THE PARTY POOPERS
Accies spoil ambitious East Kilbride’s gala day with a late double strike
THOSE weeks of anticipation, that pent-up frustration, the dreams of finally establishing himself as a first pick, all released the moment Gary Woods took to the field to warm up with the rest of the Hamilton goalkeeping team on game-day one of the new season.
‘Haw, goalie,’ shouted a group of urchins, maybe about eight-yearsold, huddled together at the back of the stand at East Kilbride’s largelydeserted K-Park stadium and clearly amused by the cut of Woods’ tight training wear. ‘Yer budgie’s deid, ya rent boy.’
Welcome back, Scottish football. We have missed you and all your unyielding splendour.
Late goals from Louis Longridge and Ali Crawford got Accies off to a satisfying, if surprisingly awkward, start in the Betfred Cup on this little patch of astroturf amid the verdant, rain-soaked beauty of Calderglen Park.
In many ways, it was a fitting place to witness the beginning of a new season. If there is one club entering it imbued with energy and visions of greater things, it is East Kilbride.
Last term may have ended with the agony of a penalty shoot-out loss to Cowdenbeath in the play-offs, but the runaway Lowland League champions are optimistic of making it into the SPFL by retaining their title and there is a clear excitement at having plans drawn up for a 4,000-seater stadium with an established figure in Billy Stark at the helm.
Talking to those fans who have committed their £75 for a season ticket, there remains a degree of disbelief that the former Scotland Under-21 coach actually took the job. What’s more, he looks to have the makings of a decent team. ‘If you measure the game on chances, there wasn’t much in it,’ said Stark.
‘Barcelona and Real Madrid weren’t making calls and I didn’t have many offers, but there is real enthusiasm and determination here to get where we want to go. That is what a coach wants rather than a club bumming about to survive.’
As you would expect against Premiership opposition, the hosts were bombarded for long spells.
Goalkeeper Matthew McGinley had to make a number of saves and Accies centre-forward Rakish Bingham missed the kind of sitter at 1-0 that will wake him up in a cold sweat months from now.
Captain Darian Mackinnon opened the visitors’ account, scoring with a volley from a Crawford corner.
But East Kilbride striker Aidan Ferris had passed up two great early chances and Adam Strachan hit the bar from a free-kick before Sean Winter levelled from the spot — after Georgios Sarris had fouled Craig Howie — to spark hopes of a quite incredible shock.
As it was, though, Accies’ fitness told with Longridge heading home from a Grant Gillespie cross and Crawford tying it up in stoppagetime.
The goals completed a jolly old afternoon for the visiting fans, squeezed into the new standing enclosure at K-Park and clearly enthused by their Saturdays containing some sense of purpose again.