Accies dropped two precious points on Saturday when they were held to a goalless draw by Partick Thistle. Accies struggled in the first half without skipper Alex Neil and against the wind, but they dominated play after the interval and it turned into a match between Accies and Jags 'keeper Jon Tuffey, who made several remarkable saves to earn his side a point. Stuart Taylor came off the bench for the final quarter of the game and was unlucky to see a couple of excellent efforts saved by Tuffey.
Hamilton Accies 0 Partick Thistle 0
Irn Bru League Division 1
New Douglas Park, Hamilton
Saturday 29 March 2008
This was a remarkable game that Accies would have won handsomely had it not been for an inspired performance by Thistle 'keeper Jonny Tuffey. The young Irishman had one of those games where he somehow managed to get in the way of everything Accies could fire at him and by the end it would have been hard luck on the goalkeeper if he hadn't earned his team a point. For Accies however, this will be viewed as a disappointing result and their lead at the top has now been cut to 4 points by Dundee.
The bad news for Accies at the start of the game was that captain Alex Neil failed a late fitness test and the team lines had to be changed to bring teenager James Gibson in in his place. Simon Mensing was completing his two match suspension, while Tom Parratt was not yet ready to return to the side. Assistant manager Stuart Taylor was included among the substitutes, as was Grant Gillespie.
The bad news continued for the home side just a couple of minutes into the game when defender Mark McLaughlin injured his ankle. It was clear that there were doubts about his ability to continue and Stuart Taylor began to warm up just in case. With regular backup Chris Swailes unavailable through injury, the withdrawal of Mark would have been pretty serious for Accies. As it turned out, mark played the full 90 minutes and was an inspirational figure for the team.
The first half was not a vintage 45 minutes of football. Accies found it hard to get forward very often, with the wind and rain playing their part. However, it was clear that the visitors were playing better in the first period and created the best chance when Mark Roberts stabbed a low shot side of the target. Referee Charlie Richmond controversially decided not to caution Jags defender Willie Kinniburgh for wrestling Richard Offiong to the ground when the Accies striker was getting away from him and this decision was to be important later in the half when the same player body checked Offiong as he sprinted towards goal. It wasn't a clear goalscoring opportunity and therefore not a straight red card, but the player was fortunate not to be leaving the pitch early. There were few highlights for Accies in the first half, with a dangerous cross from David Graham that found no takers being about the best of it.
If the visitors had shaded the first half, the second half was dominated by Accies. There was a spell not long after half time when it seemed that a goal was inevitable as the shots rained in on Jonny Tuffey's goal. But it never came. The young goalie had an inspired afternoon as he tipped over great shots from James McCarthy and Mark Gilhaney then did the same with a netbound header from Accies substitute Stuart Taylor. Stuart was very unfortunate not to score when he met a Tony Stevenson corner kick at the back post and volleyed it goalwards. Tuffey flung himself over to block and the ball hit him on the forehead before going over the top.
There were also a couple of frantic goalmouth scrambles when the ball just didn't break properly for an Accies player to score. Tuffey came out for a cross and missed the ball but the header from David Elebert rolled agonisingly wide of the unguarded goal. It was that kind of day.
The final attempt came when Richard Offiong got the ball to the byeline and cut it back to Stuart Taylor 15 yards out. Stuart hit the ball well but it went over the top. The visitors did have the occasional foray upfield in the second half and there was always a danger that they would catch Accies out with a counter attack, but the defence, with Mark McLaughlin outstanding, did their job well and Tomas Cerny didn't have too much to deal with.
The frustration was there for all to see at the final whistle, with Stuart Taylor looking particularly crestfallen. This was a superb second half display by Accies with only one vital thing missing. It was good to see that most of the Accies supporters gave the team a well deserved ovation at the end. They didn't win the match, but no-one could fault the team for lack of effort.
Hamilton: Cerny, Stevenson, Easton, McCarthy, Elebert, McLaughlin, Graham, McArthur, Offiong, Gibson (Taylor 68), Gilhaney.
Subs Not Used: Waterworth, Grady, Halliwell, Gillespie
Partick: Tuffey, Storey, Twaddle, McKinlay, Robertson, Kinniburgh, Harkins, Rowson, Gray (Donnelly 57), Roberts, McKeown (Chaplain 46).
Subs Not Used: Hinchcliffe, Murray, McStay.
Booked: Kinniburgh.
Att: 2,150
Ref: C Richmond
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