Hamilton Accies clinch promotion after victory

Apr 19 2008 By Judith Tonner

Hamilton Accies 2 Clyde 0

JUBILANT Hamilton Accies clinched the First Division title and long-awaited promotion to the Premier League with a comfortable 2-0 win over 10-man Clyde.
 
Tony Stevenson and Richard Offiong scored the decisive first-half goals to clinch the well-deserved title for Billy Reid’s men, who have headed the league table since the first day of the season.
 
There were joyous wild celebrations from fans and players alike as the final whistle blew at New Douglas Park – where Hamilton were unbeaten in the 18 home games of their magnificent title-winning campaign.
 
David Graham and Mark McLaughlin came back into the team as the manager made two changes to his starting line-up, with Stuart Taylor and Chris Swailes dropping to the bench.
 
Accies dominated the first half, and James McArthur headed an early chance wide while Clyde goalkeeper David Hutton scooped the ball up at the right-hand post to prevent Graham cashing in after the visitors failed to clear Offiong’s dangerous header.
 
Home goalkeeper Tomas Cerny made his only save of the opening 45 minutes when he caught a well-struck 20-yard diagonal volley from Pat Clarke at the top right corner – but Accies then went ahead from a stonewall 21st-minute penalty.
 
Stevenson had played the ball into the box and as Clyde struggled to clear their lines, James McArthur headed the ball on to Simon Mensing, whose shot was arrowing towards the top-left corner until defender Neil McGregor stretched out his arm to keep it out.
 
The Clyde player was instantly sent off and Stevenson confidently scored from the spot, tucking the ball low into the left-hand side of the net.
 
Captain Alex Neil was forced to limp off on the half-hour, but the one-way traffic continued apace with Mensing twice coming close with long-range drives.
 
Accies deservedly extended their lead two minutes from the interval when Offiong, the First Division’s top scorer, drilled home a confident diagonal finish after latching on to Brian Easton’s long ball up the left flank.
 
Offiong missed a chance to double his tally from a James McArthur cross early in the second half, while Cerny calmly clutched Kevin Bradley’s speculative effort under the bar.
 
Hamilton’s top scorer curled a 20-yard free kick into the arms of goalkeeper Hutton just after the hour as the hosts continued to enjoy complete control of the game, entirely dominating possession and with Cerny taking on the role of spectator as relegation-threatened Clyde failed to pose any threat.
 
Substitute Mark Gilhaney volleyed narrowly over the bar as the game entered its final 15 minutes and a party atmosphere set in among the bumper New Douglas Park crowd, and there was bedlam  as referee Willie Collum blew the final whistle to confirm Accies’ championship win and promotion back to Scotland’s top flight.

* For pictures and videos from today's title celebrations, check out our video and picture section.