There are not many teams I haven’t seen so far this season but before the game yesterday Hamilton Academical were one of them. Every single year the Lanarkshire club are the choice of the so-called experts to get relegated but every season they defy the odds and stay up. They must have the smallest budget in the league and the smallest crowds but when was football ever about that, it is about what is done on the park and that is credit to the two managers they have had in recent years, Alex Neil and current boss Martin Canning. It was Celtic who visited the SuperSeal stadium yesterday in what was going to be a tough game for the Accies.
The Boozer
Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get to a pub before the game which was due to pure laziness on my behalf. Put simply, I couldn’t be arsed getting out of bed to drive down the M74 for a 12:30 kick off. Don’t worry, I am sure none of you are, I will be at Hamilton on a number of occasions next season and will get the full experience then.
The Stadium
I have been to the SuperSeal or New Douglas Park a number of times when I have visited with Aberdeen and on every occasion I have walked away seeing my team get beat or lose out on three points due to a resolute Accies defence. The SuperSeal is quite a new ground and is not far from the old ground that Hamilton once played at. If you are ever down watching your team at Hamilton then it is easy to see where Douglas Park once stood, it was where the now massive Sainsburys is, you really can’t miss it. New Douglas Park is comprised of two quite large stands, an end with nothing at all and a small temporary looking stand. I sat in the home end which was thanks to my pal Kevin Symon, a sport scientist at Hamilton, who managed to get me a ticket. Cheers Kev! The Main Stand is covered, all-seated and raised above pitch level which gives for a great view of the plastic playing surface. That’s all I am saying about the pitch. The stand stretches the whole length of the pitch and also housed some Celtic fans who were given a small section in the far left corner. To my left was the North Stand or to give it its proper name, the Spice of Life Stand. It was full of Celtic fans who had made the short trip down the road. Like the Main Stand it is single tiered, covered and raised above pitch level. Opposite me was a temporary stand which had some Celtic fans in as well. It is very small and straddles the halfway line. The SuperSeal is not the best ground you will ever see but like many clubs in Scotland the money needs to be used for other things. The only other thing of note at the SuperSeal is the massive floodlights, they are so big they give the ones at Palmerston a run for their money.
The Match
Working in the media and for a national newspaper the only thing I see is coverage of Celtic and Rangers, therefore I am going to speak predominantly about the Accies in this part. Going into this game manager Martin Canning must have thought it was going to be tough to get anything out of it but with some good tactics they could have “done a job” on Celtic. I have watched Aberdeen numerous times against this Brendan Rodgers team and this was by far the best display I have seen from an opposition. It was clear that Martin Canning and his coaching staff had a game plan to frustrate the Parkhead side and that is exactly what they did for long spells of the game. Having a good shape of five at the back, four in midfield and one up top worked well for the Accies however as they sat deeper and deeper it allowed Celtic to creep closer to their box. They sat off too much for the opening goal when Callum McGregor was given acres of space to fire a low shot from the edge of the 18-yard box into the back of the net. Three minutes in and Accies were one down. Anyone watching would have thought it would open the game up and leave Hamilton susceptible on the break. However they stuck to their task well and tried to hit Celtic on the break by forcing the error. That is exactly what they did on the 18th minute. Five minutes prior to that Hamilton started to engage Celtic higher up the park which forced the error from defender Kristoffer Ajer. It allowed Rakish Bingham to race through and slot the ball past Scott Bain to make it 1-1. The rest of the half was a tense affair with Celtic playing in front of Accies, however instead of sitting off like they did for the first goal they were getting more in Celtic faces. Too much for referee Andrew Dallas who thought Darren Lyon was taking it a bit too far and gave the midfielder two yellow cards. Hamilton were down to ten men and now the uphill task was going to be much harder for them. 1-1 at half-time.
Leigh Griffiths was brought on at the break and immediately made an impact by putting the away side 2-1 up on the 46th minute after a cross from Scott Sinclair. In order to get back into the game Hamilton would have to come out and have a go. Instead they stuck to their game plan in trying to hit Celtic on the break. This tactic was clearly annoying the home fans who were making their feelings heard. Although they would like to see their team go toe-to-toe with Celtic I really don’t think that would have been a good idea and it could have led to a very bad loss. Credit to the Accies they stuck to their task and on a luckier day they could have got an equaliser and a very valuable point. The game ended 1-2, but for me it was a great defensive display by a team who are fighting for their survival in the Premiership. Some of the more vocal fans were clearly irate at their team not attacking Celtic but if they looked at it from a neutrals perspective then they would see it was a very good display by Hamilton. Nevertheless, they didn’t get any points from the game which leaves Celtic that bit closer to the title.
The Mug
When I walk into a club shop I get the feeling straight away if they will have a mug or not. On walking into the compact club shop at the SuperSeal I didn’t think there would be a mug and I was right. What a disappointment I know. I did have a look round the shop and what a great alternative I could have purchased. There was this glass piggy bank which would have looked great on the bedside cabinet but I was informed by the shop assistant that I wouldn’t get it in the ground. Great. No mug and no piggy bank, however my pal Kev has said he will get me a mug from a “secret source”. Happy days! I like to give my many many followers of this blog at least something in this section if I can’t get a mug. So here is a picture of a Hamilton Academical season ticket.
The End…kinda
Celtic will win the league and they can do that in their next league game as they only need two points to do so. That’s all I am saying on them. Hamilton Accies are four points above the relegation play-off at the moment and going into the split they will be looking to steer clear of 11th spot where they ended up last season. On the performance against Celtic I can see them being safe with a couple of games to go but football is a strange beast and they could get sucked in. Let’s just hope the less than supportive fans stay with them.
Fact: Hamilton Academical remain the only professional club in British football to have originated from a school team.
Price: Free
Attendance: 4,851
The Forty Two 
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