MATCH REPORT | A PROMOTION PARTY AT TANNADICE
4th May 2024
Ryah Moon’s Young Terrors continued their CAS Under-18s Elite League season with yet another home match, this time Hamilton Academical the visitors.
Last Time Out
United’s first win of the 2022/23 campaign came last Friday night as they defeated Hibernian 2-1, an own goal from Jackson Innes and a stunning left-footed strike from skipper Craig Moore the difference at Gussie.
Line-Up
The return of Samuel Cleall-Harding from a long-term injury was the main piece of team news as he slotted into the right centre-half slot alongside Young Terrors mainstay Arron Donald, with the match also heralding the long-awaited return of Bryan Mwangi to the bench – who found the net against Accies last season at New Douglas Park.
Rory MacLeod was involved in his second game of the week after coming on as a substitute against Queen’s Park on Tuesday, supported by Adam Carnwath on the left and Stuart Heenan on the right.
Lapse In Concentration
The trend of early goals continued in matches involving the Young Terrors, this one the quickest of them all – just seven seconds were on the clock when Hamilton executed a viral kick-off routine which culminated in Ryan One rounding Jamie McCabe after collecting a long ball over the top and stroking home into an early net.
Hamilton were by far and away the better side in the opening exchanges, exploiting the physicality of their front three down the left side, overpowering and outpacing Liam Trotter on numerous occasions – goalscorer One proving particularly difficult to deal with.
Going forward, United’s midfield remained static, giving captain Craig Moore little to aim for when collecting the ball from deep off the defence. As well as this, the frontline did little to stretch the play, continuously asking for the ball into feet despite being tightly marked by a disciplined Accies.
A Mountain To Climb
Things went from bad to worse on 21 minutes as the Lanarkshire outfit doubled their advantage, the failure to stop a cross from the right leading to Lewis Latona being able to bundle his way into the area. His initial effort was blocked by Donald but the loose ball dropped for Gabriel Forsyth whose first-time half-volley nestled into the bottom corner after evading a ruck of bodies.
One continued to run riot, this time wriggling his way into the area from the byline and forcing McCabe into action. The same phase of play saw One stroke a Sam Spence cross into the far corner but the linesman’s flag cut Accies’ celebrations short.
The match began to descend into a bad-tempered affair, with the referee flashing cautions left right and centre after a wave of mistimed and nasty challenges.
Foothold
United finally managed to get a sniff of goal on 37 minutes, handed it by goalkeeper Reece Murray who inadvertently passed the ball straight to Carnwath. The winger took a touch into the area and looked to find the far corner but was denied by his opposite number, redeeming himself for what looked to be a costly error. From the resultant corner, diminutive winger Heenan rose above all in a crowded penalty box to head wide from close-range.
Chances were starting to flow now for the Young Terrors, Sean Borland bursting forward before being felled 30 yards from goal. The referee played an advantage though as the ball fell to the feet of Alan Domeracki who fed MacLeod on the right of the box, his whipped, first-time strike towards the bottom corner saved acrobatically by Murray.
Instant Impact
The interval saw Mwangi introduced from the bench as Moon looked for the spark that would ignite his side’s second-half fightback.
An instant impact came from the winger’s substitution who offered a progressive option for Moore and Borland to find in between the lines, Mwangi’s sharp feet then allowing him to spread the ball into wider areas for Heenan who had been instructed to ‘get chalk on his boots’ by United’s coaching staff.
Hamilton were beginning to drop deeper and hit channels on the turnover, playing off second balls as Ben Black and Gabriel Forsyth raced up the park to challenge.
Back In The Contest
United’s pressure finally told on 75 minutes as they pulled a goal back from the spot. Carnwath broke up play on the left before spreading the ball wide to Heenan. Mwangi made a run into the area and received on the back foot, then was clumsily bundled over by Accies substitute Oliver Cameron.
Harding stepped up to stroke home into the bottom right corner and mark his return from injury with a well-deserved goal.
The equaliser was now firmly in tangerine sights, with a MacLeod-bound cross from Carnwath cut out in the nick of time by Cameron, then Heenan heading over the bar following a short-corner routine.
Mwangi almost managed to get on the scoresheet himself after a lengthy spell on the sidelines but found his half-volley cleared off the line by Cian Newbury after a first-time cross from Trotter.
The Young Terrors’ best chance to claim a point at Gussie came with three minutes to play, MacLeod standing a cross up to the back post for the onrushing Heenan whose side-footed volley was saved fabulously by Murray at the near post.
United with a dominant second-half display but a slow start proved costly as they left empty-handed.
Teamlines
United: McCabe, Trotter, Bertie, Cleall-Harding, Donald, Borland, Heenan, Moore, MacLeod, Domeracki, Carnwath (Haldane, Mwangi, Lowe, May)
Hamilton Academical: Murray, Spence, McGinn, Preston, Newbury, Latona, Meechan, Lyons, Black, Forsyth, One (Neeson, Cameron, Haggerty, Carroll, McDonald, Daly, Trialist
