Strugglers share the spoils and Archibald laments ‘the same old story’
FROM the most erratic defences come the most exciting games. Sadly, for both Partick Thistle and Hamilton, they also help to produce the most appalling statistics.
Accies have taken the lead in eight of their nine league games and have won just one. They would be top of the table had they held onto all those hard-earned advantages. As it is, they remain just above the Premiership drop zone with a record of one win in nine league matches.
For Partick, it is arguably even worse. This season looked like it could be quite something. They won all four of their group games in the Betfred Cup and opened their league campaign with a two-goal triumph over Inverness Caley Thistle.
They have since gone eight games without a victory. It is easy to see why. Despite losing an early goal to Massimo Donati, they got themselves in front before the interval in this end-to-end slugfest by capitalising on some real slackness in the visiting rearguard with Ryan Edwards and Liam Lindsay getting on the scoresheet.
Further chances were squandered, but it looked like the long-awaited victory to get them off the bottom of the table was almost secured with seven minutes to play. Then, a ball through from Dougie Imrie was allowed to find substitute Eamonn Brophy in an unmarked position on the left and he advanced on goal before slotting the ball past Ryan Scully.
Indeed, the home goalkeeper had to intervene to prevent defeat in the final minute. Grant Gillespie found Gramoz Kurtaj at the back post with a cross with Scully standing firm to parry his close-range header.
Such basic failings must have their manager Alan Archibald watching games through the cracks in his fingers and he did not mince his words after this one.
‘The game was wide open,’ he said. ‘You wouldn’t think the two managers were centre-halves. It looked like a basketball game at times and it was frantic, but credit to Hamilton as they kept going.
‘It’s the same old story. We don’t take our chances and we don’t look like seeing the game out.
‘The manner of the late goal wasn’t down to sustained pressure or us sitting deep. It was just an aimless ball through and our centre backs didn’t deal with it.’
In a torrid opening for the home side, Rakish Bingham put a volley wide of the post within the first 50 seconds and Gillespie should have done better when heading a cross from Alex D’Acol into the side netting on six minutes.
There had been claims for a penalty kick from Thistle when Greg Docherty appeared to handle in the area after being dunted by Chris Erskine, but referee Greg Aitken looked the other way and provided Hamilton with the impetus to grab the opener.
Scully had produced a good save from a D’Acol header ahead of a home defender knocking the ball out of play to concede a corner. From that flag-kick by Ali Crawford, though, Donati showed real awareness to make space and send a crisp downward header in at the near post.
‘I was too far away, but the players say it hit a hand,’ said Archibald when quizzed on the penalty claim. ‘I don’t think he (Aitken) got any decisions right either way. He was poor.
‘At one point, he let a player back on the pitch and he nearly ran through to score. It was embarrassing.’
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the matter, the visitors were worthy of the lead. The goal which gave Thistle a route back into the match was as much to do with failings at the back as offensive creativity.
Abdul Osman released Erskine on the right and he fired a low cross into the centre. Georgios Sarris opted to head it clear inside his six-yard box, but his attempt to avert the danger hit off Donati and Edwards stole in gleefully to convert.
At the other end, D’Acol saw a header from a Bingham cross hit off Callum Booth and bounce wide before Archibald’s men snatched the lead two minutes from the interval.
A cleared corner made its way to Osman on the left touchline. He evaded Gillespie and placed a curling cross into the area, an invitation for Lindsay to leap high at the near post and bullet home a header.
Doolan forced an early second-half save from Gary Woods and sent an angled drive just wide, but Accies were not of a mind to go down meekly with Brophy finding a way with the help of Thistle’s shoddy defending.
‘We could have been 2-0 or 3-0 up in that first 20-minute spell,’ groaned visiting manager Martin Canning.
‘You earn your breaks from being dogged and determined, though, and I don’t feel we are dogged enough just now.
‘It is a makeshift back three and we knew it would be a challenge, but you can defend your box better than we did.’