Rice is boiling over new laws in Accies’ derby demolition
Brian Rice fears football’s new laws are turning the sport into a farce. The Hamilton Accies boss spoke out after watching his side beaten in a Lanarkshire derby that included two penalties plus a red card for his 17-year-old defender, Jamie Hamilton.
“We are mucking up the game and taking it away from the people,” he said.
“It’s becoming farcical. What was wrong with football when we went home afterwards and the ref had made the decisions? “Now, nobody knows the rules. I don’t understand the new rules. They seem to change all the time.
“I think the refs themselves are confused by the rules.
“I was speaking to the linesman and fourth official during the game. I was asking the rules and they were saying the same to me. This could be or that could be.
“I saw a penalty given at Motherwell last week then saw the same incident on the edge of the box in this game and nothing happened.
“We all make mistakes. We’re not going to lambast referees for that. It’s a difficult enough job.”
Rice’s words were echoed by Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson
“I feel sorry for the refs. Drop balls, handballs. How many penalties will there be this season?” he said.
“I feel for them. I don’t know why we have to continue to mess with things.”
Motherwell dominated this Lanarkshire derby and deserved the win, for they were on the front foot from the first whistle.
By the time Peter Hartley headed Liam Polworth’s cross home from close range to put them ahead, he had already hit the crossbar with an earlier effort.
Things then got worse for Accies’ inexperienced line up, much worse in fact, when they conceded a second and lost a player in the process.
Seventeen-year-old Hamilton was the one who departed, earning a red card for saving Polworth’s effort on the goal line. The home team’s punishment didn’t end there as referee Andrew Dallas’s next move was to point to the penalty spot from where Liam Donnelly converted with a low shot into the corner for his seventh goal in seven games.
Creditably, Hamilton hit back to halve the deficit.
Again it came from a penalty with Well defender Peter Hartley adjudged to have handled. Ross Cunningham stepped up and fairly thrashed the ball high into the net.
Alex Gogic moved back into defence and Darian Mackinnon dropped deeper into midfield for 4-4-1.
It looked solid enough but they were unable to stop Long making it three with a cracking goal.
The striker dragged the ball across the edge of the Accies area until he worked a yard of space for himself, then drilled a low shot back into the opposite corner.
Motherwell’s gain was the neutral’s loss as it detracted from the game as a contest.
The ten men of Accies fought through the second half but it was hard to escape the conclusion that from that point on both teams knew not much would be changing.
“No game is ever easy. What we did do is dominate the whole game. When it went to ten we took the foot off the gas but our decision-making was very good,” said Robinson.
“We’re not the worst team in the world after being beaten by Hearts and we’re by no means the best after beating Accies, but it was a very good performance.”