Accies fought hard at Easter Road on Saturday, but ultimately their efforts were to be unrewarded as Hibs ran out 2-0 winners thanks to goals by Derek Riordan and Rob Jones. James McCarthy had an excellent game in the heart of the midfield and this was a far better performance by Accies than in the previous game at Ibrox.
Results elsewhere mean that Accies are now 3 points behind the 11th placed team, but manager Billy Reid was full of praise for his men after the game.
Hibs 2 Hamilton Accies 0
Easter Road, Edinburgh
Saturday, 13th December 2008
Clydesdale Bank Scottish Premier League
It was the same old story for Accies at Easter Road on Saturday. They played really well for long spells in this game, but the home team's superior fire power gave them the three points. The bad news for Accies before the game was that skipper Alex Neil picked up an injury in training and was unable to play. Manager Billy Reid brought in Derek Lyle and also replaced the suspended Martin Canning with David Elebert. Hibs went with the same team that defeated Celtic the previous weekend.
The home team had the better of the early play, with John Rankin trying to repeat his long distance effort from the previous week. However, the shot was easily saved by Tomas Cerny. Highly rated striker Steven Fletcher sent over a great cross for Colin Nish, but his header didn't trouble Cerny. That was to be Fletcher's only significant contribution to the game, as he went off after 20 minutes following a foul by David Elebert for which the Irish defender was warned by referee Brian Winter. Derek Riordan took his place and, as in the earlier game between the clubs, he was to go on to play an important part in the outcome of the game.
James McCarthy was clearly in the mood in this game and he came close to opening the scoring after 21 minutes when he won the ball 35 yards out before firing in a low shot that Hibs 'keeper Yves Ma-Kalambay did well to tip around the post. Hibs came back to take charge of the next phase of the game, with Tomas Cerny breathing a sigh of relief when firstly Sol Bamba headed against the foot of the post and then Colin Nish missed the open goal from the rebound. The aerial threat posed by defender Rob Jones was displayed yet again when he sent in a dangerous header that Tomas Cerny did well to tip over the top.
Accies ought to have taken a lead into the interval when a great passing move involving james McCarthy ended with Simon Mensing being presented with an excellent chance just 15 yards out. Unfortunately Yves Ma-Kalambay spread himself to block Mensing's shot and the ball was cleared. Accies were to rue that miss just a minute later when the home team opened the scoring. It came from an Accies attack that broke up just outside the area and the ball was played out wide to Ian Murray on the left. He bombed down the wing unchallenged and squared the ball for Derek Riordan to net from close range. Accies came back into the game and Trent McClenahan had a corner kick palmed off the line by the Hibs 'keeper. However, Hibs came very closer to extending their advantage just before half time when Derek Riordan's superb pass gave Colin Nish a great chance to score. Tomas Cerny, yet again, defied him with a good save. So Accies were behind at the interval and Hibs were decent value for their slender lead.
Accies had been under a fair bit of pressure in the first half but they did their best to take the game by the scruff of the neck after the break. Richard Offiong came agonisingly close to scoring a cracker after 48 minutes when he took control of the ball and fired in a powerful shot that beat Ma-Kalambay but bounced down off the crossbar. Accies were really getting stuck in now, with James McCarthy having a tremendous game in midfield. Hibs defender David van Zanten was yellow carded for hauling him back when he tried to break clear down the left wing. Accies had a couple of half chances after this, with Derek Lyle and James McArthur both shooting wide from decent positions.
Billy Reid made his first change just after the hour, with French striker Joel Thomas replacing Derek Lyle. Thomas had done pretty well at Ibrox last week and again showed that he is a talented player with great close control. Accies had a scare after 67 minutes when Tomas Cerny had to rush 35 yards of his line to clear a dangerous through ball that had caught out the Accies defence. Every time John Rankin got the ball within shooting range, a cry of "shoot" came up from the Hibs support. This suited Tomas Cerny just fine, as none of his three efforts during the game made him break sweat.
Accies were pushing forward whenever they could, but inevitably this meant that they left the occasional gap at the back. Derek Riordan had a great opportunity to score again when he ran clear on the right but he couldn't make the most of it. Joel Thomas was the next to have a shot on goal, but although Ma-Kalambay spilled his shot the Hibs goal remained intact. Thomas was then the first Accies man to be shown a yellow card for a very routine foul. Richard Offiong followed him into the book shortly afterwards but on this occasion the punishment was well deserved for a late challenge on the touchline.
Hibs were still a threat however, especially from set pieces. Rob Jones demonstrated his prowess again with a firm header that beat Tomas Cerny but smacked against the post. Billy Reid's final change followed, with Steven Ettien coming on for the magnificent Chris Swailes. The veteran defender had put in yet another great shift for Accies and was unfortunate to be on the losing team. Ettien's first involvement in the game was to collect another yellow card from Mr Winter for a routine foul. Sadly, all the effort from Accies was to be for nothing when a corner kick from Derek Riordan was headed into the net by Rob Jones from close range.
So that was effectively it and although Accies tried to press forward they were unable to get the goal that they deserved. While the record books will show that this was another defeat for Accies, they played very well for long spells and in James McCarthy they had the game's outstanding performer. Manager Billy Reid spoke after the game about his plans to strengthen the team and it will be interesting to see what he can add to his squad next month. This is still the best Accies team for many years and they should be looking forward to the televised match against Motherwell with some confidence.
Hibernian: Ma-Kalambay, van Zanten, Hogg, Jones, Murray, Rankin, Thicot, Bamba, O'Brien, Fletcher (Riordan 21), Nish.
Subs Not Used: McNeil, Yantorno, Keenan, Stevenson, Chisholm, Pinau.
Booked: van Zanten.
Goals: Riordan 42, Jones 88.
Hamilton: Cerny, McLaughlin, Elebert, Swailes (Ettien 83), McClenahan, Mensing, McArthur, McCarthy, Easton, Offiong, Lyle (Thomas 61).
Subs Not Used: Murdoch, Gibson, Taylor, Stevenson, Graham.
Booked: Offiong, Thomas, Ettien.
Att: 10,437
Ref: B Winter
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