Accies will fight to bitter end, says Reid

Apr 21 2011 by Andrew McGilvray, Hamilton Advertiser

HAMILTON boss Billy Reid has set his sights on rolling over Aberdeen on Easter Monday after watching his side stun Hibs with a 2-1 win in Edinburgh last weekend.

But although the win on Sunday saw Accies reduce St Mirren’s lead at the foot of the SPL to nine points, Reid is keeping everybody grounded at New Douglas Park.

Although Accies now have a tiny glimmer of hope in their bid to avoid relegation, overturning a nine-point deficit in just five games – when Sunday’s win was only their third in 33 attempts – is a massive challenge.

However, Reid (right) was satisfied to get the win after an epic six-month wait for a league victory – and now wants to finally savour a first home league win of the season when Craig Brown’s Dons visit.

He said: “In the first half some of our play was brilliant and Nigel Hasselbaink’s run, where he picked up the ball on the half-way line and twisted and turned his way down the left before playing in James Chambers, was sensational.

“James was making only his second start but finished well and I know he’s got goals in him.

“We were well in control of the game and Nigel had another chance to make it 2-0 – the wee man knows he’s got to stick it away but I’m not going to have a go at him because he was absolutely brilliant, the man of the match.

“We got a wee bit of fortune with the second goal, something that hasn’t happened often this season, and we went in worthy leaders at half-time.

“But we’ve been there before – 2-0 up against Kilmarnock and St Mirren, who both pegged us back, and we’ve been 1-0 up five or six times without seeing the game out.

“We’re disappointed with the goal we lost but I’m delighted with the win.

“We lacked a bit of experience and guile at times, Hibs pushed us back and bombarded us with balls into the box and we carried a wee bit of luck – let’s be honest – but after the season we’ve had I don’t think anybody would begrudge us that.”

After a 4-0 opening day hammering and two slender 1-0 defeats when Accies were perhaps unfortunate, Reid reckons he has a point to prove against Aberdeen on Monday.

Reid said: “I’ve always said we have a belief in what we do and we've played some decent football at times but we haven't done well enough this season – we’ve thrown leads away, conceded penalties, and that's the nuts and bolts of it.

“We’re more than capable of winning the game and I would just like to get the monkey off our backs by winning a home game, which we haven’t done all season in the league and that is quite remarkable.

“We’re disappointed that we lost our last two games against Aberdeen, and at New Douglas Park we were seeing out a 0-0 draw but they scored in the 92nd minute.

“We went up to Pittodrie, dictated for long spells, but lost a penalty – that’s the way it has gone this season.”