IT may have seemed like an innocuous moment in the game, but Dougie Imrie’s trip on Conor Sammon just prior to half-time – a professional foul that earned him a booking – may have had far-reaching consequences not only in this match, but on the battle to stay in the Premiership.
In the moment, it brought a promising Thistle counter attack to an abrupt halt just as they looked likely to regain a crucial lead, and also ended Sammon’s involvement in proceedings as he turned his ankle on the way to the ground. Accies went on to snatch the three points at the death through David Templeton, so despite picking up a suspension, Imrie was at peace with the choice he made despite a few rustled Thistle feathers.
“We’re playing for our livelihoods here,” said Imrie. “It was a massive game and if we’d lost it then we’re getting cut adrift at the bottom and Thistle would be further away from us. I’m sure they would do the same if the boot was on the other foot.
“I’ve taken a booking for the team and that’s me now out of the game in two weeks, so I’ve paid the price. At the end of the day though, I’ve helped the team
“If I don’t make the foul then Conor goes through and scores, so it’s a foul I had to make. If I stood back and let him score then the manager would be going mental at me wondering why I never made the foul.
“We had to win it and we did, so I’m absolutely delighted.”
The must-win nature of the match meant that quality was always likely to be thinner on the ground than the sparse patches of fake grass across the playing surface, and the game started amid a curiously muted atmosphere given what was at stake.
The action soon livened up though as Georgios Sarris had a crazy lapse that have made him something of a liability for Hamilton, when he hauled down Danny Devine as the pair contested a cross from a corner. Nick Walsh rightly pointed to the spot, and Sammon bagged his eighth goal in as many games low to Gary Woods’ right.
The Thistle support had barely retaken their seats though when Accies levelled, the visitors going to sleep and allowing Antonio Rojano to head home unchallenged at the near post from Imrie’s corner.
Until the late drama, there was little else to speak of other than a contentious call to disallow a Kris Doolan header, the stand-side assistant deeming the Thistle forward to have strayed offside. It looked immensely tight.
“I would hope in those situations that the attacking player would get the benefit of the doubt,” Doolan said. “I thought it was a good goal and to see the raised flag is a massive disappointment.”
Though perhaps not quite as disappointing as what was to come. A moment of quality from Hamilton’s Lewis Ferguson allowed him the space to find Rojano in the box, who brought out an outstanding save from Tomas Cerny. Templeton was first on the scene, with the attacker the coolest man in the ground as he sidestepped the keeper and slammed home to seal a potentially pivotal win.
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