Another load of old Tosh

Gretna 6 / Hamilton Acas 0
Kenny MacDonald at Raydale Park

On the day that Gretna unfurled the Second Division flag, they delivered a display which suggests they could be performing a similar routine this time next season.

Hamilton Accies, a strong side at this level and one with pretensions on improving on last year’s third place finish, were ruthlessly swept aside at Raydale Park yesterday. It was not so much the scale of the scoreline which impressed, more the astonishing nature of the performance, bristling as it was with confidence, aggression, quality and intent from the very start.

Two goals up after just 17 minutes had elapsed, any doubts about whether last season’s defeated Scottish Cup finalists could cope in the higher division against more experienced and stronger sides were blown away almost as emphatically as the hapless visitors. Billy Reid’s side seemed thoroughly overwhelmed, contribution little more than fatal errors to an encounter that was only ever destined to have one outcome once the scoring begun.

Steve Tosh will take most of the plaudits for his hat-trick, but his midfield colleague Brendan McGill scored a brace on his debut after signing from Carlisle during the summer and striker James Grady also weighed in with a typically predatory goal.

Now the Raydale side can focus on continental combat – albeit against Irish side Derry – when they commence their inaugural UEFA Cup campaign on Thursday and will start to write the latest chapter of their remarkable story in confident mood. That said, whether the confidence would stretch to a win in the Bernabeu is unlikely.

That was the scenario painted by Tommy Sheridan MSP last Friday, getting a little carried away in the wake of his £200,000 defamation case win. Standing on the steps of the Court of Session afterwards, he said: “Gretna have made it into Europe for the first time in their lives. What we have done is the equivalent of Gretna taking on Real Madrid in the Bernabeu and beating them on penalties.”

Perhaps, although given the way Rowan Alexander’s side played yesterday, they might well have killed any such tie before it reached a shoot-out. The Raydale manager, though, savoured the comparison and dedicated the win to the club’s owner Brooks Mileson, who has just left hospital after surgery to stem internal bleeding. “That was just unbelievable,” he said. “It is fantastic and shows you how much popularity we have gained over the last couple of years when you see people like that in the papers.

“As for the game, itself, I am delighted with the display ... and we dedicate it to Brooks Mileson after his operation. He is just ecstatic with the goals and it was delivered for him. I felt it was important that we gave him a bright start and to see his face at the end at the tunnel as we were going off made it all worthwhile.”

The flurry of goals began early on, the hosts showing no sign of nerves. Goalkeeper David McEwan had already made a couple of stops before his first concession of the day, Grady and Tosh combining well before the latter swept a low effort just inside the right post after 14 minutes.

Three minutes and a couple of chances later, it was two, midfielder Tosh capitalising on a bad back pass from Alex Neil to round McEwan and thread a neat shot from an acute angle over the line.

Grady made it 3-0 before the break, latching onto a long ball before lifting a delicate shot over McEwan and the scoring didn’t relent after the interval cups of tea. Tosh took just three minutes to crash a shot past the goalkeeper from 15-yards and McGill capitalised on a poor clearance from the by now demoralised goalkeeper to add the fifth. His second, in stoppage time, added further suffering.

Tosh, unsurprisingly, was delighted with his afternoon’s work but cautioned the fans not to get carried away. “I would’ve been happy with one to be honest,” he said. “The performance meant more to us than the six goals because it shows we can do it at this level.

“But the fans should be aware that it won’t be five or six nil every time we play at Raydale. That was an exceptional performance combined with Hamilton, who I think would agree, it was a bad day at the office.”

Now the UEFA Cup venture begins at Fir Park this week with the visit of Derry and Alexander is looking forward to another notable occasion in the club’s history. That said, he seems relatively relaxed about the whole thing and his team’s readiness for it.

“I don’t envisage changing anything except maybe composure on the ball because possession is a major aspect of European football,” he said. “Teams at that level will punish you and we will have to guard against that when we play against strange, new teams that we are not used to playing.”

Man of the match: Tosh.

Gretna Main, Canning, McQuilken, Tosh (Jenkins 74), Townsley, Innes, McGill, McGuffie, Deuchar (Graham 70), Grady (McMenamin 70), Skelton. Subs Not Used: Nicholls, Mathieson

Hamilton Academical McEwan, Stevenson, Fleming, Thomson, Elebert, McLeod, J McArthur, Wilson (McCabe 77), Offiong (Payo 74), Neil (Agnew 77), Gilhaney. Subs Not Used: McCarthy, Jellema

Referee C Hardie.

Taken from the Sunday Herald