Accies let two points slip through their fingers when they were held to a 2-2 draw by Queen of the South on Saturday. Tony Stevenson gave Accies the lead from the spot after 10 minutes, but Jamie Adams equalised for the visitors a couple of minutes later. Accies went back in front courtesy of a fine David Winters goal shortly afterwards but were unable to grab that vital third goal despite having several clear cut chances before the break. The Doonhamers came into the game in the second half and Stephen Dobbie scored an opportunist's goal just after the hour to level things.
Hamilton Accies 2 Queen of the South 2
New Douglas Park
Saturday, 10th February 2007
After the two week break, Billy Reid made a few changes to his team. With Marvyn Wilson suspended and Kevin Sharp released, James Gibson and Derek Fleming came in at the full back positions. Paul McLeod and James McCarthy moved to the bench, which meant that Tony Stevenson and David Winters started the game. The visitors had strengthened considerably during the transfer window, with the highlights being the recruitment of the Gretna pair of Steve Tosh and Jamie McQuilken, as well as the loans of Jamie Adams and Stevie Murray from Kilmarnock.
The game started pretty well and it was clear that this was a game that both sides were keen to win. Richard Offiong made a chance for himself in the opening minutes but his shot from the edge of the area flew well over the top. Mark Gilhaney was in great form early on and he gained Accies a penalty after 10 minutes when his trickery was too much for Stevie Tosh. The Queen's man tripped him and referee Kenny Clark immediately pointed to the spot. Tony Stevenson stepped forward and made a great job of converting what was only the second spot kick Accies have been awarded in the league this season. Accies were unable to enjoy the lead for long however. Within a minute of the goal, the visitors equalised when Jamie Adams ran onto an exquisite through pass from Steve Tosh to clip the ball over the advancing Raymond Jellema.
The goal shook Accies back into life and they regained the lead 6 minutes later with an excellent goal that showed what a capture Richard Offiong is. One of the visiting defenders tried to trap the ball just inside his own half but was quickly dispossessed by Offiong. He then sprinted away down the left wing with no other Accies players in sight. He then spotted David Winters making a great run into the area and fired in a low cross that Winters cracked low past Jamie McDonald. Accies had a decent shout for another penalty when one of the players appeared to be pushed when going for a cross but the referee wasn't interested.
There were to be no further goals in the first half but Accies should have scored on at least three further occasions. Ironically, two of the chances fell to James McArthur, who would probably concede that he's not a natural chance taker. The first was a header rom a pinpoint cross from Derek Fleming on the left. James was pretty much unmarked in the middle but his header went wide of the target. His other chance came when another ball from the left was missed by the Queen's defence. He took his time and cracked the ball on target, but it smashed off the goalkeeper's face and bounced back off McArthur before rolling wide of the target. Those were good opportunities, but an even better one was missed by Mark Gilhaney. The move was brilliant football but all that was lacking was a composed finish. It started with David Winters in midfield, who found the unmarked Richard Offiong with a neat pass. Richard was clear on goal but with defenders closing him down he decided to tee the ball up for Mark. However, McDonald got down well to block the effort. Just before the break, the visitors came close to grabbing an undeserved equaliser when Steven Dobbie hit the ball past the out rushing Jellema but this time the ball went wide.
It was clear that Accies had been the better team in the first half but what quickly became apparent after the break was that Ian McCall had made some tactical changes at the interval. Accies found decent possession harder to come by and their neat passing game from the first period seemed to have left them. Large spells of the second half were uninspiring, with the Doonhamers having more of the ball and creating the occasional half chance. Accies didn't really look like extending their lead and it was no real surprise when the visitors equalised after 67 minutes. A Queen's attack was broken up when the ball hit referee Kenny Clark, but the loose ball was not picked up properly by the Accies defence. It was collected by Steven Dobbie, who spotted that Raymond Jellema had come well off his line. He made a good job of lobbing the Accies goalkeeper and Brian easton was unable to stop the ball from crossing the line.
It was now time for Billy Reid to make a couple of changes, with James McCarthy and Scott Tunbridge replacing Tony Stevenson and Mark Gilhaney. These changes improved things for Accies and they started to play a bit better. They made a few threatening attacks, particularly down the left wing, but the final ball seldom caused many problems for the visitors defence. At the other end, John O'Neill headed wide from a good position with Scott Tunbridge getting the credit for being the one who tracked his run and challenged him in the air. Billy Reid's final change was to introduce Paul McLeod for Offiong and this fresh injection of energy was helpful.
The final chance for Accies came near the end, when a brilliant pass by James McCarthy gave David Winters the opportunity to run in on goal. Sadly, he could only shoot wide from a good position.
So it was really a game that Accies would have won if they had taken their chances. They played some great football at times but in the second half they were forced onto the back foot for long spells by this much improved Queen of the South team. It could well be that their big investment in players will save them from the drop.
Best for Accies were the forward trio of Winters, Offiong and Gilhaney, with David Winters having his best game in the hoops. With the injury situation now far better than in recent weeks, it's clear that Accies are capable of playing some brilliant football. Now if they could just take more of those chances..
Hamilton: Jellema, Gibson, Elebert, Easton, Fleming, Stevenson (McCarthy 73), McArthur, Neil, Gilhaney (Tunbridge 75), Winters, Offiong (McLeod 86).
Subs Not Used: Wake, Thomson.
Goals: Stevenson 10 pen, Winters 18.
Queen of the South: MacDonald, Paton, Lauchlan, Jim Thomson, McQuilken, Adams (O'Neill 62), Scally, Tosh, Murray, Barrowman (Gibson 46), Dobbie (O'Connor 83).
Subs Not Used: Weir, Corr.
Goals: Adams 12, Dobbie 67.
Att: 1,454
Ref: K Clark
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