Hamilton 4 v Kilmarnock 0

Another stunning performance from the Hamilton front pairing of Susan Fairlie and Sarah Crilly saw off a poor Kilmarnock side. Although overall, the Ayrshire side deserved nothing from the game, they started well and bossed the midfield from the off, causing problems for Hamilton middle to front. However it didn’t take the home side long to get going and began to do what they do best and that is knock the ball about and use their wingers to good effect.

Although they had the majority of the early possession Accies never really tested the keeper in the first half hour. It was the visitors who had the first real chance of the game when Jo Cooper dinked the keeper from close range only to see her effort cleared off the line by Accies defender Nicola Doherty.

Killie came close again just before half-time when Kirsty McLaughlin rifled a fierce shot off the bar. They were left to rue that missed opportunity when the deadlock was finally broken 5 minutes from the interval. Fairlie linked up well with Lynsey Hogg and picked up the ball just inside the penalty box on the left, drove at the keeper and powered the ball home into the far right hand corner to give the home side the lead.

Accies came out of the traps well after the break, bossing the midfield with strength and pace, causing their opponents all sorts of problems in the middle of the park. Fairlie soon doubled her lead early in the second half when she picked up a loose ball just outside the box and cut across the face of goal to finish handsomely with the help of a nasty deflection to give the home side a cushion.

After the second goal Killie found it very difficult to get going and just couldn’t break down the solid Hamilton defence who looked organized and stable all afternoon. Hamilton kept a high line all through the second half and were in an attacking mood and clearly wanted to score more goals. Winger Jennifer King was instrumental in attack for Accies using her pace and skill to create opportunities. She played a huge part in the third and decisive goal when she played a lovely through ball to Sarah Crilly who took a few touches before striking from close range only to see her first effort saved well by the keeper, but she made no mistakes with the rebound to put the game beyond all doubt.

For the remainder of the match Killie were reduced to long range efforts and found it nearly impossible to get in behind the solid Accies defence. With five minutes to go Hamilton rounded things off in style when powerful midfielder Cheryl McCulloch played another great ball to little striker Crilly who knocked the ball neatly to the keepers left, leaving her with no chance.

Hamilton manager John Thomson was happy with his side’s clinical performance. “The girls put in a great deal of effort. Susan Fairlie was excellent once again with her clinical finishing and she led the line brilliantly.”

However Killie boss Kate Cooper blasted her sides poor performance, saying “We never competed at all today, we came out in the second half and played ok for 20 minutes then lost our focus and fell apart.”

As a result of today’s defeat the visitors find themselves being sucked into a relegation battle and Kate feels they must win their home games. “We are in danger of slipping into the bottom two but we must win the easy games on paper but our fate is very much in our own hands.”

Report by Chris Irving