ACCIES SHOW UP GUTLESS HEARTS
Stendel sees his outbattled Gorgie men hit rock bottom as youthful Hamilton dig deep
TAKING just a quick look at both of these teams, it is easy to see where the more technically gifted players reside. An even less detailed glance at their balance sheets spells out which ones are being paid considerably more money.
However, football comes down to an awful lot more than just that.
Hearts, even with the likes of Uche Ikpeazu somehow still being allowed to bounce around up front playing human pinball, are generally more comfortable in possession than Hamilton.
They show levels of quality in areas where it doesn’t really matter. There were periods of this match in which they dominated, after all.
When it comes to digging in, doing the dirty work and ekeing out results, though, they just haven’t got it. They are gutless, a shocking reflection of the appalling management of this club for some time now.
Boss Daniel Stendel (right), who looked mildly shellshocked again postmatch, is absolutely right to state that this season is all about avoiding relegation because there is nothing to take from yesterday to suggest that the top six is remotely within reach any longer.
If owner Ann Budge still thinks fourth is a possibility, as stated at the time of Stendel’s appointment, she has become even more deluded than when she still regarded Craig Levein as the messiah.
Home manager Brian Rice took great pleasure after the final whistle in revealing that the 11 players who finished this match constituted the youngestever Accies team to play in the top flight.
Prior to this win, earned through goals from Mickel Miller and Will Collar before Oliver Bozanic’s late consolation, Hamilton hadn’t won in 11 league games, a grim run dating back to late September. Add all that up and it details just what a dreadful result this was for the visitors — although hardly a surprising one. Accies stick together when the going gets tough. Hearts fall apart.
‘This win is massive for us,’ said Miller. ‘In the past few weeks, we’ve been having it hard, but this was a huge confidence boost.
‘I think I saw a few of their players getting on each other’s backs. In hard times, you have got to get together, man. You can’t get on each other’s backs.’
Being honest, Hearts’ goose was cooked with the removal of Steven Naismith for Jake Mulraney due to an undisclosed injury at half-time. Stendel namechecked him and fellow old-timer Steven MacLean as players who showed the kind of mentality he desires.
The fact no one else merited a mention possibly tells you what he makes of the rest. MacLean certainly admitted that they lost their way after Accies’ sensational 64th-minute opener and didn’t regain any kind of focus until it was way too late.
‘We have got to take our chances and get a ruthless streak back,’ he stated. ‘You can see that when we don’t take our chances and they go a goal ahead, it sort of deflates us. We can’t let that happen.’
As in their midweek defeat to Celtic, Hearts started in purposeful fashion, seeing early shots from Aidy White and Naismith blocked.
As the game went into something of a slump in the middle section of the first half, Accies began to make headway. George Oakley got his head to a terrific cross from Aaron McGowan just after the quarter-hour mark and should probably have done better that putting his effort wide.
Naismith then put the ball over from close-range after a MacLean knockdown and Craig Halkett hit the crossbar with a header as Stendel’s side threatened to build a head of steam.
Hearts ended the first 45 on top. What they delivered in the second period, though, was shameful.
There was just no guile, nothing sufficiently creative and a real lack of willingness to shut players down and throw bodies in the way at the opener.
Sharp interplay involving Scott Martin and Oakley saw the ball delivered to Miller just outside the area. The second he swung his right foot, a hitherto frustrating day for the striker was forgotten.
It flew off his boot at an electrifying speed and gave Joel Pereira no chance as it ripped into his top right-hand corner.
Just nine minutes later, it was 2-0. Miller picked the ball up at the corner flag on the left and swung a deep cross to the far side of the area where Collar, his run untracked, found himself clean through.
Even then, it looked like Pereira might save his shot at the near post. As it was, the ball went straight through the on-loan Manchester United goalkeeper and into the net.
When Hearts finally did score it was just too little, too late.
Michael Smith delivered a good corner from the left and Bozanic, thrown on for White, got in at the near post to convert with a crisp header.
Hearts couldn’t get back on level terms with MacLean seeing a late effort stopped at close-range by Luke Southwood after Craig Halkett had headed the ball into a dangerous area from a Sean Clare cross.
‘I’m disappointed with the goals we lost,’ said Stendel. ‘Hamilton had a good chance in the first half, but, after that, we controlled the game.
‘Until they scored, they did nothing. But at their first goal we had an overload and had to stop the ball getting forward or block it. We didn’t do that.
‘It was similar for the second goal. We can’t just watch the ball. We had to be in the centre.’
Instead, they are the bottom. And it is going to be a long way back.