Accies star pleased with Saturday’s draw at Falkirk

Dec 15 2011 by Andrew McGilvray, Hamilton Advertiser

JIM McALISTER admits he was delighted to come away from Saturday’s clash at Falkirk with a clean sheet and a point after spending last week agonising over Hamilton’s humbling by Dundee.

The Accies utility player admits he and his team-mates would have gladly played last Sunday to get the previous day’s 6-1 drubbing at home to the Tayside men out of their system.

But he said they worked hard in training all week, deserved their point at the Falkirk Stadium and took a huge step in the right direction.

McAlister said: “Last Saturday’s defeat was embarrassing and I think we would have preferred that we had a game on the Sunday just to get it right out of the system straight away.

“But training had been good during the week, we worked hard on a bit of shape on Friday, and the game plan worked out there – it’s just unfortunate that we just couldn’t nick a goal.

“But from the goalkeeper right through to our strikers – and the subs who came on – everybody played their part and it was a great shift.

“Last week, I said we had to get back to basics in defending – and we did that. We built from the back, kept a clean sheet, and Gordon Smith (new on-loan signing from Hearts) was very unlucky with a chance that went just wide. We had a couple that flashed across the face of goal, so we could have nicked it in the end.

“After last week, it was huge to put in a performance like that and get a result.

“The boys were feeling down last week after the result, so it’s credit to every one of the lads in that squad that they picked themselves up, put in a good, hard week of training, and every one to a man put in a superb shift.

“Maybe we rode our luck when the Falkirk striker David Weatherston missed an open goal at the end of the game. But we’ve not had any luck in those instances this season and, on Saturday, it went our way for a change, so we’ll take it.

“We had chances as well, but we’ll take the point, try to build on it and attempt to keep more clean sheets as the games come.

“The more often we do that, then we can build play further forward and look to score goals as well.”

McAlister is looking forward to building on the point won against Falkirk when he locks horns with former club Morton on Saturday

He said: “Morton are having a bit of a bad time of it just now as well, they’re struggling to pick up results.

“We’ve played them twice and beat them both times, so hopefully we’ll keep up that 100-per-cent record against them.”

For a full match report of Hamilton v Morton, visit www.hamiltonadvertiser.co.uk on Saturday evening.