MOTHERWELL...0 HAMILTON...0
Assistant ref Willie’s blunder in ruling out Heneghan’s header costs Well vital win
WHEN all the controversy centres on a victory sign and a man named Conquer you would expect a winner.
But this Lanarkshire derby delivered a stalemate which saw an assistant referee appear to deny Motherwell three points and saw Hamilton’s Darian MacKinnon redcarded for a two-fingered salute.
The first-half flashpoint was all about standside assistant Willie Conquer’s apparent failure to spot Motherwell’s Ben Heneghan’s header crossing the line before being cleared by Alex D’Acol.
It left the Fir Park side with a sense of injustice as they remain in 10th place while Accies stay in second-bottom spot after an incident-packed match with talking points aplenty.
The pre-match news that Louis Moult had failed a fitness test for a fixture which he wrote his name all over last September was the big blow for Motherwell. It was a huge void on their teamsheet, not least because the striker had scored all four goals in a 4-2 win in the last Fir Park derby.
Hamilton opted not to throw former Hearts and Rangers midfielder David Templeton into the action as he continues to work his way back to match fitness and wasn’t deemed ready even for a spot on the bench.
If local rivalry wasn’t enough to provide an edge to this contest there was also the significance of the pair struggling to keep their heads above water in the Premiership survival race.
Motherwell seized the early initiative and should have been ahead in the seventh minute when Elliot Frear’s corner was headed into Scott McDonald’s path.
His volley was parried by keeper Remi Matthews but Ryan Bowman somehow slammed the loose ball wide from only a few yards out.
It was a glaring chance and allowed an Accies side, who were enduring an onslaught of pressure, off the hook.
There was another escape for them seconds later as McDonald released Bowman down the right and his cutback found Chris Clay who dragged his shot past a post from 18 yards.
Warnings continued to come and go as the traffic flowed towards Hamilton’s goal but it was brought to an abrupt halt with MacKinnon’s crunching challenge on Clay.
That led to referee Kevin Clancy having a word with the Accies man when a card would have appeared the more appropriate punishment.
The Accies midfielder made a more elegant contribution in 22 minutes as he guided a volley towards Craig Samson’s top left-hand corner only for the keeper to clear around the post.
It was the first sign of attacking intent from Accies and Giannis Skondras was encouraged enough to try his luck with a 25-yarder moments later which Samson did well to hold.
A high lump into the box from Steven Hammell allowed Bowman to contest the ball with Accies keeper Matthews who flapped at his attempt to gather and almost punched into his own net.
It slid wide for the corner and Heneghan’s header from eight yards out looked a certainty to
find the back of the net before D’Acol made an incredible goal-line clearance.
Whether the ball was over the line before D’Acol headed to safety was up for debate but TV footage certainly backed up the belief that a goal should have been awarded.
That sense of injustice only served to energise Motherwell further and Hamilton keeper Matthews had to be at his best to claw away a close-range McDonald header five minutes before the interval.
The 45 minutes of captivating action ended with Accies at last making an impression as Samson was required to push Rakish Bingham’s shot around the post.
Accies started the half as they had ended the first with a foray into Motherwell territory and Dougie Imrie’s back-post cross found Bingham whose header was kept out by Samson.
It was all starting to get a bit tetchy and Skondras went into the book for scything down Frear as he charged down the right – it was a Lanarkshire derby after all and tempers were getting frayed.
Imrie then failed to control a ball on the touchline and his momentum carried him into the Motherwell technical area where he collided with Fir Park manager Steve Robinson.
The pair briefly threatened to get up close and personal after an angry exchange but were quickly dragged apart.
Frear then rattled a volley inches past the right-hand post as the action again centred on football matters.
There were 474 Accies fans in attendance and they made themselves heard behind a goal as the derby looked increasingly likely to remain deadlocked.
Another flashpoint arrived in the 74th minute as MacKinnon was red-carded for appearing to flash a ‘V’ sign at the crowd and referee Clancy took ultimate offence.
Motherwell were piling on the pressure and Michael Devlin was required to produce an acrobatic goalline clearance to keep out Heneghan’s header nine minutes from time.
Massimo Donati had a late chance to snatch all three points for Accies as he found space to fire in a shot.
But Samson was again able to safely gather and honours were shared as the debate kicked off about the ‘goal’ which should, or should not, have been.
MOTHERWELL – Samson 7, Heneghan 7, McHugh 6, Hammell 7, Pearson 6, Clay 6 (Lasley 54, 4), Cadden 8, Frear 6 (Ainsworth 71, 3), McDonald 7, Blyth 6 (Gordon 62, 3), Bowman 6. Not used: Griffiths, Jules, Ferguson, Campbell.
HAMILTON – Matthews 6, Sarris 6, Devlin 7, Skondras 6, McMann 7, Docherty 6, MacKinnon 6, Crawford 6 (Donati 77, 2), D’Acol 7, Bingham 6 (Redmond 62, 3), Imrie 7 (Gogic 83, 1). Not used: Jamieson, Brophy, Boyd, Adams.
Referee: Kevin Clancy.