Hearts 1-2 Hamilton: Jambos hit new low as loss ends in post-match brawl

Published Date: 05 December 2009
By BARRY ANDERSON
AT NEW DOUGLAS PARK
Goals:
Hamilton: McArthur 5, Mensing 24
Hearts: Jonsson 39
HEARTS had four players and their team masseur red carded on a controversial afternoon in Hamilton which ended with a mass post-match brawl in the New Douglas Park tunnel.

After Michael Stewart and Ismael Bouzid were dismissed during the second half of the match, Ian Black and Suso will be reported to the SFA along with Hearts' masseur Alan Robson and Hamilton's Leon Knight, all for offences in the tunnel which were worthy of a sending off. Eggert Jonsson was also cautioned.

Goals from James McArthur and Simon Mensing secured victory for the hosts, who rarely looked like losing once they moved ahead. Jonsson reduced the deficit six minutes from the interval but the two second-half dismissals badly hindered the visitors on a day when referee David Somers appeared to lose control.

Hearts were refused a clear penalty in stoppage-time when David Elebert bundled Calum Elliot to the ground, an incident which partly fueled the post-match altercation involving around 15 people in total. Police were not called in to deal with the incident as referee Somers acted instantly and will report Black, Suso, Knight, Jonsson and Robson for their actions.

Somers, it must be said, contributed partly to the anger simmering within the visitors. He made several questionable calls during the match, the most glaring being a needless second yellow card for Bouzid after an innoccuous foul on James Wesolowski. The sense of injustice felt by the Edinburgh side at full-time was therefore somewhat understandable.

The defeat was not entirely down to the referee, however. Manager Csaba Laszlo stood partly culpable for choosing a strangely negative starting line-up and formation which Hamilton instantly capitalised upon to move 2-0 ahead. The Hungarian quickly altered his system and Jonsson's 39th-minute goal looked like it might spark a recovery. However, when Stewart was ordered off for violent conduct against Alex Neil, the advantage was always likely to remain with the home team. So it proved.

A pre-match minute's silence was to mark the untimely death of 19-year-old Hamilton fan John Paterson Jnr. He would have been elated by his side's opening gambit as McArthur scored within five minutes. The midfielder slid a pass to striker Antoine-Curier inside the penalty area, his shot rebounded off the post for McArthur to slot high into the Hearts net.

Hamilton's attacking movement and invention in a 4-2-3-1 formation proved difficult for the visitors to counter, their own 4-1-4-1 system looking overly defensive. Wesolowski's 20-yard drive bounced narrowly wide on 15 minutes with Hearts yet to gain a foothold in midfield. Black's 20th-minute chest and volley was their first attempt at goal, while Mickael Antoine-Curier's pace posed relentless problems at the opposite end.

On 24 minutes Mensing doubled Hamilton's advantage with one of the easiest conversions of his career. He ghosted into the penalty area untracked by either of Hearts' central defenders, Bouzid and Dawid Kucharski, and once he collected Wesolowski's cross ball in acres of space the subsequent tap past Janos Balogh was a formality. Hearts' disarray was summed up seconds later when David Obua emerged from the substitutes' bench waiting to enter the fray wearing number 18 and the name Novikovas on his shirt. After a quick change, he replaced the ineffective Kucharski with Jonsson reverting from holding midfield to centre-back.

The alteration by Laszlo imbued his side with better balance and cohesion as they also adopted a 4-2-3-1. They halved the deficit in little more than ten minutes as Jonsson instigated and finished a fine attacking move. Emerging from defence, his pass into midfield found Obua on the left. The often languid Ugandan showed impressive pace scampering beyond full-back Trent McClenahan and, although his cross landed behind Christian Nade, the onrunning Icelander slid in to score his second goal in consecutive games.

A hamstring injury to Balogh forced Laszlo to swap goalkeepers during the interval with Jamie MacDonald the replacement. Whether that could be considered a handicap or not is debatable given Balogh's recent erratic displays, but Stewart's 48th-minute dismissal definitely hindered Hearts' attempts at sourcing an equaliser. He reacted to a late tackle by Alex Neil referee Somers instantly brandished a straight red card. Television replays later showed little fault on the part of Stewart although his angry reaction did not help his cause at the time.

Somers then inexplicably booked Craig Thomson for a perfectly timed and legitimate challenge on Hamilton substitute Marco Paixao. Seconds later Bouzid was cautioned for fouling McArthur, and from the resultant free-kick MacDonald produced an inspired parry from Paixao's driven shot.

The goalkeeper then injured an arm when bundled into the goal by Mark McLaughlin and would later require treatment.

Hamilton's first-half dominance continued throughout most of the second period. With 11 men Hearts seemed capable of hauling themselves level on the evidence of the closing ten minutes of the first half. But without Stewart the numerical disadvantage proved too much. When Bouzid's second yellow for a late tackle on Wesolowski reduced them to nine, it was game over. The Algerian lunged in on Wesolowski midway inside his own half, although referee Somers seemed a little keen to reach into his pocket on this occasion.

Bouzid count could himself unfortunate, as could Hearts at full-time after Elliot's penalty appeal was rejected. Elebert pursued the striker inside the penalty area but seemed to clumsily bundle him down, however referee Somers did not agree. Cue the post-match melee which is certain to result in sanctions for the Edinburgh club after they accrued the equivalent of five red cards in total.

Hamilton (4-2-3-1): Cerny; McClenahan, Canning, McLaughlin, Hastings; Neil, Beuzelin, Mensing, McArthur, Wesolowski; Antoine-Curier. Subs: Murdoch, Evans, Paixao 52 (for Beuzelin), Elebert 90 (for Wesolowski), Knight, Kirkpatrick, Crawford.

Hearts (4-1-4-1): Balogh; C Thomson, Bouzid, Kucharski, Goncalves; Jonsson; Kingston, Black, Stewart, Suso; Nade. Subs: MacDonald 46 (for Balogh), Wallace, Obua 28 (for Kucharski), Novikovas, Mole, Elliot 63 (for Suso), J Stewart.

Referee: David Somers.

Attendance: 2003

Taken from the Scotsman