POINTS MAKE PRIZES FOR US
Accies ace says draw with Arabs could be vital at end of season
FAIR play to both sets of players – there was no chance of either of them breaking Covid rules by over-celebrating a goal being scored.
For the sixth time this season Dundee United were involved in a goalless draw and Hamilton, who were leaking goals earlier in the campaign, have shut up shop so well this was their third clean sheet in their last four outings.
While both sides played good stuff at times, neither set of attackers looked capable of getting the better of the respective backlines despite the energy and endeavour on display.
United had it from Dillon Powers and Ian Harkes in the middle of the park while Accies duo Hakeem Odoffin and Jamie Hamilton vied for the man of the match award.
Odoffin was given it for an allaction performance anchoring midfield but Hamilton’s display at the back couldn’t be overlooked.
At 18, he played with an assurance beyond his years and handled the threat of Lawrence Shankland and Louis Appere superbly.
Truly impressive was his confidence to carry the ball out of defence to kick-start a number of attacking moves that came to nothing due to Accies’ old problem of having nobody to stick the ball in the net.
But if they’re struggling up front, it’s even more crucial they keep the back door shut. They were breached on only one occasion, in the 28th minute, when Accies keeper Ryan Fulton made a terrific save to scoop Harkes’ point-blank header over the bar and onto the roof of the net.
It was as close as anyone came to scoring and although the point kept Accies in 11th place, Fulton knows it could prove crucial.
He said: “It was an important save. It stopped the ball going into the net and gave us a clean sheet.
“I was just trying to get across the goal and, once he headed it, it was just a case of trying to get my hand to the ball. The wind blew it over the bar! I just got lucky but I also got a strong hand to it and the wind helped me keep it out.
“Right at the start of the season we conceded too many goals but our recent form’s been a little better all over the pitch. We’ve certainly been better defensively and that’s something we need to build on.
“All we can do is concentrate on our own game and try and nick results as we go along.”
United aren’t scoring the goals expected of a side with the quality they possess from middle to front.
Micky Mellon knows it but isn’t overly stressed. Not when his side continues to pick up points regularly and sits comfortably in sixth place.
He said: “We won’t allow people to put us under pressure by saying we should be getting better results when we’re playing good football and getting results in a league we’ve just arrived in.
“In the end, we have to take what we’ve got and go on to next week.”