McMULLAN CONTINUES HIS GOLDEN STREAK
QUITE how far the story will go remains to be seen — but Paul McMullan insists he is revelling in the role of being Dunfermline’s cup specialist. The pint-sized winger, who is on loan from Celtic, tormented Hamilton on Saturday and maintained his record of scoring in every round of this season’s Scottish Cup. His first-half goal looked like it could open the floodgates for the Championship men, who were threatening to run riot against their Premiership opponents. As it was, Accies equalised in the 74th minute through Danny Redmond. But McMullan remains in buoyant mood ahead of tomorrow night’s replay. ‘The boys were giving me a bit of stick because I never seem to score in the league,’ said the 20-year-old. ‘But any time a cup tie comes around, I always seem to find the net. ‘It would be good to maintain that record in the replay and get into the quarter-finals. ‘I was annoyed at myself, though, because I had a great chance in the second half to really kill the tie and I made a mess of it. ‘We know we are a good side. Hamilton couldn’t handle us, especially in the first half.’ If Dunfermline progress to the quarter-finals and are drawn with Celtic, McMullan added: ‘I don’t think I would be able to play. I’m not 100-per-cent sure, but I doubt it. I think the decision would be up to Celtic.’ McMullan put the Pars in front on the half-hour mark — collecting a clever pass from man-of thematch Michael Moffat and clipping a neat finish beyond goalkeeper Remi Matthews. Hamilton were frankly all over the shop and could consider themselves fortunate to only be one goal down at the interval. Their travelling fans made their displeasure known, telling manager Martin Canning in no uncertain terms just what they thought of him. Canning’s side were architects of their own downfall for the most part. Dilly-dallying in possession, having their pockets picked in areas of the pitch that would have given their manager a heart attack, with black-and-white jerseys pouring forward on the counter-attack at every opportunity. Credit to them, though, as they did eventually find a response — Redmond cutting inside from the right to thump a left-footed finish low into the bottom corner. On the chants towards his manager, goalscorer Redmond said: ‘It spurs you on when you hear that kind of thing coming from the stands — it’s not nice. We fully believe in the manager and it’s important the fans stick by him.’