Accies had their lead at the top of the table cut to three points on Saturday when they lost 2-1 at Palmerston. James McCarthy gave Accies the lead in the first minute but the home side scored twice in a nightmare spell in the second half to grab the points. Bizarrely, both goals were credited as own goals by Accies men, with Mark McLaughlin and Bryn Halliwell unfortunate to get their names on the scoresheet.
Queen of the South 2 Hamilton Accies 1
Palmerston Park, Dumfries
Saturday, 3rd November 2007
Irn Bru League Division 1
Accies lost vital ground in the promotion race with this defeat at Palmerston. It had all looked good for Accies when they raced into the lead before some of the fans had taken their seats, but all the good work was undone by defensive errors in the second half. With Dundee snatching a late winner against St Johnstone, Accies lead has been cut to just three points.
Billy Reid made just one change to the team that lost at Tannadice in midweek, with James Gibson coming in at right back in place of Grant Evans, who was on the bench alongside Tony Stevenson, Brian Wake, Tomas Cerny and Kevin Davison. Accies got the game off to a cracking start with a goal in just 85 seconds by James McCarthy. James was sent clean through by a good pass from Mark Gilhaney and he cracked the ball low past home goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald. It was an excellent goal and it really helped Accies settle into a good rhythm for the bulk of the first half.
Further efforts on goal from James McArthur and Richard Offiong were thwarted by good saves by MacDonald, who ultimately was named as the man of the match. Accies probably should have been further ahead at the interval and there was no indication that the home team had much in their ranks to threaten the situation. Accies were playing some really nice passing football but too often the high balls into the area were being cleared by Jim Thomson.
As the second half developed it seemed as though the Accies team were beginning to tire and the home side were starting to gain in confidence. Accies did still create some decent chances, with James McArthur unlucky to see his well hit shot turned around the post by MacDonald. Richard Offiong and Chris Swailes also had attempts on goal as Accies sought to close the game out.
However, all of this good work was undone by two calamitous defensive errors within the space of a coupe of minutes midway through the second half. The long throw-ins from the left had been a problem for the Accies defence all afternoon and after 66 minutes this tactic eventually bore fruit for the home side, with Bryn Halliwell fumbling the ball under pressure and the ball going into the net via Mark McLaughlin. Things got even worse for Accies just a couple of minutes later when the Doonhamers went ahead. This time the root cause of the goal was the fact that both Alex neil and Mark McLaughlin went for the ball at the same time and got in each others way. Queens won possession and swept upfield, with the ball being played to substitute Brian Gilmour on the left of the area. His powerful shot beat Bryn Halliwell but thumped off the post before hitting the Accies goalie and ricocheting into the net.
Accies upped their game after this but despite their efforts an equaliser failed to arrive. Mark Gilhaney had an outstanding chance to score when he was sent through by James McCarthy. He only had the keeper to beat although he lifted the ball over MacDonald it bounced wide of the target. That was to be Mark's last involvement as he was immediately replaced by Kevin Davison, with the former Gretna man making a very rare appearance in the team. Brian Wake also came on at that time, with David Winters making way. Accies had some reasonable pressure towards the end but the home side held on to record what was for them a vital victory.
There's no getting around the fact that this was a disappointing performance by Accies. The cup tie at Tannadice must have been draining for the younger players in particular but the simple fact was that defensive errors cost them the points in this game.
After the match, Billy Reid said, " Apart from a two minute spell when Queens scored their goals we were in control of the match. But Queens are fighting for their lives and the fans seemed to lift them in the second half. Their 'keeper made a couple of good saves and we have only ourselves to blame as two bad mistakes gifted them the goals. In my mind it was a match we should never have lost."
Queen of the South: MacDonald, Scally, McQuilken, Thomson, Harris, Robertson, MacFarlane, Mole (Gilmour 57), Tosh, O'Connor, Dobbie (Bingham 44).
Subs Not Used: O'Neill, Aitken, Grindlay. Booked: McQuilken, Harris.
Goals: McLaughlin 66 og, Halliwell 68 og.
Hamilton: Halliwell, Gibson, Easton, Swailes, McLaughlin, McCarthy, Winters (Wake 78), McArthur, Neil, Gilhaney (Davison 78), Offiong.
Subs Not Used: Evans, Stevenson, Cerny.
Booked: Offiong.
Goal: McCarthy 1.
Att: 2,432
Ref: S O'Reilly
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