THIS was a match that lacked the ingredients of a fine footballing encounter, such as quality play and goalmouth action, but lacked nothing in passion and effort. In short, the Lanarkshire derby was typical of the breed. Motherwell's win ended Hamilton's recent run of wins, but results elsewhere mean both clubs are still very much in top six contention.
Keith Lasley and Marc Fitzpatrick dropped to the bench for Motherwell, being replaced by Darren Smith and loaned-out Celtic striker Cillian Sheridan. For Hamilton, James McArthur returned from suspension and Mark McLaughlin was over his recent bout o
f flu and took his place.
Hamilton opened by far the brighter, and almost took the lead after five minutes when Graeme Smith brilliantly turned a deflected McArthur shot round his post.
From the corner, Smith parried the ball and Simon Mensing struck with a lovely overhead kick that found the back of the net, but referee Dougie McDonald had already blown for an infringement. "I was bemused," said Mensing. "The referee said that I had handled it but I think he was the only one to see that."
Moments later, Hamilton went close again when Alex Neil's snapshot got past the diving Smith but also bypassed his left-hand post.
The racist abuse of Hamilton's Republic of Ireland internationalist James McCarthy continues, but there seemed to be fewer numpties in the Motherwell section voicing their sentiments. Indeed, some home fans showed their displeasure at the unpleasantly obscene chanting – this is, after all, a family-orientated club. All the idiots did was inspire McCarthy to a fine game – will they ever learn?
Hamilton continued to dominate, but almost made a crucial error when they allowed Stephen Hughes to get behind the defence. His cracking low shot from the left fizzed across Tomas Cerny's goal and went just by the far post.
By this time, it was clear we were in the middle of a typical derby, with a lot of huff and puff, and precious little for the purist to enjoy. The surface was worse than a Caribbean cricket pitch and prevented the type of passing play both teams try to employ. Motherwell manager McGhee admitted it had led to him playing two wide men, while opposite number Billy Reid said: "I feel sorry for Motherwell players having to play on that every other week."
Motherwell enjoyed some pressure around the half-hour mark when Martin Canning nonchalantly chested a cross to Cerny. At the other end, Smith had to look lively to grasp a rebound off one of his own players.
A frankly poor first half dominated by Hamilton seemed to be heading for a goalless conclusion until Steve Hammell gathered the ball on the left and made space for a cross-shot which Cerny deflected straight into the path of the unmarked David Clarkson, who buried the ball from 12 yards. "Instinct," said the striker. Let's hope he keeps it in a Scotland shirt.
Hamilton moved up a gear to try to gain the equaliser, and they almost did so after 54 minutes when Smith smartly blocked a goalbound Neil volley. Kenny Deuchar headed the resultant corner just over.
But it was Motherwell who increased their pressure, and Sheridan's adroit turn and shot after 72 minutes would have been a sensational goal if the bar had been six inches higher.
With 10 minutes left, Paul Quinn twisted and turned in the box and was felled by Cerny in a manner that would not have been out of place in yesterday's rugby matches. Referee McDonald waved "play on", which baffled even Billy Reid who called it "stonewall".
Hamilton were now chasing the game but the visitors created few chances and never really looked like scoring, Motherwell hanging on for victory.
McGhee concluded: "This was a pivotal result for us today and if we can win the Scottish Cup replay against St Mirren on Thursday then we can go on to have a good season."
The full article contains 679 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
