The pies don’t have it as Killie can only draw
HAMILTON ACCIES 1
MILLER (PEN, 37) KILMARNOCK 1
BROPHY (7)
Kilmarnock paid for every travelling fan to get a free pie but the players couldn’t satisfy their hunger for victories.
Rugby Park manager Steve Clarke, however, had an interesting take on how Hamilton reacted to the draw.
He reckoned the way Accies’ supporters hailed getting a point shows just how well his club are doing.
He believes getting something against Kilmarnock now has the same status as avoiding defeat against Celtic or Rangers.
The Ayrshire side took 2,215 supporters to the Hope Stadium – that’s a lot of pies – and shows the enthusiasm Clarke has created.
You could suggest he has the people of Kilmarnock eating out of his hand.
He said: “The biggest measure of our progress was the way Hamilton supporters celebrated.
“It was a home point against Kilmarnock and they celebrated as if they’d taken a point off the Old Firm.
“I said to the lads after the game, maybe people are holding us in a different light and we have to be ready for those challenges.
“The travelling support have been fantastic. They were trying to suck the ball in at the end when we were the only team trying to win it.
“The fans probably went home disappointed, but they shouldn’t be.
“At the end of the season we will know if that was a good point or a bad point.”
The man known as “The Wolf” was central to central to the outcome of the match.
Eamonn Brophy put Killie ahead and then conceded the penalty that let Hamilton grab a point.
It certainly wasn’t the season of goodwill between Brophy and the Hamilton fans.
He spent five years with the club but showed he has little affection for the supporters when he celebrated his goal.
The 22-year-old gestured at the home stand and turned to display the name on his back.
That ensured he was barracked for the rest of the game and left the pitch to loud booing when Kris Boyd replaced him.
Hamilton fans have found their team’s equaliser particularly sweet.
Ref Bobby Madden gave a penalty, ruling Brophy guilty of handling a Keatings’ cross.
There were no complaints about the award from Kimarnock, although Steve Clarke wasn’t impressed the whistler’s overall performance.
He said: “Hamilton then did what they do well. They made it a scratchy, broken game with lots of free-kicks.
“The referee didn’t help. I thought he’d swallowed his whistle at one point because it went off so often.
“Too many free-kicks broke up the rhythm of the game. It suited them more than us.”
Mickel Miller calmly sent the keeper the wrong way from the spot.
That goal really changed the dynamic of proceedings.
Kilmarnock didn’t have the same dominance after Accies levelled.
They finished the game strongly but couldn’t break down a determined defence.
Greg Stewart should have done better when was put through on goal but pulled his shot wide.
Woods later came to Hamilton’s rescue with a fine save from Ndjoli.
The result means Kilmarnock have dropped from third to fourth.
They’ve still had a wonderful start to the campaign and the fans will keep following them in big numbers – free pies are just an added bonus.