Accies grabbed their first win in over two months with a well deserved victory against Partick Thistle. Goals by Mark Gilhaney and Richard Offiong did the damage, with Mark Roberts scoring what proved to be a consolation goal for the visitors.
Hamilton Accies 2 Partick Thistle 1
New Douglas Park
Saturday, 20th January 2007
Accies went into this game on the end of a 9 match winless run. With so many players injured (and with David Elebert suspended), manager Billy Reid made a major positional change which meant that Alex Neil played at the heart of the defence with Marvyn Wilson beside him at right back. This meant that Tony Stevenson moved into midfield alongside fellow teenagers James McCarthy and James McArthur. The highly rated McCarthy was being watched by Frank Arnessen of Chelsea, the latest club to show an interest in the 16 year old. The good news for Accies was that Richard Offiong was able to return from injury, although the top scorer was far from being fully fit. There were several familiar faces in the Thistle lineup, with John Robertson returning to NDP at the back and the white booted Allan Russell playing up front. In addition, Pat Keogh and Brown Ferguson were on the bench.
After the initial "sparring", Accies should have taken the lead after 6 minutes when Mark Gilhaney broke clear through the inside left channel. He cut across the path of the last defender to make space for a right footed shot, but Jags goalie Tuffey saved his shot without difficulty. Accies had the upper hand for much of the first half and had a goal disallowed after 19 minutes when Richard Offiong fired home from close range from an offside position.
It was clear that the tactic of playing Alex Neil at the back was working pretty well and all of he back four had an excellent first half, with Brian Easton's height and strength proving to be vital. In addition, Marvyn Wilson was superb at right back and Kevin Sharp was untroubled down the left. A goal seemed on the cards, but when it came it was quite fortuitous, with a Paul McLeod shot being diverted into Mark Gilhaney's path by John Robertson. Wee Mark showed great composure to score from close range.
Thistle came back into the game for a spell and fired a few shots over the bar from outside the area. Their best attempt came from Mark Roberts, who hit an excellent curling shot that clipped the outside of Raymond Jellema's post before going wide. Just before the break Accies were fortunate to survive when an outswinging corner was missed by Jellema. The ball was headed downwards and back towards the goal by an Accies player but happily it bounced up and over the crossbar. Thistle were unlucky but they did not deserve to be level at the break.
One feature of the first half had been the tough tackling performance by James McCarthy, whose robust style led to him being warned by referee Stephen Finnie. It was great to see that he hadn't let all the hype and speculation about his future get to his head. McCarthy's most influential moment of the game was to come after 52 minutes, when he set up what was to prove to be the winning goal for Richard Offiong. The striker had missed several games through injury and was clearly far from being fully fit. In fact he had pulled up after about 15 minutes of the game and Billy Reid had looked very anxious as his star striker had stood about to stretch his muscles for a few moments. Happily, he had been able to continue and make his mark on the game.
The goal itself was something of a disaster for Thistle defender Barry Smith. Twice he tried to head away a long ball from the Accies defence and twice he made a hash of it. The loose ball was collected by James McCarthy and he took his time before playing a perfect pass to Richard Offiong. Richard advanced on the goalkeeper and scored with great composure. Thistle manager Dick Campbell was so unimpressed with Smith's performance that the defender was substituted a couple of minutes later, with Pat Keogh taking his place. Paddy went up front and it was fascinating to watch his aerial battles with Alex Neil. Wee Alex didn't win very many of them, but he couldn't be faulted for effort.
Paul McLeod then had a good chance to make it 3-0 when he was set up about 10 yards out. He took perhaps a touch too many and his shot was blocked. That was to have an impact moments later, when Mark Roberts scored a scrappy goal from close range to haul Thistle back into the game. Both managers made changes at this stage, with Richard Offiong leaving to a standing ovation - Brian Wake took his place - and Allan Russell being replaced by Stephen McConalogue. The shape of the game was quite different now, with Thistle firing in high balls as often as possible and Accies enjoying some counter attacks. The visitors never did get the second goal that they craved, although a late header from an Accies defender did strike Jellema's crossbar.
For their part, Accies did create some good openings and deserved to extend their lead. David Winters replaced Tony Stevenson for the last 14 minutes and played a great role for that time, with Partick unable to cope with his sublime skill and ball control. He teamed up well with McCarthy, McArthur and Gilhaney to drag the Partick defence all over the place. At one point, he was able to get past goalkeeper Tuffey at the edge of the area but was forced wide and the chance came to nothing. Tuffey came to his side's rescue with a brilliant tip over from a netbound Winters shot near the end.
So it was a good day for Accies as they recorded their first win in over two months. There didn't appear to be any fresh injuries of any significance, although Paul McLeod appeared to take a knock near the end. There weren't any failures, but special mention must go to Alex Neil, who returned from a bout of flu to play one of his most important games for the team. Little wonder that Billy Reid went onto the pitch at the end to give him a big hug (in a manly way, of course!)
Hamilton: Jellema, Wilson, Stevenson (Winters 76), Easton, Sharp, McCarthy, McArthur, Neil, Gilhaney, McLeod, Offiong (Wake 64). Subs Not Used: Gibson, Fleming, White.
Goals: Gilhaney 30, Offiong 52.
Partick: Tuffey, Smith (Keogh 56), Boyd, McChrystale, John Robertson, James Gibson, Brady (Ferguson 70), Donnelly, Russell (McConalogue 63), Young, Roberts. Subs Not Used: Billy Gibson, Arthur.
Booked: McChrystale, Ferguson, James Gibson, Donnelly.
Goals: Roberts 63.
Att: 1,949
Ref: S Finnie
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