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Hamilton Accies 1
Rangers 0 Manager Kevin Murphy could not hide his delight at the end of this match, “This was a game where everyone had to stand up and be counted and to their credit the girls did just that. I thought the defence were excellent, all credit to Alan (Urquhart) working with the girls during the week to increase their defensive solidity”. Hamilton Accies Women’s Football Club first home league fixture was a game against newly promoted Rangers Ladies team. The match was played at Wishaw the last match here before the Accies move to their new home ground at The Jock Stein Pitch in Hamilton. This was a very competitive match against a physical Rangers team; the initial exchanges were not for the faint hearted as tackles were flying in all over the park. Accies struggled to get a grip in the midfield area as the high wind and high tackles made it difficult to control the ball and make telling passes. The first meaningful attack saw Sam McManus turn well on the edge of the box and fire a shot just wide of the Rangers goal. Minutes later Rangers stand in goalie Lauren Bell handled a back pass just outside her six-yard box, the resultant free kick was blocked for a corner. Another corner followed quickly and the low cross from the right by Lindsay Hogg was met by Kim Keys who smashed the ball low into the net to put the Accies one up after 25 minutes. After this goal Accies gained in confidence and began to move the ball about with a bit more conviction, a nice move from Collette Fleming ended with a well-struck shot saved by the Rangers goalie. Just before halftime Rangers made two quick chances one close range header which just shaved the post and then a long ball over the top caught the Accies defence napping but a tremendous double save by Elaine Fleming maintained Accies lead. The second half opened with Rangers exerting tremendous pressure on the Accies defence who held firm with some outstanding tackling backed up by some excellent goalkeeping. Accies fought their way back into the game and a great run and shot from Ashley McDonald was well saved by the Rangers goalie. A bad tackle on Susan Fairlie saw the referee award Accies a free kick 25 yards from goal, a great strike from Lindsay Hogg rattled the crossbar before being cleared. The chances were few and far between after this and Accies second league win of the season sees them move to the top of the table. Manager Kevin Murphy summed the match up “Great credit goes to Kim Keys for her winning goal and the scorers usually are the ones who get all the plaudits but today was also a great display by the defence who kept us in the match in the second half” Accies next match is away to SWPL Champions Glasgow City on Thursday 7th at Glasgow Green. Hamilton Accies Team: Hamilton: Fleming, Makarainen, Lafferty, Hogg, King, Templeton, Keys, Reilly, McDonald, Fairlie and McManus.
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