple of changes. Tony Stevenson and James McCarthy came back into the team, with Marvyn Wilson dropping to right back. The game had hardly settled into any kind of rhythm when the home side opened the scoring after just 7 minutes, with Gary Twigg showing neat footwork in the area before rolling the ball past Dave McEwan. It seemed like a clearly preventable goal but it proved to be the only strike of the game.
The first half was otherwise a fairly even affair, with both sides creating some chances. The best opportunity for Accies came when Mark Gilhaney fired in an excellent cross from the left that was diverted goalwards by Brian Wake. It was partially blocked by Stephen Robertson and it took the combined efforts of two Airdrie defenders to prevent Wake from forcing home the rebound. The ball broke to James McCarthy but his shot from the goalline struck the foot of the post and cannoned to safety. The two Airdrie players were injured in the scramble, with McKeown having to be replaced shortly afterwards.
A few minutes later, Billy Reid had to replace Dave McEwan with Raymond Jellema. McEwan's kicking had been very poor throughout the opening stages of the game and it was clear that his leg injury had resurfaced. He had not been threatened much by the Airdrie forwards; a pattern that was to continue with Jellema in goals. Accies had another half chance before the break, but this time James McCarthy's shot flew wide of the target. Airdrie had a couple of opportunities when they had numerical superiority over the Accies defence, but they were unable to make them count.
Accies had been giving a good account of themselves in the first half and they continued in this vein after the break. Billy Reid took the bold step of using his final substitutions after just 53 minutes, with David Winters and James McArthur being replaced by James Gibson and Paul McLeod. The introduction of McLeod in particular gave the Accies attack an injection of pace, but he was to squander the one genuine chance that came his way. Set free with only Robertson to beat, he managed to thump the ball against the Airdrie 'keeper and the chance was lost. McLeod also did well to fire in a header, but Robertson was equal to the task and tipped it over the bar.
Both sides created some chances in the remainder of the game, with Accies having the bulk of the play.
However, there were to be no further goals. This was another game that Accies could and probably should have won, but they were unable to create good enough opportunities for the forwards to convert. Kevin Sharp was yellow carded for dissent after complaining that the referee had failed to award Accies a free kick. In truth, if the referee's jurisdiction had been extended to the Accies support he would have had a field day, such was their anger at the decision.
Best for Accies on another disappointing day were youngster James McCarthy in midfield and the superb Brian Easton at the back. McCarthy may be the player rumoured to be on the brink of a big move, but Easton is certainly the discovery of the season for Accies.
Airdrie Utd: Robertson, Smyth, Lovering, Taylor, McKenna, McGowan, McDougall, McKeown (Watson 26), Twigg (Koudou 81), Holmes, Barrau (McPhee 70).
Subs Not Used: Tierney, Hollis.
Goal: Twigg 7.
Hamilton: McEwan (Jellema 31), Wilson, Sharp, McArthur, Stevenson, Easton, Winters (Gibson 53), McCarthy (McLeod 53), Wake, Neil, Gilhaney.
Subs Not Used: McJimpsey, Gow.
Booked: Sharp.
Att: 1,414
Ref: J Underhill
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