The Accies travelled to Minnies who has posted some decent, but mixed, results so far this season.
After waiting for half an hour at the wrong ground Dan and Fozzy finally tipped up and joined a strong squad hoping for another good performance. The home side enjoyed a fair bit of possession in the early stages without really threatening the Accies goal but when the Accies broke forward they looked very dangerous. Jamie fed Ben White a couple of times who in turn fed Swifty who had a good chance poked off his toe by a last ditch tackle. Big Si got his head to the corner but the keeper comfortably gathered.
Minnies were playing with 5 across midfield and Jamie pulled Dan in to pick up their spare man and the impact was immediate. Dan and Hodgy worked the right channel and a desperate clearance fell straight to Jamie who put Swifty through with a great first time cushioned pass and Swifty bombed forward and made no mistake with a fine finish into the roof of the net past the onrushing keeper. The home side tried to threaten again but their final ball was poor all day and their next move proved to be no exception; with Godwin collecting unchallenged when the ball finally came into the box.
The Accies were looking more threatening and Dan picked up the ball in acres of space after a neat one-two with Jamie and drove forward, releasing Tommy down the right and his cut back was hacked away for a corner by a despairing defender. On the next attack Hodgy made a good overlap and interchanged with Dan, he played it back for Jamie whose swept ball out to Ben White was perfectly weighted to draw in the defender. Ben had time to pick out a wonderful left foot cross which picked out the onrushing Tommy at the back post who volleyed into the roof of the net for another fine Accies team goal. The half drew to a close as the Accies continued to press, Big Si had a good header blocked from a corner and Minnies looked relieved when the half time whistle blew.
Half time – Minnies 0 – 2 Accies
With shouts of ‘it’ll be a different half now’ from the home team the second half started exactly as the first left off with Accies creating more chances. Swifty picked out Tommy with a square ball on the break but it was just behind him and his scooped shot lacked power. Ben and Jamie were playing some neat balls and Stan was winning absolutely everything on the right channel, as were Fozzy and Reddy at the back. There was virtually zero play down the Accies right but when it came Hodgy and Dan were on hand to mop up and break with purpose. Dan was hacked down just for a change on the right and his ball flashed across the box and Jamie met it at the far post but it was cleared off the line.
Jamie made some swift substitutions midway through the first half – I’ve never seen anyone more desperate to come off than James Foster – with Batts, Ryan and Matt G coming on as the pack was shuffled to an outright 4-5-1. Unfortunately the Accies conceded almost immediately. A ball into the box was cleared and Matt G was fouled as it came back in and span fortuitously to their striker who also looked offside but poked it past Godwin who had no chance.
There followed a period of pressure from the Minnies for the first time in the game but they didn’t really create any more chances. Godwin tried to help them out by smashing a clearance against their strikers back but Stan was on hand to save his blushes. The Accies wound the clock down and Swifty could have added to the score but his powerful shot on the turn was well saved by their keeper. No complaints from the home side as the final whistle blew on a scoreline that probably flattered them on balance of chances.
Full time - Minnies 1 -2 Accies
