Accies maintained their grip at the top of the league with this fine win over Dunfermline. Richard Offiong was the man who did the damage with a well taken first half hat-trick - the first of his senior career. Accies have now stretched their lead at the top to 7 points following Dundee's draw at Almondvale.
Hamilton Accies 3 Dunfermline 0
Irn Bru League Division 1
New Douglas Park, Hamilton
Saturday 9 February 2008
Accies extended their lead at the top of the table to 7 points with this impressive display against the Pars. With Mark McLaughlin missing due to a one match ban, manager Billy Reid was delighted to be able to restore Irish defender David Elebert to the side after injury. The other major change saw Alex Neil returning after a ban, with Tony Stevenson and James McCarthy on the bench.
The visitors wasted no time in taking the game to Accies and it was a couple of minutes before Accies were able to get any kind of possession. When they did get into the game however, they had Dunfermline on the rack as they forced no fewer than 6 corner kicks in succession - all of them taken by Tom Parratt. This was a good spell of pressure but it yielded no goals; the best effort was a back post header from David Elebert that hit the foot of the post.
Accies were always susceptible to the quick counter attack and one such excellent move saw Alex Burke hit a low shot that beat Bryn Halliwell but was blocked by Brian Easton. Accies were enjoying the space that was presented to them by Dunfermline's attacking tactics and this meant that David Graham had space down the left wing. He ran into the area and just beat Sol Bamba to the ball before he was tripped by the Pars defender. The referee pointed to the spot and Richard Offiong made his usual expert job of the spot kick.
Big Richard was sent clear on goal a few minutes later but dithered a bit and Bamba got back to block his shot. Accies had 'keeper Bryn Halliwell to thank for keeping the Pars out a few minutes later when he made a brilliant block to deny a great chance for Mark Burchill. Accies have not lost a home goal since 22nd September and they were clearly in no mood to lose that fantastic record. Accies had a great chance to double their lead when some great passing football ended with Tom Parratt getting to the byeline. His cross found James McArthur in a great position but somehow James managed to knock the ball wide of the goal. James made his international debut for Scotland's under 21 team during the week and it would have been great if he had been able to end the week with an Accies goal.
Sol Bamba then went on a surging run through the midfield that ended when he was tripped about 25 yards out. This gave Stephen Glass a shooting opportunity but the ball went harmlessly over the top. Accies were under a fair bit of pressure at times but it was the home side who extended their lead a few minutes later. This time it was Brian Easton who did all the hard work with a run from well inside his own half that took him clear of the Pars defence. He reached the penalty area and his cross found Richard Offiong who made no mistake from close range.
It could be argued at this stage that Dunfermline were playing well and probably didn't deserve to be two goals behind. They still fought for everything and came mighty close to getting themselves back into the game after 42 minutes when Stevie Crawford's thumping shot from outside the area thudded against Bryn Halliwell's post.
That was tough luck for the visitors and things got even better for Accies when they grabbed a third goal just before half time. James McArthur was the creator this time with a run through midfield and a well timed pass out to Davie Graham on the wing. The former Gretna man cut in towards goal and fired in a low shot that was saved by Paul Gallacher. However, it broke back into the path of Richard Offiong and the English striker could hardly miss from close range to grab the first hat-trick of his career. This was also the cue for several Dunfermline fans to vote with their feet and leave the stadium.
It would have been hard for the second half to live up to the first period. Accies continued to play well and Richard Offiong was unfortunate to see his shot deflect off Scott Wilson and just past the post. James McArthur suffered a nasty face injury following an aerial challenge from Sol Bamba. James appeared to suffer a broken nose and it was bleeding heavily during his treatment at the touchline from Avril Downs. James McCarthy replaced him and once again demonstrated the attributes that have had big clubs offering sizeable fees to Accies for his services.
Richard Offiong came close to grabbing a fourth for the club when some delightful football ended with Brian Easton swinging in a curling cross from the left wing. Richard got to the ball but couldn't get his shot on target. Accies had most of the play but the visitors had their best effort of the half when Nicky Phinn volleyed the ball towards goal after Bryn Halliwell had punched it out. The shot beat Bryn but cleared the crossbar.
As the game drew to a close Richard Offiong was substituted to a well deserved standing ovation. The last Accies hat-trick had been scored by Stevie Convery in August 2004 and it was not before time! New recruit Andrew Waterworth took his place for the remainder of the game. Tony Stevenson also got a run out towards the end with Simon Mensing coming off.
So the game ended well for Accies and the results elsewhere made it an excellent day for the club. They just have to concentrate on playing good football and not get involved in the media hype and they should be OK. Best in the hoops were Richard Offiong and Brian Easton, but to be honest they all played well and there was scarcely a mistake or poorly hit pass all afternoon.
Hamilton: Halliwell, Parratt, Easton, Mensing (Stevenson 83) , Elebert, Swailes, Graham, McArthur (McCarthy 50), Offiong (Waterworth 82), Neil, Gilhaney
Subs Not Used: Cerny, Grady
Goals: Offiong 14 (pen), 35, 43
Booked: Parratt, Graham, Elebert
Dunfermline: Gallacher, Woods, Morrison, Simmons (Phinn 46), Wilson, Bamba, Harper, Glass, Burchill, Crawford (McManus 67), Burke (Morrison 74)
Subs not used; Howie, Murdoch
Booked: Phinn, Wilson, McManus, Harper
Att: 2,044
Ref: S Finney
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