Hamilton Academical 2-2 Partick Thistle

Hamilton Academical 2-2 Partick Thistle
Betfred Cup
Saturday 20th July, 2019

What could I possibly do on another Saturday in Scotland in the middle of summer when I've decided to stay here for a few more days? See another game in the Betfred Cup, of course!

In all honesty, this was a decent contest which I enjoyed from start to finish and events over the course of the 90 minutes will certainly give both managers plenty to ponder ahead of the league season starting in a fortnight.

Owain Fon Williams was the ‘hero’ as Hamilton secured what could turn out to be a vital bonus point thanks to a penalty shoot-out victory, but undoubtedly the 'keepers biggest contribution was a fantastic save to foil Kenny Miller who burst through in a one-on-one late on.

Having seen Partick last week, this was a much-improved display from their 1-0 win over Airdrieonians seven days ago, and they looked more relaxed, more confident and at ease going forward. Joe Cardle was their stand-out player, whilst Ross Cunningham looked good for Hamilton, yet despite the positives there were also negatives.

Both sides’ defence were cut open way too easily at different times, whilst Thistle also seemed to forget how to defend efficiently in the immediate aftermath of scoring both their goals.

As for the ground itself, New Douglas Park is a strange set-up with two permanent stands, a temporary unused golf stand on the far side and advertising/sight screens behind one of the goals.

The strangeness continued with how Accies’ stewards (nicknamed ‘Sturgeon’s Storm Troopers’ for this blog post) acted before the game - in their eyes, I must have been some sort of threat. Having purchased my ticket with zero problems, I was half-pointed in the direction of the bar which I was told I could use with it still being ages before the turnstiles opened.

Unable to find it, I then made the crucial mistake of asking the thickest of Sturgeon’s Storm Troopers where it was and I was bizarrely told that I’d have to change my ticket as Partick fans weren’t allowed in the home end. One problem... I ain't a Partick Thistle fan!

To say her shoe size was probably bigger than her IQ would be an understatement and, therefore, I went to a different turnstile block where two more of the super-dooper Storm Troopers were located and the fact they had a basic grasp of English (and common sense) was very f**king relieving.

Nevertheless, accessing the bar was still an issue, as having been escorted to the Main/Players Entrance, I was the made to wait whilst two more ‘suited and booted’ Storm Troopers consulted with the ticket office (who told me I could use the bar) to decide what to do next.

Then, after being told it’s ‘up the stairs to the left’ came the delayed 'chase-him-and-search-his-bag' rigmarole from Chief Storm Trooper!

The whole fiasco smacked of complete ineptitude and amateurism to say the least. It hardly reflects positively on Hamilton Academical, nor my view of their matchday arrangements considering this was my first visit here in nearly a decade. Quite what they were expecting to find - god only knows!

God only knows, too, how they’ll cope when the Old Firm rock up, or what they’d do in an emergency situation, or what their own fans think if they have to encounter similar needless stupidity on a weekly basis over something what's so straightforward.

Nevertheless, what Hamilton lack in common sense stewarding, they certainly make up for in decent music over the PA system with Chumbawumba’s ‘Tubthumping’ and Oasis, Swedish House Mafia and Mumford & Sons amongst the pre-match tunes that were as excellent as Motherwell’s offering last night.

On the pitch, the Accies initially begun sluggishly and had already survived one of their defenders being caught in possession on the edge of his own box, by the time Ryan Williamson did open the scoring on the quarter-hour mark.

That lead didn’t last though as less than 60 seconds later, Cunningham received a fine pass, opened his body up and let fly with a powerful low drive that gave the visiting ‘keeper no chance.

The game was spicing up nicely by the time Cardle appeared to catch the face of a Hamilton player whilst gaining possession midway through the half.

Seconds later, Ronan Hughes went in with a tough challenge on the Thistle playmaker yet somehow came off worse and needed lengthy treatment from the paramedics before he was replaced. It all seemed quite innocuous at first but the severity of the injury quickly became apparent and one can only wish him a speedy recovery.

It was a bit nip-tuck thereafter until the interval with Partick posing slightly more questions but being kept at bay by Hamilton’s good positional defending and their own attackers not offering quite enough space to receive a pass and open the defence up more.

In the second half, Brian Rice’s side finally began to get a better grip on proceedings with Cunningham smashing home his second of the afternoon and then a prolonged spell of pressure in which Partick were pushed back.

Nonetheless, it only takes a moment to equalise and that’s just what Partick did when Cardle and Lewis Mansell linked up on the right flank with the latter playing an inch-perfect ball across the area to Shea Gordon who finished with aplomb.

Partick’s downfall was they seemed to get over-excited again and less than a minute later, the referee was left with no choice but to give a penalty when Sean McGinty clumsily bundled over his marker inside the area.

Aaron McGowan stepped up with the resulting spot-kick and fired it high, wide and into the advertising hoardings - and it’s a good job they were there as if not, the ball would have probably ended up on Aisle 37 In Sainsbury’s supermarket, behind that part of the ground.

Thistle seemed buoyed in the final quarter-hour but squandered their big chance as Miller was played clean through and had time and space to pick his spot, only to be superbly thwarted by Fon Williams who was every bit the ‘keeper you’d want one to be in that situation.

Fon Williams saved again in the shoot-out and Accies live to fight another day in the Betfred Cup of 2019/20, yet nobody will be daft enough to not realise they’ll need to improve upon aspects of this performance to avoid a battle against relegation.

A special mention must go to Hamilton’s big frontman, Marius Obkmpoe who, whilst looking a handful, offered next to nothing most of the time and was rightly substituted in the second half.

For Partick, the old cliché ‘work in progress’ is probably most appropriate.

Again, whilst it was an improvement on last week, they’ve still got plenty of flaws to give Gary Caldwell food for thought as he too hopes his side can avoiding getting caught up in another emotionally-draining relegation battle like last season.