HAMILTON captain Alex Neil is delighted his side have secured their place in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League for next season – but wishes the Lanarkshire team had been responsible for the decisive result.
The New Douglas Park side lost 3-0 in their home derby against Motherwell but discovered at full-time that wins for Kilmarnock and St Mirren meant they are safe and will not have their fate decided on the final day.
Midfielder Neil lifted the Fi
rst Division trophy 12 months ago and is thrilled to have been a key member of the first Hamilton side to earn a second consecutive season of top-flight football.
He said: "It's a great feeling to stay up – over the course of the season, we've deserved to earn our place in the league.
"For me, though, the result has put a dampener on the day because if we'd won the game we'd have stayed up by doing it ourselves, whereas having Kilmarnock win their game and keep us in the league is really disappointing.
"It was bittersweet at the final whistle because we were really angry with the way we performed but Kilmarnock did us a big favour. It's always nicer to have the points on the board, which we did before the game, so the pressure was on other teams to pick up points instead.
"Even though we were beaten, though, staying in the league and knowing that we'll be in the SPL next year is fantastic and we'll look forward to next season.
"I think a lot of people tipped us to go back down because we were an unknown quantity and nobody knew what we were like, so it's nice to prove people wrong."
Ipswich manager Roy Keane and several Barclays Premier League scouts were in attendance at New Douglas Park to watch the performance of Accies' highly-rated teenage midfielder James McCarthy, who is also a target for Celtic.
He helped set up the first chance of the game on three minutes, but Derek Lyle mis-hit the eventual shot from his cross well wide of the near post.
James McArthur went close minutes later after a pass from Joel Thomas, but after cutting inside, the midfielder saw his acute-angled shot cleared off the line by Stephen Craigan.
Motherwell took the lead with a blistering counter-attack at the midway stage of the first half with Cillian Sheridan setting up David Clarkson, who swept home from six yards.
Motherwell doubled their lead shortly before the hour. Hamilton goalkeeper Tomas Cerny and his defence failed to deal with a Stephen Hughes cross and it broke to Sheridan, who slotted it home from an acute angle.
Sheridan, on loan from Celtic, was also involved in the third goal, reaching the byline and cutting the ball back through a crowded box for substitute John Sutton, who lashed home from close range.
The Fir Park side were not involved in the relegation battle but Clarkson revealed it was an easy task for the team to motivate themselves for the derby and welcomed the continued chance to lock horns with their Lanarkshire rivals next term. He said: "Players know it's the end of the season but it's a derby and there's a bit of pride at stake so we came here looking for the win and the important thing was that we played well and took our chances.
"This was probably the easiest game for the players to get ourselves up for (since the league split].
"We always want to perform well, especially in derbies, and I think we showed we were up for it, all the boys played well and it was great to get the result.
"My goal came from great play by Cillian, who had a great game – he was unlucky not to score it himself but he played it back to me and I put it in. I was delighted as that's the best (scoring] record I've got in the league so far.
"Despite the defeat, Hamilton are safe and they'll be delighted – all the best to them, and we'll be here battling again next season."
MAN OF THE MATCH:
Cillian Sheridan (Motherwell)The on-loan striker gave the kind of bustling display his parent club Celtic could have done with at Easter Road. Involved in all three goals.
The full article contains 732 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
