Jaded Accies side make their point

Oct 26 2006

JADED Hamilton picked up a useful point with a battling performance at Dens Park on Saturday.

The New Douglas Park side sit two points off the top of the First Division and could actually have taken all three points but for a goalkeeping error by Raymond Jellema.

That would have been harsh on Alex Rae’s side, however, as Dundee dominated large spells of the match, certainly in terms of possession.

All too often, however, the final ball was disappointing for Dundee, while an Accies defence spearheaded by young Brian Easton and David Elebert held firm.

Experienced Derek Fleming also played a major part in proceedings, while Tom Parratt again slotted in well at right-back.

Hamilton went into this match with three changes from the side that convincingly beat Clyde last Tuesday.

Injured duo Mark McLaughlin and Mark Gilhaney were replaced by Easton and Paul McLeod, respectively, while Fleming started ahead of Tony Stevenson, having sufficiently recovered from an injury picked up at Livingston.

Dundee nearly got off to the perfect start after just 25 seconds, when a long ball down the left found Brian McGinty. He allowed the ball to drift before skipping past the outrushing Jellema but the young ’keeper recovered to block McGinty’s shot at the expense of a corner.

In 17 minutes, a Gavin Swankie corner on the right was headed towards goal by veteran Bobby Mann, but Jellema held the ball underneath his crossbar.

Four minutes later, Paul Dixon should have done better when he was picked out on the right side of the six-yard box but he cannoned his shot off the crossbar and it bounced away to safety.

Feeling that David Winters was getting very little change from Dixon, Accies boss Billy Reid decided that he and McLeod should switch sides.

And that paid dividends in 26 minutes when Fleming’s floated cross from the left was bullet-headed past Ludovic Roy by the young striker.

Dundee had claims for a penalty waved away by referee Alan Muir in 29 minutes. McGinty went down under a challenge by Elebert but the whistler was probably correct not to award a spot-kick.

Dundee passed up another decent chance in 37 minutes when Swankie skipped past Elebert on the left before crossing for Andy McLaren whose header flew over from an acute angle on the right.

Roy did well a minute later to clutch a wicked Fleming cross just before it could reach the lurking James McArthur.

McLaren went close with a looping header from a Swankie corner in 39 minutes but Jellema superbly pushed his effort over.

Hamilton nearly scored an own goal in 54 minutes when a Swankie cross from the left hit off Easton’s foot and flew narrowly past the left post, with Jellema scrambling to meet it.

But from the resulting corner, which seemed harmless, Jellema dropped the ball under pressure from Greg Strong, and the former Motherwell defender rammed it home from close range.

Jellema later held his hands up to the error but said he would have punched clear if he had realised that Strong was going to make a challenge.

Hamilton could have regained their lead in 67 with what would have been a brilliant strike.

Winters found Richard Offiong on the left with a chip which the striker controlled on his chest before firing a superb volley towards the near post corner, only for Roy to brilliantly push it past.

Accies passed up another chance in 71 minutes when McArthur beat Offiong to a great left-wing Fleming cross, only to send it over from six yards.

All in all, a point was probably fair from the game, which was Accies’ third in eight days.

And with the lead at the top of the First Division as tight as it is, every point is precious at this stage.