Accies held league leaders Gretna to an entertaining goalless draw at New Douglas Park on Saturday. A draw was probably the right result as both teams had chances to win the game. James McArthur came closest to scoring when his delightful shot from outside the area hit the post with visiting goalkeeper Malkowski well beaten.
Hamilton Accies 0 Gretna 0
New Douglas Park, Hamilton
Saturday, 14th April 2007
Accies held title chasing Gretna to an entertaining goalless draw in hot sunshine at New Douglas Park. With James McCarthy unavailable through injury, Billy Reid brought Tony Stevenson into the midfield. Otherwise, the team was unchanged from the Livingston game. After losing to St Johnstone last week, Gretna were not in a position to win the league with a victory in this game, a fact that may have contributed to the small visiting support.
Gretna started the game pretty well and it took Accies a fair while to get started. However, it was Accies who came closest to scoring when James McArthur had an excellent shot that was tipped over the top by on-loan Hibs goalkeeper Zbigniew Malkowski. Alex Neil took the resultant corner and David Elebert rose well to meet it at the far post. Agonisingly for the big Irishman, Malkowski tipped that over the bar too.
Given the football that followed after this , it was a real surprise that the scoreline remained blank at the interval. Gretna manufactured a couple of reasonably easy chances and it was a major surprise that Sean Murdoch's goal remained intact at the break. Their first real chance came when David Elebert uncharacteristically allowed James Grady to fire in a low cross from the left. He picked out top scorer Colin McMenamin at the far post but the striker somehow managed to bundle the ball wide of the post. Accies were even luckier later on when James Grady pounced on a rebound from Sean Murdoch. His shot was then saved by Murdoch but it looped over the Accies goalie towards the line. David Elebert was on hand to whack the ball away, but it cannoned off the inrushing Gavin Skelton and just cleared the crossbar.
The visitors had a couple of players yellow carded before the break, with Chris Innes punished for a blatant handball and James Grady dealt with in a similar fashion for blocking Sean Murdoch as he attempted to clear the ball upfield. Alex Neil saw yellow as well for a first half foul. Accies were denied what appeared to be a penalty kick when Mark Gilhaney was tripped inside the area. However, referee McDonald was not interested in the appeals.
Accies started the second half with James Gibson in midfield in place of Tony Stevenson. This change seemed to pep things up for a while but still chances were few and far between as the two midfields battled it out. Richard Offiong was well marshalled by the visiting defence but, just as he seemed to be getting into his stride, he went down injured on the far side of the park. To his obvious disappointment, he was substituted by Brian Wake while still receiving treatment from Avril Downs. The introduction of former Gretna man Wake certainly added a more physical aspect to the Accies attack and he certainly put himself about.
The visiting side were giving as good as they got and looked dangerous when they came forward. However, apart from a free kick by Danny Grainger that was well saved by Sean Murdoch, they didn't really look like grabbing the opening goal. The credit for this must go to the Accies defence, who were individually and collectively superb. Tom Parratt picked up an uncontestable yellow card for pulling the shirt of a Gretna forward after he had been well beaten.
As the game drew towards a close, Billy Reid put on Paul McLeod for Mark Gilhaney. Accies continued to press forward whenever they could, with David Winters up front really causing the Gretna defence a lot of problems. As some fans started to drift away, Accies very nearly grabbed all three points when James McArthur, not normally known for his shooting prowess, strode forward through the midfield and sent in an exquisite shot that beat Malkowski. Sadly for Accies, his shot drifted just a fraction too far wide and rebounded into play off the inside of the post. Young James looked distraught, but if he continues to play like this he will have a great future.
Right at the end, James Grady just failed to beat Murdoch from close range and the referee blew for full time.
The match sponsor's gave the Man of the Match award to Alex Neil, but there were no failures in the Accies team and their performance certainly augurs well for next season. James McArthur and David Elebert were particularly outstanding. Accies are now likely to end this season in third position, a spot they also occupied last term. The fact that this has been achieved with a very young team and long-term injuries to key players is quite remarkable.
Hamilton: Murdoch, Parratt, Swailes, Stevenson (Gibson 46), Elebert, Easton, Winters, McArthur, Offiong (Wake 58), Neil, Gilhaney (McLeod 70).
Subs Not Used: Wilson, Jellema.
Booked: Neil, Parratt.
Gretna: Malkowski, Barr, Innes, Canning, Skelton, Deverdics, Paarpalu (O'Neil 78), Hogg (Grainger 20), Grady, McMenamin, Graham (Berkeley 67).
Subs Not Used: McGill, Fleming.
Booked: Innes, Grady.
Att: 1,646
Ref: D McDonald
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