Accies switch strips to pay Paris tribute
HAMILTON made a unique tribute to the victims of the Paris terrorist attacks by wearing France strips during yesterday’s 1-1 draw with Aberdeen. The move was partly inspired by their French coach Guillaume Beuzelin and striker Christian Nade, whose 18-year-old sister hid under the table of a restaurant in Paris as gunmen opened fire in a nearby cafe. Unable to find 20 France home kits to fit all sizes, Accies opted for the white change strip, then faced a race against time to have them badged, numbered, named and sponsored — complete with Saltires and French flags — for kick-off. All 20 jerseys will now be sent to Ligue 1 clubs in France to be auctioned off for charities. Nade was left on the bench for the game after looking visibly overwhelmed during the pre-match minute’s silence. Boss Martin Canning said: ‘I spoke to Christian through the week and he was fine. Obviously his sister was involved but he said, mentally, he felt good. ‘It just so happens Christian didn’t get on. But his attitude has been great. I asked him to play for the Under-20s on Tuesday and he worked his socks off. ‘It was strange, watching us play in France strips. It’s a great gesture by the club.’ Striker Dougie Imrie, whose goal cancelled out Kenny McLean’s early opener, said: ‘I only knew we were wearing French strips when I walked in the dressing room. All the players were in the dark about it. It would be great if we could wear it every week but it was about showing solidarity after the horrible events in Paris.’ His equaliser prevented Aberdeen leapfrogging Hearts into second and moving to within five points of leaders Celtic after their two rivals dropped points on Saturday. But Dons boss Derek McInnes insisted he won’t become ‘obsessed’ by the fight for second spot. ‘There are still 60-odd points available, so it’s early to be too obsessed with things,’ he said. ‘We have to manage our own game. Our fight is with ourselves
right now. ‘We are confident that, over the course of the season, we’ll win enough games to meet what is expected of us. ‘We overplayed at times, our clearances were poor and didn’t defend how we can. ‘We haven’t been clinical at one end and weren’t at our best at the other.’ Scorer McLean admitted the Dons should have taken advantage of Celtic and Hearts drawing with Kilmarnock and Dundee respectively. ‘When you see both teams above us dropping points, you should be looking to capitalise,’ he said. ‘We don’t have anybody to blame but ourselves. These are the games we need to win, especially at 1-0 up. ‘We were nowhere near our best and should have done better. We can’t argue with a draw.’ Imrie, meanwhile, felt Accies should have had a penalty when his cross struck the arm of Shay Logan, only for ref Willie Collum to award a free-kick. ‘Willie said he’ll apologise to me if he sees it later — and he’s got it wrong,’ said the striker.