Caldwell’s spot of bother with penalty shoot-outs
hamilton accies 2 Cunningham (17, 54) partick thistle 2 Williamson (16), Gordon (74)
Hamilton get bonus point after winning penalty shoot-out 6-5
Pa r t i c k T h i s t l e b o s s Ga r y Ca l d we l l claimed he doesn’t see the point of penalty shoot-outs at this stage of the League Cup.
The Jags can qualify for the next stage of the competition if they beat Clyde at home on Wednesday night.
It would have been the same scenario had they won the bonus point at Hamilton after drawing 2-2.
Thistle are now a point ahead of Accies in Group F and have their destiny in their own hands.
Caldwell said: “The penalties is stupid and I don’t know why it is in the competition.
“It is the most calm I have ever been in a shoot-out, because it is pointless. It didn’t matter to either team.”
Ross Cunningham of Hamilton Accies was in more optimistic mood at time-up.
He made his 18th appearance for Accies, but had never been part of the starting line-up.
To mark the occasion with two goals was something dreams are made of.
The 21-year-old went one better than teenage team-mate Lewis Smith, who hit the net once on his first start against Clyde on Wednesday night.
It’s early days with this pair, but both look well equipped to prosper in Scotland’s top flight.
This was a game where both sides seemed determined to shoot themselves in the foot.
Thistle went ahead but conceded less than a minute later.
Williamson took advantage of a mis-timed defensive header by Mcgowan and stabbed the ball home from a tight angle.
The travelling fans’ cheers were just subsiding when Cunningham collected the ball in the penalty area and levelled the scores.
There was a nine-minute delay during the first half while Hamilton defender Ronan Hughes was treated for a neck injury before being stretchered off.
His problem came after an innocuous clash with Joe Cardle when he attempted to tackle the Jags’ winger.
Accies’ second goal showed that football isn’t played on paper.
Thistle boss Gary Caldwell had a note passed on to the pitch asking his men to counter a change in the home ranks.
Just as that happened, 19-year-old Smith raced forward, fed Cunningham and watched him expertly clip the ball over Fox.
Gary Caldwell wants his team to react more quickly when teams change their formation and hopes they’ll take that as a valuable lesson.
Accies’ boss Brian Rice said: “It was brilliant for Ross to score two goals on his first start.
“He’s had a bad time with injury over the past two or three seasons. It’s up to him to keep working hard and progressing but it’s hard to keep people who score goals out of your team.”
Thistle equalised after 74 minutes and looked like they would again lose one within a minute.
Shea Gordon fired home from a Mansell cross and then Mcginty took down Oakley to give away a penalty just seconds later.
Fortunately for the defender, Aaron Mcgowan blazed the ball over the bar.
Thistle, with a disinterested Gary Caldwell barely watching, lost the penalty shoot-out 6-5 after on-loan Raffaele De Vita had his kick saved.