Fans the only ones left frustrated

Richard Wilson at New Douglas Park

14 Feb 2011

How this game must have torn at Billy Reid's spirit.

He sent out his team in the first-half to thwart Hearts, playing 5-4-1 and looking to deny them the space in which to express themselves. That didn't work, and when Hamilton Academical switched to a more adventurous approach in the second-half they dominated possession, but by then they were two goals down. The sense is of a team frantically grabbing for the last of its belief.

Afterwards, Reid seemed divided. He defended his decision to begin this game with the purpose of avoiding defeat, only to later concede that his side is at its best being more adventurous. He spoke, too, of the encouraging performance of the Paixao twins when they appeared as substitutes after the interval, but pointed out that they have started games recently and been marginalised.

What gathered around the Hamilton manager, his team and even the fans is a dispirited feeling of suspicion; they are bottom of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League and while sudden bursts of form have saved them in recent seasons, their current side lacks the wherewithal to find that defiance. Alex Neil and Simon Mensing, two influential figures, were missing through injury, but so, too, in the first-half at least, was any kind of reassurance.

"We don't always start games at home in that manner, but we just felt that things have gone against us recently," said Reid. "If we'd defended properly and frustrated Hearts, it might have worked. We're at our best when we try to knock the ball about; when we try to shut up shop and fight teams, that's not Hamilton Accies."

Hearts expected to be impeded, but they brought the patience and accomplishment to break their hosts down. Lee Wallace created the opening goal – a deft header – for Stephen Elliott. Less than a minute into the second-half, the striker added a second.

Hamilton had changed to 4-3-3 by then, but they surrendered possession from the kick-off and twice failed to defend their penalty area properly. The players had left the field to jeers at half-time, and the crowd might have felt relinquished from hope by that second goal, but the rest of the second-half at least restored some kind of uneasy truce.

"That's been our Achilles Heel this season, we've not been defending our box at all," said Reid. "The supporters here are pretty fair. We've not won a game at home and they're paying their money. If they want to shout at me, then no problem. You can't win games in the Premier League defending like that. If we play the way we did in the second-half, we'll be okay."

Yet Hamilton have won only two games all season, and they look like a side that can only be saved by the demise of other teams' form. Their remaining hope is that they stay close enough to St Mirren and Hibernian to overcome them after the split, but that is a small consolation for now.

"We need to start turning the corner," said Martin Canning, the Hamilton defender. "Maybe we need to get lucky, scrape a win and see if we can build on that. It would give everybody a lift."

Jim Jefferies, the Hearts manager, took satisfaction from the professionalism of his team's display, and of earning another result when he had only one fit striker to choose from. But there was also encouragement from the substitute appearance of Andrew Driver, and the almost flawless display of Andy Webster, who made his first appearance since returning to Tynecastle after leaving Rangers.

"Andy Webster looked as if he'd never been away," said Jefferies. "He was in the right position all the time and you can see his quality on the ball, he never panics, he passes it. It's a fantastic run these boys have been on."

22' 0-1 Lee Wallace breaks away down the left flank and sends a teasing cross in to the penalty area where Stephen Elliott is on hand to head past Tomas Cerny.

47' 0-2 Elliott extends Hearts' advantage with another close range header.

Taken from the Herald