TALKING HAMILTON ACCIES Temps helps lift doom and gloom as Accies take bragging rights
IF the three points garnered by Hamilton in Saturday’s deserved Lanarkshire derby win over Motherwell ultimately aid their survival in the Premiership, then there won’t be many Accies supporters who will care how they were gained.
And scorer of the second goal on the day, the impressive David Templeton, was beaming after the match as you might expect. But it is a wonder that the gifted attacker is managing to shine in matches such as this one, which in a swirling downpour on a sodden surface saw players hoofing the ball forward at every opportunity.
You could say the former Hearts and Rangers winger was something of a diamond in the mud, if indeed there had been any mud at the Superseal.
“It was not a nice game to play in,” said Templeton. “I like to get on the ball and make things happen, but it was not a day for that. I just had to graft as well, and it was not often that something happened. I can’t imagine it was nice to watch.
“I get frustrated at games like this. The manager always says not to, but it is hard. I like to try and get on the ball and sometimes drop too deep to get it. He tells me to be patient when I’m not getting too many touches.
“That is what you have to keep thinking about, that you will get that one chance that will come to you and when it does you have to be sharp to take it and if you’re too busy thinking about the balls you didn’t get you might be off your game. Stay focused and when it comes you take it.”
AND that he did. Hamilton handled the whole occasion far better than their oddly lacklustre rivals, and while it may not have been easy on the eye, the Accies supporters lapped up a first win in five over their opponents on their home patch.
Templeton’s qualit y, and Motherwell’s slackness, ultimately made the difference. It was his corner early on that caused chaos in the Motherwell box, and with defenders slashing at thin air, striker Marios Ogkmpoe showed a cool head to backheel the ball high into the net.
In the second half, Chris Cadden exhibited the hesitation that had gripped the Motherwell players as he blew a golden opportunity on the break, before Carl McHugh and Gael Bigirimana got in a fankle to present the ball to the last man they would have wanted to. Templeton duly drove at goal, held off McHugh’s frantic attempts at recovery, and slotted the ball into Trevor Carson’s net.
Even with fully 25 minutes still to play, the fact that Gary Woods had barely dirtied his gloves in the Hamilton goal suggested the game was up, and so it proved.
The three points saw Accies climb to ninth place, eight points clear of bottom side Ross County. But Tempelton’s sights are firmly fixed on the teams above them in the table.
“We knew if we got the three points it would put us closer to Motherwell with two games in hand and that was our aim, so we could look forwards rather than back,” he said. We knew it would be a battle, and what Motherwell would be like.
“Our defence had to win headers and when Motherwell put crosses in the box and win their headers, you’ve got a tough game. I thought our defence dealt with that brilliantly.”