Motherwell 0-4 Hamilton: Well boss McCall rages at defeat

Hamilton blew us away, rages Well manager McCall

Stuart McCall can accept Motherwell being outplayed but what he will never tolerate is his players being outfought.

And that was the main reason behind the Fir Park manager’s fury following his side’s hammering at the hands of local rivals Hamilton Accies.

A first half goal by Tony Andreu, a Mikael Antoine-Curier penalty after 63 minutes, and goals at the end of each half by Alister Crawford highlighted the difference in quality between the neighbouring sides.

McCall could only look on in dismay as his players took second prizes all over the park on a day when their local rivals moved into second spot in the top flight and his own team slumped to 10th position.

The home support made their feelings crystal clear at the end when they booed their team off the park and McCall pulled no punches as he assessed the overall performance of his side on the day.

“The first two goals we gave away were schoolboy errors,” said McCall.

“I made a lot of changes and expected a freshness, but Hamilton were the ones who looked fresh and showed desire.

“We got dominated in all areas of the park and I thought Hamilton were outstanding in all areas at the back, in midfield and up front.

“It’s hugely disappointing. It’s a very hurtful defeat because it’s a derby game.

“We all have to have a long look at ourselves me, the staff and a lot of the players.

“You can sometimes hold your hands up when you are outplayed, but it’s harder when you are outfought and they have more desire.

“They are streets ahead of us at the moment and playing like a team that have only lost one game this season.”

What McCall does have in his favour, of course, is the fact he has managed to guide the Fir Park club to League finishes well above what they expected in recent seasons and on a shoestring budget at that.

When clubs experience a dramatic dip in form it usually is not long before criticism of the manager follows. For what he has achieved, however, that isn’t something McCall should have to concern himself with. What his players should concern themselves with though is how many of them can look themselves in the mirror after what they served up in a derby fixture.

From the first whistle to the last they were second best. And the worst thing about it, with the exception of a 15 minute period after the interval, was that it didn’t look like it was hurting them. Accies took the lead after 34 minutes when Anthony Andreu capitalised on an error from Zaine Francis-Angol and Paul Lawson made a blunder just before the break to allow Ali Crawford to score.

There was a brief recovery from Motherwell after the re-start, but the game was all but over when Mikael Antoine-Curier netted goal number three.

It came in controversial circumstances as referee Willie Collum pointed to the penalty spot after Fraser Kerr collided with Louis Longridge. It clearly occurred outside the box but Antoine-Curier was not caring as he converted.

And Crawford rubbed salt into the wounds when he netted a fourth, and the little midfielder is delighted to now be adding goals to his game.

He said: “I set myself a target at the start of the season to try and score more goals so to get two against Motherwell was great.

“We’re playing with a lot of confidence and it’s great that we are sitting so high up the table. Our aim is to try and stay there.”