Graham leveller rankles Rice as Staggies pounce at start and finish to pinch point
Hamilton boss Brian Rice was left gutted after strikes at the start and finish pinched a point for Ross County.
Accies were the dominant side for most of the second half and looked set for their first win in five games after goals from Lewis Smith and George Oakley had cancelled out Billy Mckay’s early opener.
But County substitute Brian Graham broke their hearts when he popped up with an equaliser two minutes from time to earn the Highlanders a draw.
And there was more disappointment for Hamilton when Scott Martin was sent off in injury time for gesturing with his head towards County’s Josh Mullin.
Gaffer Rice said: “I thought we deserved
more from the match full stop not just from the second half.
“We had a poor start and conceded a goal we never concede at the kick-off.
“From then on it was total domination until the last five minutes when Ross County needed to chase the game.”
Rice had no real complaints with the red card that saw Accies finish the game with just 10 men.
He added: “The ref said it was a red card and if he says it is then it is. I don’t talk about referees. There’s no point.
“They referee to the best of their abilities, sometimes they make mistakes. The ref made his decision very quickly so something must have happened.”
Lee Erwin had been a surprise starter for County having not featured in the league after signing in the summer. And the striker was involved right from the start as the Staggies got off to a flying start.
Erwin was quick to work Owain Fon Williams and when the Welshman could only push the shot to the side Mckay was on to in a flash to thrash the ball into the net after just 36 seconds.
Stunned Accies tried to respond quickly
as Smith fired in a shot that sailed into the stand before Sam Stubbs met Ross Cunningham’s corner but couldn’t direct his header on target.
The home side then claimed for a penalty when Scott McMann went sprawling in the box but referee Colin Steven booked him for diving instead.
County claimed for a spot-kick of their own minutes later as Alex Gogic barged into Ross Stewart. But again the officials weren’t interested.
The Highlanders had a great chance to go further ahead before the break. Erwin played in Stewart but the former St Mirren man couldn’t get his shot on target.
Rice threw on Steve Davies for Cunningham at half-time and the striker almost made an immediate impact with a free-kick that went just wide.
But it felt like an Accies goal was coming and it arrived after 52 minutes. Martin laid it off for Smith and he applied a terrific finish to beat Laidlaw from close range.
Hamilton could then have had a penalty as Oakley tangled with Liam Fontaine but the big striker was instead shown a yellow card for a dive.
His luck would turn, though, when Accies finally got their noses in front after 64 minutes.
Smith turned provider by laying off a pass for Oakley and he thumped in a low shot that gave Laidlaw no chance.
The home side looked to have done enough to see it out but County suckered them with a late equaliser as Graham thumped in his shot from close range.
Martin saw red in stoppage time to give the Staggies hope of a last-gasp winner but Accies held on.
County co-manager Stuart Kettlewell admitted it was a bittersweet feeling after seeing his side battle back to earn a draw.
Kettlewell said: “We should have managed the game better after scoring an early goal.
“There’s a little bit of disappointment there. We’re heartened by scoring another late goal but we can’t keep putting ourselves in positions like this.
“There are easier ways to see yourself through games.
“In the second half you could see quite clearly that Hamilton threw everything at us.
“They used two physical strikers and tried to play off knockdowns and that tested us. I just feel we could have passed the ball better at times, especially when I look at our second goal.
“You won’t see a better one this weekend in terms of the number of passes and the quality of the finish.”
Kettlewell praised Graham’s attitude after the striker again had to settle for a place on the bench.
He added: “Brian will be disappointed not to have started but you see the impact he has when he comes on and scores.
“His approach when he came on says everything about his attitude.”