MacKinnon strikes late to earn Hamilton draw with Dundee

Posted Sunday, February 03, 2019 by PA

Darian MacKinnon was the last minute saviour for Hamilton as they ended a losing run of five matches to earn a 1-1 draw with relegation rivals Dundee in the Ladbrokes Premiership.

The midfielder, who had missed his side’s last five matches through injury, arrived on the scene a minute into second-half stoppage time with an emphatic finish to cancel out Dundee debutant Scott Wright’s opener, in Brian Rice’s first match in charge.

And the result means that the Lanarkshire side stay out of the bottom two at the expense of their Dens Park opponents.

The hosts made a positive start and set about putting an early stamp on the match. Tony Andreu nearly did just that after barely a minute but his stabbed effort was tame and Seny Dieng smothered it.

The lively Steven Boyd then surged to the byline but could not pick anyone out with his final ball, before Accies spurned a real chance to take the lead.

Debutant George Oakley, a deadline day signing from Inverness, had the first opportunity but his close-range effort was well blocked by Dieng.

Andreu had two follow-up efforts but his first effort was blocked on the line and his second deflected wide for a corner.

If the Lanarkshire side should have seized the initiative on that occasion then their opponents should definitely have gone into the interval in the lead.

Accies keeper Gary Woods – back after a three-game layoff due to injury – was twice on hand to deny the visitors.

First, he made himself big to deny his namesake Martin from close range, following a terrific whipped Elliot Ralph delivery.

Then Woods was at full stretch to claw away a driven effort by the lively Andy Dales.

Jim McIntyre’s side did find the breakthrough just after the hour mark though, and it arrived from one of their January additions.

The ball had ricocheted around the Accies box after an incisive Dee breakaway, eventually falling for debutant Wright who took one touch to steady himself and then curled the ball into the net, sending Woods the wrong way in the process.

It was a well-taken finish from the 21-year-old who had largely been on the periphery of the game.

Dieng then made a stunning reflex save to keep out a deflected Aaron McGowan strike as the hosts plotted a route back into the game.

Their efforts did reap a reward in the end as midfield general MacKinnon smashed in an emphatic side-footed effort on his return to the first team to earn Accies a draw.