The most annoying aspect of the defeat was that the opposition were hardly seen as an attacking force. A goal in each half, the first from an over top header from Mensing which released McCarthy to shoot through Smith's legs and a second courtesy of a silly error from Reynolds to give the same player a chance to prod the ball into the net sealed the match for the Accies. We never looked like recovering.
We were without Clarkson (injured hand) and Hughes (virus). Further shuffling produced a makeshift midfield of McGarry, Lasley Quinn and Murphy. Saunders retained his place at right back.
Right from the off it was clear that our plan was to use Porter and Sutton as long range targets and hope that the midfield could pick up the ball from the resulting clash.
For most of the first half we enjoyed plenty of possession in the
At the other end Smith had little to do although he did have one brave save to make and the feet of an oncoming striker. We lost the first goal with 45 minutes on the clock.
Hammell clears
Manager McGhee made to early changes in the second half. O'Brien and Darren Smith replaced Murphy and McGarry. Neither change produced an improvement. The disastrous second goal came twenty minutes into the second period.
The players were no lacking in effort but there was no composure, no confidence and no chance of s overturning the two goal deficit. Porter had a great chance but chose the wrong direction for a header and later McCarthy cleared off the line.
We await the manager's comments with interest.