Bingham: I knew I was going to score penalty
Hamilton striker avoids kick-taker controversy with late goal
FOR a brief spell on Saturday, Rugby Park was a bit like the Land That Time Forgot. The pitch hadn’t quite been populated by dinosaurs but some of the football on show wouldn’t have looked out of place in the Cretaceous period.
No wonder said beasts became extinct. When the stadium’s big, digital clock froze as a fairly desperate first half shuddered to an uneventful conclusion, time stood still. There wasn’t much tick let alone tock on the park, but Rakish Bingham got his timing spot on with a last-gasp penalty that sent Hamilton into the last 16 of the William Hill Scottish Cup and ended a prolonged winless sequence that felt like it had stretched back to an era when T-Rex roamed Lanarkshire. Or at least a Marc Bolan tribute act.
Bingham was determined to be the man of the moment. Dougie Imrie would have been the likely lad to have stepped up to the plate but Bingham didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to become a Hamilton hero as he commandeered the ball and took charge.
“That’s the sort of moment strikers live for and I felt ready and prepared to take it,” said the 23-year-old after securing Hamilton’s first victory in 12 games. “A few people have said, ‘what if you’d missed?’ but that wasn’t going through my head. I haven’t taken many penalties but I’m still confident in taking them. I knew I was going to score.
“As I went up to take it, I was only thinking ‘goal’ and then celebrating. The lads grafted really hard during the game and the result was what we deserved. And I was willing to take the pressure at the end. There was no argument with Dougie. He might have been glad I was taking it. I’m not even sure if I was the designated penalty taker but I wanted it and I spoke to Dougie and he was more than willing to give it to me. So credit to Dougie because he usually takes them.”
The Hamilton manager Martin Canning confirmed that Bingham probably shouldn’t have been given the chance to score. However, he was just happy to see it converted and hopes it can kick-start their season.
“Dougie Imrie was actually down to take the penalty if Alex D’Acol was off the pitch, but big Rakish was so confident and demanded the ball. It’s not an issue because he scored but it might have been different if he had missed.
“Football is all about belief. We already have the quality and, if we can add confidence to that, we can have a good second half of the season.”
For the hosts, meanwhile, Saturday’s slump was all rather dispiriting. Lee Clark, the Kilmarnock manager, flung five debutants into the fray while he left the sought after Souleymane Coulibaly on the bench. The reshuffling didn’t have the desired effect. Hamstrung by poor deliveries and decision-making when in dangerous areas, the 1997 cup winners failed to engineer any great openings while Karleigh Osborne, one of those new faces in the line-up, endured a debut to forget as he brought down Grant Gillespie in the last seconds and paid the ultimate penalty.
Osborne’s fellow debutant, Kristoffer Ajer, put in a more purposeful display in defence and the 18-year-old Celtic loanee is now hoping a regular run of outings can help his fledgling career develop as he looks to show his worth to Brendan Rodgers.
“He [Rodgers] helped me a lot over the last few months and I have grown a lot by staying at Celtic and learning from him,” he said. “I wanted to go out on loan and so did he.
“Coming here is important for me to, hopefully, get 90 minutes every week and go back a much better player. There had been different loan opportunities for me in different countries. But the gaffer wanted me to stay close, either here or in England. I am a Killie player until the summer and I want to do my best. That’s what Celtic want, too.”