FORMER Motherwell owner John Boyle once remarked that one day you are a peacock, and the next you are a feather duster, and the players of his favourite team found those words ringing true after a dismal defeat at Hamilton yesterday.

It may well be rivals weekend, but you would have been hard-pushed to notice that the Lanarkshire derby was a clash of local adversaries at all in this one given the insipid nature of Motherwell’s performance.

Fresh from reaching the Scottish Cup semi-finals with the win over Hearts last weekend, the wind seemed to be in their sails as they made the short journey over the Clyde, but Hamilton blew them off course in straightforward fashion, defending resolutely and having the quality to punish the moments of slackness when they arrived.

The home side carried off their gameplan to a tee, with the backline superbly organised and Gary Woods largely untroubled. The visitors were altogether more ragged, and Marios Ogkmpoe and David Templeton gleefully exposed their slackness to give them their first win over the Steelmen at this venue in five attempts.

And for Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson, there was the suggestion that some of his players were guilty of believing the hype over their cup heroics, and forgetting the reasons why they have had their relative success to date this season.

“I just felt we looked like a team that has had a lot of plaudits and didn't do the basic things well,” said a clearly irked Robinson.

“They have been well reminded after the game, I can assure you of that. All of a sudden, when you think you are better than what you are, football has a funny way of kicking you in the teeth, and that's what happened.

“It was especially disappointing for the number of fans that turned up in the pouring rain. I think three-quarters of them left before the end and I wanted to join them to be honest with you.

“But that's not the team we have come to know, that's not the team the fans have come to know.”

The opening period wasn’t one for the ages, with Hamilton playing direct up to Ogkmpoe at every opportunity, and the forward doing well to make something out of the scraps coming his way. Motherwell had more of the ball, and tried to play through midfield, but they were struggling to create anything much of note against a well-drilled home rearguard.

In such a situation, set-pieces were always likely to be crucial, and so it proved as Hamilton took an early lead thanks to the quality in the right foot of Templeton and the inability of the visiting defence to clear their lines. The Hamilton winger swung a corner in that caused all sorts of bother, and with the ball cannoning around in the area, it was Ogkmpoe who had the coolest head in the county as he took it in and produced a backheel finish that ricocheted off a couple of Motherwell bodies in its’ way into the roof of the net.

The pattern of the game was now set, with Motherwell huffing and puffing and having the majority of possession without creating much of anything, and Hamilton batting away their attempts at encroaching into the danger area with ease.

The final outcome of the game hinged on two moments of hesitation from the visitors in the second half. Robinson had sent on Nadir Ciftci and Gael Bigirimana as Motherwell pushed for an equaliser, and they blew a glorious opportunity as Richard Tait played Chris Cadden in on the break down the left. With Main and Ciftci queuing up to tap home unmarked in the middle, Cadden didn’t feel confident enough to whip the ball in with his weaker left foot, cutting back onto his right to kill the momentum of the break and eventually overhitting his cross.

Last week’s goal hero Carl McHugh then turned to the villain for Motherwell, as miscommunication with Bigirimana left Templeton to burst through on goal, and despite desperate attempts from McHugh to haul him down, he kept his balance to fire low under Trevor Carson.

The Hamilton supporters celebrated wildly, and their manager Martin Canning had every right to be satisfied with the way his players carried out his tactical plan perfectly.

“That was the type of game we have continually lost throughout the course of the season,” he said.

“I spoke to the players about eliminating risk and playing the ball forward earlier, and we did that well.

“We managed the game really well. It wasn’t a pretty game, but we’ve managed to battle our way to a big three points at this time of the year.”

SCORERS

HAMILTON: Ogkmpoe (11'), Templeton (69')