TIMED TO PERFECTION
Canning delighted to grab much-needed win over Dons
Hamilton boss Martin Canning admitted his side NEEDED to beat Aberdeen on Tuesday to ease their relegation worries.
Canning says the situation of being bottom of the table meant Accies had to pull something out of the bag against Derek Mcinnes’s side.
Captain Michael Devlin stepped up to the plate and volleyed in Danny Redmond’s free kick to give Accies the lead against the Dons on Tuesday night, and although the visitors pummelled the Hamilton defence, they held out for a precious win.
Canning said: “That was a big, big win for us, given where we’re at and the timing of it. It was a win we needed and a fantastic performance all round.
“We’ve soaked up a lot of pressure, we’ve had to defend our box, and defensively we were excellent.
“I thought Michael Devlin, in particular, was outstanding, Georgios Sarris, Scott Mcmann, the two wingbacks, everybody threw their body on the line and really defended their goal with a real purpose.
“We’ve put ourselves in the position a lot of times this season when we’ve been 1-0 up and not seen the game out, we haven’t defended like we did on Tuesday, and it was really pleasing.
“Aberdeen came here on the back of a run where I think they had won 10 out of 11, and the game they lost was a 1-0 at Celtic Park, so they were on very good form.
“We knew it would be an uphill task, but we knew that, having done it before, we believed we could do it again.
“Thankfully we managed to hang in there and take a huge three points.”
Canning reiterated that remaining in the SPFL Premiership is Hamilton’s ultimate aim, but hopes they can take a boost from what was only their fourth win of the league campaign into Saturday’s Scottish Cup quarter-final clash against Rangers at Ibrox.
He said: “The league is the most important thing, it was important to win against Aberdeen, but that’s not to downplay the Rangers game.
“For everybody at this club the excitement of going and trying to get to a Scottish Cup semi-final will be huge, so everybody – myself included – is right up for the game on Saturday.
“We will be on it, and we will give it our best shot, to give everything we can to get to a Scottish Cup semi-final, which would be fantastic for the club.
“Everybody here would love to give the fans a day out, an opportunity to go and play in a cup semi-final would be fantastic, and it has been a long time since this club has done it.
“It would be great for everybody associated with the club, the players, the fans, would enjoy a day out, so everybody will be bang at it on Saturday, and we’ll try everything we can to get there.”
Midfielders Darian Mackinnon and Danny Redmond are suspended.