Hamilton Academical 1 Queen of the South 1

Last updated : 19 March 2005 By Footymad Previewer
Before the match Iain Scott and Allan Maitland were looking for three points that would have made both more comfortable as their teams worked to avoid relegation.

However, with Patrick Thistle having again failed to win, both managers were satisfied with a point.

The game lacked nothing in commitment, aggression and controversy, yet at times the football was a little harder to find.

Queens got off to the perfect start when David McNiven put the visitors ahead in the first minute.

And Steve Bowey thought that he had put Queens even further ahead 12 minutes later though the linesman's flag had been raised for offside before he shot past David McEwan.

At the other end, Pat Keogh had the best of the first-half chances, nudging wide of Richard Barnard's left-hand post before hitting the same upright with only the goalkeeper to beat.

Before half time, things turned ugly when Jean-Phillipe Javary brought down Bowey with a shocking tackle.

Before the whistle, Brian McColligan had gone in equally hard on Derek Ferguson whose aggressive reaction could have seen him sent off on another day.

However, between the niggling fouls, Accies remembered to press for the point they needed.

Keogh almost delivered it though Barnard's save was a match for his header.

But soon after Brian Reid foolishly brought down Mark Corcoran to give the Accies a penalty which Colin Cramb converted to earn a point for the home side.