Saints lose 1-0 to Hamilton Accies

Mar 30 2010 by Johnathon Menzies, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

St Johnstone 0 Hamilton Accies 1

IT WASN’T just the hours of evening daylight that lengthened at the weekend.

So too did the odds of Saints playing the final five games of a memorable season in the top half of the SPL.

With Hearts having been steamrollered by champions-elect Rangers in the lunchtime kick-off, Derek McInnes and his players knew they had the opportunity to trim the advantage of the Tynecastle side to just two points with a game in hand.

However, it was not to be as the rightly much-credited Perth side turned in one of their poorest performances of the campaign.

Post-match, in describing the mood of the performance of his team, the Saints manager used words like “frustration” and “agitation” and he was spot on.

This was an out-of-sorts display from a side who have won plenty of admirers of late.

On a day when a blustery, chilly wind belied the imminent change to British Summer Time, it had started brightly enough and Michael Duberry was only denied his first goal for the club by the back of Mark McLaughlin’s head.

Jody Morris warmed the hands of home keeper Cerny with a shot which, although packing plenty of power, was straight down the throat of the Czech.

Those opening ten minutes proved to be as good as it got for Saints, as the home side – on a fine run of form which looks certain to extend their SPL tenure – set about making amends for presenting Saints with their first SPL win at the same venue back in October.

Antoine-Curier came mightily close with a header from a Dougie Imrie cross, and the former Dundee man should have done better minutes later, missing the ball when he could see the whites of Graeme Smith’s eyes with the far side assistant’s flag, for once, remaining resolutely by his side.

Those chances were indicative of the pressure Billy Reid’s side were applying and they got their reward two minutes before the break as lack of organisation proved the undoing of the visitors.

Coming just a matter of moments after Kenny Deuchar had found a Liam Craig cross just a tad too hot to handle, the goal kick which followed quickly found its way to former Saint Simon Mensing who was given the space to pick out James Wesolowski.

The Aussie took his time before firing the ball through the narrow gap between debutant Mark Connolly and Michael Duberry, and just inside Graeme Smith’s right-hand post.

It was on the final day of January that Connolly joined on loan from Owen Coyle’s Bolton and his absence from action was starting to take on Steven Kinniburgh proportions but, with Gary Irvine having looked vulnerable in the previous two games, Connolly was finally given a debut in this one.

However, it lasted just 45 minutes as the manager sensed that with on-field temperatures rising just before the interval, fearing the already yellow-carded 18-year-old might fall further foul of erratic referee Crawford Allan and leave the Perth men short-handed.

Steven Anderson joined Duberry in a recast defence and Collin Samuel got a 45-minute shift up front, having replaced the concussed Doctor Deuchar.

It was clear that the Trinidad man was short of match action.

On an increasingly dreich day, the second half was not a thing of beauty.

Saints certainly enjoyed more of the ball but created little.

Liam Craig got in-behind the Accies defence to pounce on a long pass from the ever-impressive Dave Mackay, but Cerny was equal to the task.

That chance sparked a flurry of four successive corners for Saints but only the last one caused consternation – and an unseemly barney – among Accies defenders.

From the in-swinger, Steven Anderson just failed to repeat his scoring feat in the October encounter, surprise at the ball actually reaching him at the back post presumably being the cause of his wayward header.

At the other end, Graeme Smith produced a neat tip-over to deny one of the Accies’ Jedward-like Paixao twins but the same home player was guilty of a naughty dive when through on goal and challenged by Anderson.

The closing minutes threatened to turn ugly as Saints contrived to get three players – Morris, Grainger and Craig – booked during the three minutes of added time.

It was messy end in keeping with the tousy affair just witnessed.

HAMILTON:Cerny, Canning, McLaughlin, Wesolowski, McArthur, Antoine-Curier (Thomas), Neil, Easton, F Paixao, Imrie (M Paixao) Mensing.

Subs not used: Murdoch, McClenahan, Evans, Elebert, Kirkpatrick

ST JOHNSTONE:Smith, Connolly (Anderson), Grainger, Duberry, Mackay, Morris, Millar, Davidson (Sheridan), Craig, Deuchar (Samuel), Morais.

Subs not used: Main, Irvine, Sheerin, Swankie,

Referee: Crawford Allan