Hamilton Academical FC vs Montrose FC
William Hill League One
Broadwood Stadium
Saturday 12th July, 3PM
Aaron Lynch
FT HAMILTON ACADEMICAL FC 2-0 MONTROSE FC
After a disappointing end to their Premier Sports Campaign, Hamilton kicked off the League
One season looking to bounce back against Montrose at Broadwood Stadium.
John Rankin made seven changes to Accies XI for this afternoon’s match as Jamie Smith
reclaimed his place between the sticks. Captain Scott Robinson, Stephen Bradley, and Trialist A
made up the midfield, with Kevin O’Hara coming back in to partner Oli Shaw upfront.
New Hamilton signing Cale Loughry started at the back alongside a returning Kyle MacDonald, while
other recent additions Michael Stone and Munir Idris were named on the bench.
As for our visitors, they opted for five changes to the side that lost 5-0 at Dens Park seven days
ago.
KICK-OFF
Accies dominated the opening stages and were inches from the opening goal inside five
minutes as the ball fell kindly to Scott Robinson inside the box, his effort was blocked on the
goalline and cleared away from danger.
Moments later Hamilton came close again as Oli Shaw found himself through on goal,
unfortunately his touch was poor which allowed Gill to take the ball before the Accies number
nine could pull the trigger.
Hamilton continued to push for the breakthrough and in the 39th minute had another huge
opportunity as the ball was cut back to Steven Bradley who shot first time, his effort was well
saved by Cameron Gill.
On the stroke of halftime Accies found the opener. Kyle MacDonald made a darting run down
the right hand side and slid the ball with pace into the feet of Oli Shaw who made no mistake
with the finish.
An impressive first half performance saw Hamilton go into the break with the advantage.
SECOND HALF
Hamilton started the second half much like they finished the first and almost doubled their
advantage through Kyle MacDonald who flashed the ball across goal just narrowly missing the
far corner.
In the 61st minute Hamilton scored a second. A perfectly executed Accies counter attack saw
Steven Bradley thread a sublime pass in behind the Montrose defence to Trialist A who finished
superbly into the far corner.
The following stages saw Montrose threaten as they looked for a route back into the game,
however, the Hamilton defence held strong to keep the deficit at two.
John Rankin made two changes in the 75th minute, one of which saw the introduction of Munir
Idris who came on to make his Accies debut.
Montrose came close in the 85th minute as Kieran Freeman’s powerful shot from inside the box
forced a brilliant save from Jamie Smith.
A fantastic opening day performance saw Hamilton take all three points at Broadwood.
