Saints scrap worse than anything I ever saw in the Juniors
Swanson and Foster’s brawl was worse than anything I’ve seen — even in Juniors, insists stunned Accies star MacKinnon
THE New Douglas Park PA announcer filled the stunned half-time silence by playing the theme from Rocky and Kung Fu Fighting.
To most rational observers, though, there was precious little to smile about at what had just transpired on an astonishing afternoon in Hamilton.
When referee Don Robertson blew his whistle, it ended one of the most event-free 45 minutes of the season. Then, out of nowhere, all hell broke loose on the New Douglas Park pitch.
In jaw-dropping scenes, St Johnstone team-mates Richard Foster and Danny Swanson began scrapping with each other, with punches and kicks being traded with real venom.
Players and staff from both sides raced to the fracas — with some initially assuming the fight involved a member of each side — and a mass shoving match ensued.
Saints boss Tommy Wright had angry exchanges with Hamilton midfielder Darian MacKinnon and Accies assistant coach Guillaume Beuzelin.
At half-time, referee Robertson red-carded Swanson and Foster, and sent Beuzelin to the stand. He also brandished yellow cards to Accies attacker Ali Crawford and Saints midfielder Paul Paton.
There had been something truly incongruous about one of the Premiership’s most highly disciplined teams imploding into civil war.
To their credit, Saints acted swiftly, suspending the brawling pair, who later shook hands, but both now face the sack.
The Perth club will carry out a full investigation with boss Wright promising: ‘If what happened is what is alleged to have happened, I and the club will come down on them as hard as we possibly can, legally.’
Just three days after the Battle of Easter Road, which saw Jim Duffy confront Neil Lennon before a mass brawl broke out in Leith, here was another violent episode to send shockwaves across the Scottish game.
Accies midfield enforcer MacKinnon insisted if two of his team-mates had behaved like Swanson and Foster, another bout of boxing would have been on the cards once they were back in the dressing room.
Back in October, MacKinnon and Accies captain Mikey Devlin had to be separated after squaring up to each other during a dismal 1-0 home defeat against Dundee. But the straight-talking MacKinnon was left shocked as Swanson and Foster crossed the line of passion into violence.
‘How would I feel if two of my team-mates had done that? I think I would do the same to them in the dressing room after the game,’ said MacKinnon.
‘You can’t do that! Or if you are going to do it, do it behind closed doors. It’s not a good example for anyone — and I’m someone who likes a wee scrap now and again.
‘I’ve never seen anything like that before — not even when I played in the Juniors. It was bizarre, to say the least.
‘They (Swanson and Foster) were shouting at each other all game. They were shouting about taking the ball in and defending but I never saw that coming. Did you?’
MacKinnon revealed that Wright’s anger was down to Hamilton’s players stressing to referee Robertson that both Swanson and Foster had to receive red cards. Fighting for their Premiership lives, Accies wanted to ensure their rivals were reduced to nine men for the second half.
‘It was a bit heated — it’s not normally like that with St Johnstone,’ said MacKinnon.
‘Even their manager was having a go at me. I think Tommy was upset because we were saying to the ref and the linesmen that the two St Johnstone players should be off. Just to let them know, as you do. We were trying to get them off to make it easier for us.
‘Tommy has probably taken offence at that but anyone would do the same and everyone was doing it.
‘Even when we were coming back out for the second half, he (Wright) bumped into me and he was trying to get me into trouble.
‘It’s not usually like Tommy to do that. He is a nice guy but maybe all the carry on has made him go a bit mad.’
Accies were wasteful against St Johnstone’s heroic nine men. But in injury time, the breakthrough finally came. Crawford fed the ball to sub Danny Redmond and he found Alex D’Acol, who lifted Accies off the bottom with a left-footed finish.
‘I kept saying to Ali Crawford and Dougie Imrie that another chance would come our way,’ said MacKinnon.
‘But when chances came our way we kept missing them. I was starting to doubt it myself but when Danny came on he showed that bit of composure we needed and then Alex does what he does — and he scored the winner.
‘That was a massive win for us. We knew we had to win. It sets us up for the Motherwell game on Wednesday then we face Ross County on Saturday. Hopefully, we can use this win to go on a good wee run.’
In truth, the football felt like a post-script, which was a shame for both sides. It was a huge result for struggling Hamilton — and under-pressure boss Martin Canning — and it was totally overshadowed.
As was the fact that results elsewhere guarantee St Johnstone a top-six finish for the sixth successive season.
Only Celtic have recorded better league finishes than Saints during that time but nobody was talking about that fine achievement.
‘I should be sitting here with a glass of champagne,’ rued Wright afterwards.
The Northern Irishman could have been forgiven for seeking out a stiff drink or two on Saturday night as he braced himself for an internal investigation that could yet end with two of his best players leaving McDiarmid Park.