HAMILTON FEAST ON A HORROR SHOW
Diabolical Motherwell suffer another dose of derby misery
WITHIN 20 minutes of this grim surrender being brought to a close, Motherwell had posted a message on social media with footage of midfielder Mark O’Hara apologising for the kind of first-half display that nightmares are made of.
No wonder. This was something else. Last time the Fir Park side met their Lanarkshire neighbours at the Fountain of Youth Stadium — going down 3-0 last month — they could, at least, point to a comic-cuts performance from goalkeeper Aaron Chapman, presumably now locked in a cupboard somewhere, as a mitigating factor.
There were no excuses this time. Not one player worthy of pass marks. Motherwell were on the back foot from the off and could have been way more than three down at the interval after seeing Bruce Anderson score early, Ross Callachan convert a penalty that resulted in Stephen O’Donnell being red-carded and Marios Ogkmpoe get in on the act.
David Moyo had made it four for a slick and impressive Hamilton before O’Hara scored a penalty of his own, but that was nowhere near enough to save face on a terrible afternoon for the home side that ended with manager Graham Alexander also being sent to the stand after being shown a second yellow card.
Alexander refused to go into detail on why referee David Munro had singled him out. He also seemed at a loss to explain how three wins out of four of late and a creditable performance at Celtic Park had descended into this, but there is no more emphatic way to bring momentum shuddering to a halt than losing for the third time this season to your local rivals.
‘We got going in the second half but it was too late by then,’ said Alexander. ‘We had a poor start with the first goal which was a really bad goal to concede.
‘The players will know exactly how we should have defended it because of the work we have done — and we haven’t.
‘After that, the penalty, I think, is a harsh decision and to get Stephen sent off, it is an uphill battle from then.
‘Playing for 45 minutes is not enough to win a game of football. It is a 90-minute game and we were short over the 90.
‘The first goal was almost the complete reverse of everything we have been doing over the last few games. On Monday, we will come in and we will ask the questions and they will know all the answers because they will see it and know exactly what went wrong.
‘The biggest thing in professional football is how you train and the knowledge you have off the pitch, and then putting it into pressure situations. Today, we were found wanting, certainly in the first 15-20 minutes.’
We were just seven minutes into the match when Motherwell were opened up on the first occasion of many. Callachan cut the ball back from the left-hand side of the area and Anderson was permitted to move onto the ball and release a shot, which took the slightest of deflections off Bevis Mugabi and beat goalkeeper Liam Kelly to his right.
From there, it was just downhill all the way for the home side. Anderson saw an effort deflected wide for a corner and Ogkmpoe headed over from a Lee Hodson cross before a bold call from referee Munro effectively ended the match as a contest.
Callachan moved onto an Anderson flick on inside the area and went down under pressure from O’Donnell. There didn’t appear to be a huge amount of contact, but Munro ruled there was enough and O’Donnell — with only a minor degree of complaint, it has to be said — was sent off for denying a goalscoring opportunity.
Callachan initially sent Kelly the wrong way from the spot, but had to take the kick again as a result of O’Donnell not being off the field when he struck the ball. No matter, he composed himself, took aim again and converted in the same corner despite Kelly going the right way this time.
‘I haven’t seen Stephen’s red card yet, but if we feel harshly done by then I would like to (appeal),’ said Alexander.
‘We have given a penalty away and got a red card. They have
given away a penalty and it is not even a yellow.
‘Two wrongs don’t make a right but I do believe we can feel a bit unjustly dealt with.
‘He (O’Donnell) apologised to me as he came off but he’s a top pro. I just think the red card as well is really difficult because I didn’t see it as a blatant professional foul.’
With Alexander having been shown a first yellow card for letting his frustration spill over on the touchline, Ogkmpoe turned an infuriating afternoon into a dispiriting one with the third goal for Accies just after the half-hour.
Anderson was involved again, playing a nice one-two with the Greek striker and setting him up to dispatch a clinical, low finish beyond Kelly with the home defence well and truly exposed again.
Goal number four came on 64 minutes. Moyo was only just on the park for Ogkmpoe when Scott McMann picked him out with a cross from the left and offered an invitation to score from a matter of yards.
It had become painful by then. And embarrassing. Not even the conversion of a penalty from O’Hara four minutes later could provide any kind of consolation.
Brian Easton was adjudged to have fouled Devante Cole in the box and O’Hara’s spot-kick went underneath the outstretched hand of Ryan Fulton, who guessed well in diving to his right, and into the net.
By the end of it all, though, Alexander was left sitting in the stand, shown a second yellow by Munro with nine minutes to play.
‘I have not asked him (about it), so I don’t know,’ he said. ‘I don’t really want to go down that avenue. I think we have to hold our hands up about the result.’