Accies main man Marios makes the visitors pay a high price for their profligacy

MOTHERWELL paid the penalty for failing to capitalise on their superiority by turning it into something palpable. Like goals. Instead, they gradually sat back, almost inviting their hosts to come at them.

Even then, they would have racked up a third successive Premiership win over their derby rivals for the first time if it hadn’t been for a horrendous blunder by full-back Liam Grimshaw, who served up Hamilton’s equaliser to them on a plate.

Manager Stephen Robinson certainly felt that they had only themselves to blame for not claiming all three points.

‘We’re disappointed to come away with a point after we dominated the first half and played some brilliant football,’ he claimed. ‘We had chances to finish them off and didn’t take them and, when that happens, you give people a lifeline, albeit they scored from an individual error.

‘Grimmy made a mistake but listen, he’s been fantastic for me all season. I thought the second half was dead and the heat might have played a part in that.

‘The quality wasn’t great at times on that surface but you know when you’re playing on it that you don’t take chances with 50-50 decisions and the mistake was just one of those things.

‘But it shows you how far we’ve come that we’re disappointed to draw away from home against a team that’s fighting for their lives. Brian’s done very well since he came in. Hamilton are a threat and they’re fighting for their lives.

‘Our season could have petered out but we were excellent here and David Turnbull was exquisite at times, although he tired towards the end. Ten goals is a brilliant return from him. He’s a brilliant footballer and very easy on the eye.

‘Allan Campbell doesn’t get the same plaudits but he does the dirty work and he grafts hard for the full 90 minutes. Some other boys

didn’t do that but maybe that was down to the heat.’

The visitors were first to threaten when, in the fifth minute, Gboly Ariyibi played in James Scott, who chipped the ball over Ziggy Gordon and sidestepped Matt Kilgallon before unleashing a shot from 15 yards which Gary Woods saved at full stretch.

Motherwell came closer still in the 27th minute when Tom Aldred saw his header from David Turnbull’s corner come back off the crossbar but they couldn’t force the rebound over the line in the ensuing scramble.

Stephen Robinson’s men did take a well-deserved lead on the half-hour when Woods stayed rooted to his line as Grimshaw curled in a cross and David Turnbull stole in to volley home his 10th goal of the campaign from six yards.

Indeed, the only surprise from the opening 45 minutes was that Motherwell went in at the break only the one goal to the good, such was their domination.

The next shock came when Hamilton started the second period with the same 11 players who had failed to make an impression in the first half. Turnbull took a rehearsed short corner to Grimshaw, whose net-bound drive was deflected over the bar. Hamilton captain Darian MacKinnon was fortunate to escape with a yellow card for a dangerous lunge on Alex Gorrin but, when the first two substitutions were made immediately after that foul, he remained on the pitch.

Scotland winger Chris Cadden came off the bench midway through the second half and his cross-shot came off the top of Woods’ bar.

MacKinnon was lucky not to receive a second caution for another tussle with Gorrin and this time he was replaced, with young Lewis Smith coming on before Hamilton found themselves a man down as well as a goal down.

The game looked as though it was slipping away from Accies until a horrible blunder from Grimshaw, whose under-hit pass-back was latched on to by substitute Marios Ogkmpoe and his emphatic left-foot drive gave Mark Gillespie no chance.

‘I am absolutely delighted for the big guy,’ he said. ‘I didn’t know him when he came in — I thought he was a big waiter. He is a fantastic boy and a young lad trying to make his way in the game.

‘I found him a wee bit slack when I came in but I’ve had a good chat with him most days and I tell him that hard work is his best mate and I get him to repeat it back to me.

‘I’m on top of him all the time because he has something.

‘He has power and he has pace and he scored a very important goal. Marios has had a bad injury and I couldn’t be happier for him.’