You would not blame Billy Reid if he were penning a sick note today to get his Hamilton Academical side out of going to work at Ibrox tomorrow night. “Please excuse my boys’ absence but they suffer from an allergic reaction to Rangers”, ought to do it.
A third meeting in ten days is too much for most adversaries but familiarity has surely bred contempt in the Hamilton dressing room after being over-exposed to Walter Smith’s side in the past 18 months.
Since Reid helped to secure Hamilton’s promotion to the top flight, he has faced Rangers eight times on cup and Clydesdale Bank Premier League business and has yet to win.
The Hamilton manager was 12 minutes away from watching his side secure their first point against the Ibrox side when Nacho Novo made a mockery of the champions being outplayed to snatch a precious winner at New Douglas Park. It was nothing like the free-scoring exchange between the pair the previous Sunday in the Active Nation Scottish Cup: one goal was always going to settle this, and Novo punished Hamilton’s profligacy.
Reid’s side suffered an equally painful psychological blow in that fourth-round tie, conceding an equaliser to draw 3-3. In that context, tomorrow night’s replay must seem like an unwelcome stay of execution. Hamilton lost at Ibrox last season in the Co-operative Insurance Cup and the Scottish Cup and have conceded 16 goals on their last three visits to Govan.
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The only plus point for Martin Canning and his colleagues is that at least Kris Boyd is not around. The prolific striker netted a hat-trick in a 7-1 Premier League rout last term — when James McArthur had the temerity to score first for Hamilton — and procured a double in the 4-1 success in this campaign.
The absence of Rangers’ top scorer, who is out for five weeks after a hernia operation, had a telling effect on Saturday’s lunchtime encounter. Canning and his centre-back partners, Mark McLaughlin and David Elebert, have rarely had a more comfortable contest than they did against the minimal physical challenge of Novo and Kyle Lafferty.
Reid’s habitual 3-6-1 set-up stifled Rangers in midfield and their use of the ball put the champions to shame. Alex Neil, the game’s best player by some distance, picked out accurate passes all day long, while McArthur’s energy alongside him underlined the interest from England in the Scotland Under-21 player.
Hamilton pushed Rangers all the way, just as they did when Celtic visited the Lanarkshire ground in November. Yet, the end result was all too familiar. “We feel hard done by,” Canning said. “To put so much effort into the game and come away with nothing is disappointing.
“We created some decent chances and on another day we might have scored a few of them but that just shows the quality of Rangers. They are not at their best, but the ball falls to the right person and they win 1-0. We can take heart from the fact that we have that performance in us, but it was gutting that we put so much in for no reward.
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“I felt comfortable throughout the game. We had the ball most of the time and controlled the game. They scored with a breakaway although that happens with good teams. The more chances we created and did not take, I kept thinking, ‘This might not be our day.’
“Now we have to go to Ibrox for the cup replay. I was sent off when we lost 7-1 there, so I will be hoping to stay on the park this time.”
Boyd’s own genuine sick note is of little consolation to Canning. “Any team would miss a goalscorer of Boyd’s quality,” the defender said. “Lafferty and Novo put in a good shift, but anybody would miss Boyd’s goals. However, it will be different again at Ibrox because Kenny Miller returns [from suspension] and Rangers will have the crowd on their side.”
Reid’s declaration afterwards that Neil and McArthur are “among the best midfielders in Scotland” was not hyperbole and a verdict that Canning was keen to endorse. “I think both of them are excellent,” Canning said. “Alex missed the first ten games of the season and since he has returned, we have been much better.
“Alex can get on the ball and dominate games. He does not panic and he starts off most of our attacks. As for James, workrate and effort are his biggest qualities and there is no doubt both are top players.”
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That Rangers increased their lead at the top of the table on a day of such poverty of performance is as much down to Smith’s use of whatever resources come to hand. The champions’ squad is so decimated that Smith could only name six substitutes, four of whom were teenagers — in addition to another, Danny Wilson, at centre-back — but the introduction of one of those, John Fleck, was crucial.
Seven minutes after replacing Kirk Broadfoot, Fleck cleverly peeled away from his marker on the edge of the box as Sasa Papac produced a lung-bursting counter-attack, and that gave the 18-year-old room to unleash the raking shot that Tomas Cerny pushed wide before Novo drilled in the rebound from a tight angle.
The Spaniard celebrated with a Bebeto-style cradle celebration in honour of his new son, Javier. A few hours later, Rangers were the proud holders of a healthy nine-point lead in the title race — and that is something they are unlikely to drop.
Hamilton (3-6-1): T Cerny 7 M Canning 7 D Elebert 7 M McLaughlin 6 D van Zanten 7 S Mensing 6 J McArthur 8 A Neil 9 M Paixao 5 R Hastings 7 M Ant’ne-Curier 7. Substitutes: T McLenahan 6 (for van Zanten, 58min), A Crawford (for McLaughlin, 81). Not used: S Murdoch, S Elliott, F Paixao, J Kirkpatrick, J Sullivan.
Rangers (4-4-2): A McGregor7 K Broadfoot5 D Wilson 6 D Weir 7 S Papac 8 S Davis 5 M Edu 4 K Thomson 5 S Whittaker 6 K Lafferty 4 N Novo 6. Substitutes: J Fleck (for Broadfoot, 70min). Not used: N Alexander, S Smith, R Loy, A Little, J Ness.