Hamilton 3 Morton 0: Shaw hat-trick sees Accies leapfrog Ton

It was a tie that looked destined to finish all square as neither side looked like scoring on a difficult afternoon in Lanarkshire - until former Hibs and Killie man Oli Shaw decided to take matters into his own hands in a devastating period where he punished Ton for every mistake they made.

A week of turmoil had embroiled Dougie Imrie's injury ravaged side heading into their second trip to New Douglas Park.

Imrie and his management team were rattled by the ongoing suspension of his trusted No.2 - Andy Millen - as well as finding out the fate of Jay Emmanuel-Thomas 24 hours before the trip to face Accies again.

But not only that, they were having to deal with an ongoing injury crisis that had somehow crept up on his side.

Imrie cut a frustrated figure as the Andy Millen situation rumbles on (Image: Gary Bradley)

The Ton boss was without as many as six players, as he scrambled to secure the emergency loan signing of Rangers keeper Lewis Budinauckas, after Gary Woods had injured his groin and hamstring in training. This left him with only one shotstopper in the matchday squad.

Imrie was without the likes of Cammy Ballantyne, Lamar Reynolds, Nathan Shaw, Dylan Corr, Ali Crawford and the aforementioned Woods as he looked to make it four games unbeaten heading into a busy week of action.

Hamilton Accies(4-2-3-1) Albinson, Tumilty, Kilday, McGinty, Hendrie, Martin, Williamson(McKinstry,67), Smith(McGowan,85), O'Hara(Barjonas,73), Henderson(Bradley,67), Shaw(Todorov,86)

Subs not used: Lyness Longridge McGowan Olufunwa Todorov O'Connor

Bookings:

Scorers: Shaw(77, 81, 84)

Morton(4-2-3-1) Budinauckas, King(Gillespie,70), Baird, Broadfoot, Delaney, Wilson, Blues, Garrity(Samuels,65), Lyall(McGinn,70) Moffat, Stuparevic(Davies,77)

Subs not used: Davies O'Boy

Bookings: Garrity(48) Moffat(64) Samuels(89)

Scorers:

Ref: Lloyd Wilson

ATT: 1071

MoTM: Cameron Blues

(Image: George Munro)

Filled in at right back with relative distinction and despite being on the end of a 3-0 defeat he can walk away with his head held high

Many a Ton fan would've been hoping to see a repeat of the performance that earned their place in the last eight of the SPFL Trust Trophy two weeks prior.

An utterly dominant performance still lived firmly at the forefront of both sets of supporters minds.

So after being forced into making two changes to the side that drew with Dunfermline, it was hoped that a new look side would have a similar impetus.

Accies on the other hand were a totally different outfit despite losing their last two games in a rather disappointing fashion. 

And this saw John Rankin ring the changes himself in the hope of getting a much-desired turnaround.

This encounter would start in a similar vein to the last meeting between the sides as Accies looked to fluster their visitors early on. But Ton would stand firm and soon have Charlie Albinson under pressure with 12-minutes gone.

Accies were lively inside the opening ten minutes (Image: Gary Bradley)

Good running from Michael Garrity saw him chase down a ball over the top and force Reghan Tumilty to make a decision. He opted to head back to his keeper who had to back track to claim the ball.

And it was so close to being a carbon copy of the game prior between the sides as Filip Stuparevic passed up a great opportunity with a quarter of an hour played.

Michael Garrity's wicked free-kick from the left was right on top of Albinson who parried clear, into the path of the Serb striker. He steadied himself at the back post but could only lash a volley into the side netting.

Ton's decision making nearly came back to haunt them with little over 20-minutes played. A break down in the middle of the park saw Accies try to break quickly through the middle - but Ben Williamson's pass in behind was well overhit.

Ton were a threat in the first half (Image: Gary Bradley)

But as the Greenock men kept on trying to navigate their way through the opening period - Stuparevic was keen to try and add to his tally against Accies.

Some good play from Arron Lyall saw him win the second ball in the final third and pin the hosts in their box. The ball would eventually find its way out to Cameron Blues on the right wing who's first time delivery matched the run of the Ton No.9 who's header flashed across the face of goal and out for a goal kick.

Accies were looking to prove a point against a side that they struggled to lay a glove on a fortnight prior and former Ton man Tumilty was looking to make amends for the penalty he conceded also and he was bitterly disappointed to see his effort fly wide of the mark with half an hour gone, with a bouncing volley from 18-yards as both sides went into the break level.

Imrie was looking for more in the second half as neither side looked to give too much away after the half time interval. This saw him look to move Alexander King from his left wing-back role and into the hole in front of Stuparevic as he looked to really go for it in the final half an hour.

Garrity tried to be a threat after the break (Image: Gary Bradley)

And his side should've got themselves ahead with little over 20-minutes to play after some great off the ball work from Owen Moffat.

He picked the pocket of Scott Martin 25-yards out from his own goal, nicking the ball at the edge of the box to immediately put himself one on one with Charlie Albinson.

He tried to find the bottom left corner from 18-yards but the Accies keeper spread himself well to keep the scoring level.

And that missed opportunity would come back to haunt the Greenock side with little under 15-minutes to play as Oli Shaw proved why Accies forked out a substantial sum to bring him back up the road from Barnsley.

As Imrie's side failed to clear a Scott Martin free-kick from 30-yards out. His delivery from the left sparked a game of pinball in the Ton penalty area as Baird, Broadfoot and Blues all tried to get a foot on the ball. Shaw reacted quickest to poke the ball beyond Budinauckas and put his side in front.

And he'd catch Ton cold five minutes later to put his side 2-0 up heading into the closing stages as he yet again reacted first in the second phase of play to notch a quickfire double.

A ball into the box from the left was only half cleared into the path of ex-Ton defender Sean McGinty. His first time effort looked destined to curl into the bottom left corner but for the run of the Accies front man who beat the offside trap to poke the ball home from close range.

Shaw flipped the game on its head (Image: Gary Bradley)

And he'd complete a stunning eight minute hat-trick as Ton's spell of being at sixes and sevens looked to cost them monumentally.

The hosts were popping the ball about in the final third with relative ease and a quick rotation between Shaw, Tumilty and Steven Bradley. This saw Shaw step onto a simple pass forward to the corner of the box - stepping away from the advances of Kirk Broadfoot and Iain Wilson to beautifully unleash a curling effort into the bottom left corner beyond a sprawled Budinauckas.

His stunning hat-trick ensured that the Lanarkshire side would leapfrog Dougie Imrie's men into sixth place as they'll look to bounce back and quickly when Queen's Park visit Cappielow on Tuesday night.