Match ends, Hamilton Academical 1, Motherwell 1.
HamiltonHamilton Academical1MotherwellMotherwell1
Hamilton moved eight points clear of Scottish Premiership bottom club Dundee after substitute Marios Ogboe rescued a point against Motherwell.
The late equaliser leaves Brian Rice's side in 10th place in the Premiership, two points clear of second-bottom St Mirren.
David Turnbull opened the scoring in the Lanarkshire derby with a first-half strike from close range.
Ogboe levelled with a fine finish after an error by Motherwell's Liam Grimshaw.
Hamilton would have claimed all three points if visiting goalkeeper Mark Gillespie hadn't stretched acrobatically top tip George Oakley's effort over the bar.
Hamilton overcome self-inflicted wound
The home side were immediately assertive and ambitious against their local rivals, as if intent alone might be enough to secure valuable points in their bid to avoid relegation.
Manager Brian Rice has sought to deliver a pleasing style of football amid the draining anxiety of trying to stay ahead of Dundee and St Mirren, but there are other flaws to overcome.
A bright start was undone by some casual defending, as Liam Grimshaw was left in enough space to clip in a cross from the right, and Turnbull bustled past Darian MacKinnon to steer the ball past Hamilton goalkeeper Gary Woods.
The home side had already survived one defensive scare, when Tom Aldred clattered a header off the crossbar from a corner kick, and Motherwell were soon displaying their own brand of crisp passing and movement.
They ended the first-half strongly, but Hamilton regrouped and Rice's half-time instructions were enough to spark a revival.
Hamilton were sprightly after the break, with Tony Andreu chesting the ball wide from Dougie Imrie's cross. Sensing an opportunity to rescue the game, Rice replaced his front two, sending on Ogboe and Oakley.
Patience was still required, but the commitment was eventually rewarded when Grimshaw miss-placed a pass and sent Ogboe through on goal. The striker kept his cool to steer a shot past Gillespie.
The Motherwell goalkeeper then saved a point for his side late on, with his remarkable save to deny Oakley.
'We deserved the equaliser' - Reaction
Hamilton manager Brian Rice: "We started the game very well, we were on top for a good spell, then Motherwell got a poor goal from our point of view. They got confidence from that and it set us back a bit. Second half, the boys were excellent and we deserved the equaliser.
"[Ogboe] has been out for almost a year. I keep saying to him, his best mate's hard work. Everybody at the club is delighted for the lad. Hopefully it's the first of many.
"I can't affect what other teams do, only what Hamilton do. I'm pretty happy to go away with the point."
Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson: "Disappointing that we didn't come out with three points. The game should have been done and dusted in the first half.
"We had a lot of really good play and we controlled the game. Second half we gave them a lifeline. It's an individual error that cost us the three points but we forgive [Grimshaw] because he's been superb all season.
"The weather had a big part to play and they had something to cling to, they're fighting for their lives. It was competitive, and they were better at that in the second half than we were."
Line-ups
Hamilton
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Woods
- 2McGowanBooked at 80mins
- 6Kilgallon
- 4Gordon
- 3McMann
- 18MacKinnonBooked at 56minsSubstituted forSmithat 71'minutes
- 7Imrie
- 22Andreu
- 8DaviesSubstituted forOgboeat 57'minutes
- 25MartinBooked at 71mins
- 16McMillanSubstituted forOakleyat 57'minutes
Substitutes
- 9Oakley
- 13Gogic
- 23Fulton
- 28Smith
- 33Mimnaugh
- 46Sowah
- 99Ogboe
Motherwell
Formation 4-3-3
- 20Gillespie
- 14Grimshaw
- 5Aldred
- 18Dunne
- 2Tait
- 8CampbellBooked at 82mins
- 23Gorrin
- 28Turnbull
- 12AriyibiSubstituted forHastieat 77'minutes
- 35ScottSubstituted forSammonat 75'minutes
- 11FrearSubstituted forCaddenat 61'minutes
Substitutes
- 4McHugh
- 6Hartley
- 7Cadden
- 13Ferguson
- 19Sammon
- 32Hastie
- 39Semple
- Referee:
- Don Robertson
- Attendance:
- 2,746
Match Stats
Home TeamHamiltonAway TeamMotherwell
- Possession
- Home45%
- Away55%
- Shots
- Home13
- Away9
- Shots on Target
- Home4
- Away3
- Corners
- Home2
- Away5
- Fouls
- Home14
- Away15
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Hamilton Academical 1, Motherwell 1.
Post update
Lewis Smith (Hamilton Academical) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Post update
Foul by Liam Grimshaw (Motherwell).
Post update
Tony Andreu (Hamilton Academical) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Tom Aldred (Motherwell).
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Hand ball by Matthew Kilgallon (Hamilton Academical).
Post update
Attempt missed. Tony Andreu (Hamilton Academical) right footed shot from the centre of the box is just a bit too high.
Goal!
Goal! Hamilton Academical 1, Motherwell 1. Marios Ogboe (Hamilton Academical) left footed shot from the left side of the box to the centre of the goal.
Post update
Attempt missed. Dougie Imrie (Hamilton Academical) left footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high from a direct free kick.
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Marios Ogboe (Hamilton Academical) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Post update
Foul by Alex Rodriguez (Motherwell).
Booking
Allan Campbell (Motherwell) is shown the yellow card.
Post update
Allan Campbell (Motherwell) has gone down, but that's a dive.
Booking
Aaron McGowan (Hamilton Academical) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Post update
Foul by Aaron McGowan (Hamilton Academical).
Post update
David Turnbull (Motherwell) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Substitution
Substitution, Motherwell. Jake Hastie replaces Gboly Ariyibi.
Post update
Corner, Hamilton Academical. Conceded by Alex Rodriguez.
Substitution
Substitution, Motherwell. Conor Sammon replaces James Scott.
