Accies suffered their second home defeat of the season when they went down to a superb first half Derek Riordan goal. It was rough justice for Accies, as they matched Hibs throughout and were clearly the better team in the second half. Martin Canning was named as the sponsor's man of the match, but it was Brian Easton who was in inspired form on the left flank.
Hamilton Accies 0 Hibernian 1
New Douglas Park, Hamilton
Saturday, 20th September 2008
Clydesdale Bank Scottish Premier League
Despite the defeat, this was one of Accies' best performances of the season, particularly after the break. However, the sad fact is that they lost this game to a wonderful goal by Derek Riordan. This was a tough one for Accies to take, such was their dominance of the second half of the game. Manager Billy Reid went with the XI that had played the bulk of the game at Pittodrie, with James McCarthy taking over from Tony Stevenson and Simon Mensing remaining at right back. New signing Trent McClenahan was not signed early enough to enable him to play. Hibs manager Mixu Paatelainen went with a very strong forward line that featured Steven Fletcher, Dene Shiels and Colin Nish. Returning favourite Derek Riordan was on the bench.
Accies started the game quite brightly, with both Simon Mensing and Brian Easton firing in shots that had Hibs giant 'keeper Yves Ma-Kalambay rooted to the spot. Both just missed the target. The visitors were dangerous when they got forward, with Accies beginning to be pushed deeper and deeper. They very nearly scored too, with Colin Nish thudding a header off Tomas Cerny's crossbar from an inswinging corner kick by Dene Shiels. Then Colin Nish was given time and space in the middle of the penalty area to fire in a low shot that Cerny did well to save.
Accies seemed to be riding the mini-storm, but then the game changed with the introduction of Riordan for he unfit Fletcher after 38 minutes. Seconds after coming onto the pitch to a huge ovation from the sizeable Hibs support, he was given the ball out on the left. With Simon Mensing backing off, Riordan cut inside onto his right foot and sent an unsaveable shot high past Tomas Cerny. Unfortunately, it was a goal fit to win any game.
That was it for the first half and Hibs probably deserved their lead at that stage. It was to be a different story after the break, as Accies went on to completely dominate the rest of the game. Accies were doing well in the early stages of the half and then Billy Reid made a bold triple substitution just after the hour, with Offiong, Graham and Sorsa making way for Thomas, Ettien and Corcoran. This certainly improved things for Accies, with Ettien in particular causing quite a few dangerous moments for the Hibs defence.
Ironically, it was Hibs man Murray who came very close to equalising for Accies when he deflected a Mark Corcoran cross just past the post from close range. Joel Thomas produced a brilliant save from Yves Ma-Kalambay from the edge of the area, with the Hibs 'keeper happy to tip the ball past the post. The best chance fell to James McArthur who stabbed the ball wide of the post after Corcoran's fierce shot from outside the area had been blocked by the Hibs goalie. In James's defence, the ball came to him very quickly, but these are the kind of chances that need to be taken in the SPL.
Accies forced a succession of corners, but they proved to be fruitless. Accies had so much of the ball, it was really frustrating to see their possession come to nothing in front of goal. They stuck to their philosophy of playing passing football and clearly deserved to take something from the game. They will have won plenty of admirers for the quality of their football and showed yet again that they are not out of place in the SPL. The fact that they have proved that in every game they have played to date means that it need not be repeated again!
In Brian Easton, David Elebert and Martin Canning they had the game's outstanding players, although Riordan's sublime goal will capture all the attention. It's hard to argue with that as his goal was what ultimately separated the sides. The fact that his sole contribution otherwise was a low shot that was easily covered by Cerny will not prevent him from gathering all the plaudits from this game. That's a sore one for Accies to take given their performance, but that's simply life in the SPL. They had better get used to it. The good news is that if they continue to play the way they did in his game - and can take the odd chance - they will be able to keep well clear of the drop at the end of the season.
Hamilton: Cerny, Mensing, Elebert, Canning, Easton, Graham (Corcoran 62), McCarthy, Neil, McArthur, Offiong (Thomas 62), Sorsa (Ettien 62). Subs Not Used: Murdoch, Swailes, Casement, Lyle.
Booked: Sorsa, Mensing.
Hibernian: Ma-Kalambay, van Zanten, Jones, Hogg, Stevenson, Keenan, Rankin, Shiels (Chisholm 79), Murray, Fletcher (Riordan 38), Nish (Pinau 52). Subs Not Used: McNeil, Yantorno, Hanlon, McCormack.
Booked: Rankin, van Zanten.
Goal: Riordan 39.
Att: 4,058
Ref: D McDonald
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