Hamilton beat Motherwell 4-0 at Fir Park
Ali Crawford’s brace inspired Hamilton to a 4-0 victory over local rivals Motherwell at Fir Park.
Tony Andreu’s 34th-minute strike, Crawford’s first before the interval, Mickael Antoine-Currier’s penalty midway through the second half and Crawford’s second moments from time clinched a second Lanarkshire derby victory in a week for Hamilton following their midweek League Cup penalty shoot-out win at New Douglas Park on Wednesday.
The Steelmen went into the tie looking to avenge the midweek defeat but, despite enjoying the majority of the first-half possession, were unable to muster a single effort on the Hamilton goal in 45 minutes.
Their opponents, however, were rampant, with a returning Antoine-Currier, Stephen Hendrie, Dougie Imrie joining goalscorers Andreu and Crawford in bombarding the Motherwell goal.
Motherwell keeper Dan Twardzik produced a number of fine saves to keep his side in the game, but it was only a matter of time before his defence was breached, with Andreu’s strike finding the bottom right-hand corner ten minutes before halftime.
If Wednesday's shoot-out victory was lucky this performance was anything but as a buoyant Hamilton made their dominance count on the stroke of half time when Crawford latched onto Imrie’s pass to double their lead.
It was much of the same as the second period with Hamilton conjuring up the best chances again. However Motherwell were able to produce their first attempt on 54 minutes, but John Sutton’s header missed the target.
Despite this, Motherwell suddenly looked a lot more of a threatening force and the home side should have pulled a goal back.
McHugh at the edge of the box nudged the ball in front of Sutton but his effort from eight yards was somehow blocked by Accies keeper Michael McGovern.
McGovern was the busiest player on the pitch and had to throw himself across goal to catch Erwin's header. On the hour mark he again denied Sutton, blocking the striker's angled drive.
Despite this late rally, Antoine-Currier's effectively ended the game as a contest on 62 minutes when he calmly converted a penalty after referee William Collum adjudged Fraser Kerr to have fouled Louis Longridge.
Crawford completed the scoring just before the final whistle, finding the back of the net from a difficult angle after Hendrie's through pass to round off a brilliant couple of games against their rivals.
The result moves Hamilton, who travel to Celtic Park next Sunday, up to second in the Scottish Premiership table with Motherwell, who themselves travel to Partick Thistle next week, remaining third from bottom.