Just make better decisions, guys Bulls coach says team errors are being punished
Hamilton ............ 12 Marr .................... 64
Andy Mcgilvray
Hamilton coach David Gemmell accused his side of being architects of their own downfall after defeat to BT National League 1 leaders Marr left them in the relegation zone.
Gemmell was pleased with most of their performance at Laigh Bent, but says they were punished for making too many errors.
He said: “Believe it or not I was happier with the performance on Saturday than I have been for a long while.
“We were up against a team that is on top of their game and we were very much in it for the first 50 minutes.
“We so far have been the architects of our own situation, we’re making far too many errors and teams at this level are very good at making you pay for those.
“I’m heartened though; the heart is still in the team and they definitely want to win.
“They’re under pressure and making mistakes, basically for the first time in four seasons.
“Over the last three seasons the squad situation has meant I’ve been able to give people game-time but we opened this season with two full teams unavailable.
“The guys are hurting, in terms of their performances, but the commitment is still there, but we need to start considering better decisions, we need to be more pragmatic, keep HAMILTON: possession – because if we have the ball it’s only us that can score – and we need to simplify our game, get back to basics and try to get some wins together.”
Hamilton were poorly rewarded for a strong first-half performance as they pushed leaders Marr really close.
Although the visitors scored first in five minutes through Conor Bickerstaff, Hamilton took the game to Marr for the first 40 minutes.
The Bulls replied with a try in 12 minutes after Robert Brown squirmed in at the corner, with Owen Mcleish’s conversion attempt bouncing off a post.
Five minutes later Hamilton were unlucky not to score again following a great break by Craig Inglis.
However, Marr turned over possession deep inside their own half and showed the class that has led them to the top of the table by attacking with exceptional pace from deep, setting up another score under the posts after a number of defenders fell off tackles. Hooker Ollie Rossi was credited with the try.
Hamilton winger Craig Skilling was stopped by a desperate last-ditch tackle a metre short of the line, and despite constant pressure the Bulls just couldn’t get over the line.
Marr conceded too many penalties during this period of desperate defending, which led to Rossi being sent to the reflection.
However, when Marr were awarded a penalty Colin Sturgeon kicked it over the bar for a 17-5 half-time lead.
Showing how this wasn’t a true reflection of the game at that point, Hamilton drew first blood in the second half when Mark Wallace found himself clear after great build-up play, and Mcleish’s conversion brought the score back to 17-12.
Unfortunately for Hamilton that was the last time they scored points, while Marr again showed their attacking class and pace.
With the light fading the pace of Marr’s backs took its toll and every time sin-bin for 10 minutes of Hamilton made inroads into the Marr 22, inaccuracy coughed up possession and the pace out wide led to tries from Stuart Howie, Conor Bickerstaff (3), Stephen Adair in his 100th appearance, Tom Steven, Craig Kolarik and Colin Sturgeon, the latter of whom also converted six of the tries.
Gemmell continued: “We’ve given ourselves a bit of a hill to climb, but we’re not detached. We have seven games left and pretty much all of our rivals still to play, so we will keep on trying and improving – we can do no more.
“There were signs there for an hour against Marr that we can cope and take the game to a good side.”