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In the last game of the girls’ 17s season, Hamilton Accies scored a dramatic last minute winner to claim victory in what was a pre-bonfire night cracker against Scottish Cup finalists Glasgow Girls.

There was fireworks on and off the park from the kick off as the game exploded into action despite the bitterly cold temperatures. The game raged from end-to-end and it was clear from the outset that the game wouldn’t lack a competitive edge despite it having no bearing on the final league positions.

The game’s first opportunity was fashioned by the Accies when the stealthy Tegan Lawson  took off on a solo run down the left wing, leaving everybody in her wake, but her left-footed effort zipped past the far post by a matter of minor inches. It was an early warning of Lawson’s lightning pace and the Glasgow Girls’ rearguard would have to be wary.

Terrific pace is a prominent feature of this Accies side. Lawson has lightning in her heels but so does Jodie Barbour who has causing similar problems on the opposite wing. Glasgow Girls however are blessed with an exceptional work ethic, and in the early stages of the match their sleeves were well and truly rolled up to deal with the flying wingers on the flanks for the Accies.

Up the other end of the park, in the absence of the Glasgow Girls talismanic figure of Lauren Coleman who departed the action with a knock, Nadine Peacock was putting in a tireless shift to lead the line and offer a threat.

Meanwhile, Angela Lamont was proving to be a cool operator in the middle of the park for the Accies. Half way through the first half and Lamont split the Glasgow Girls defence in half with a sublime pass to find the darting run of the pacy Barbour, but at a sharp angle the Accies winger could only find the side netting with her right footed effort.

Glasgow Girls won a penalty kick when Karla Palmer unleashed a goal-bound snap-shot from the edge of the box, which struck the hand of the unlucky Clare Campbell. Nadine Peacock stepped up to strike the penalty, and did so expertly as she fired a bullet into the top left corner to make it 1-0.

The cold conditions were taking a toll as players on both sides had to be replaced with injuries and muscle tweaks. One substitution saw the introduction of  Megan Murray to the Glasgow Girls defence and she brought some good old-fashioned no-nonsense defending to the match. Murray was solid and cleared everything that came near her, while Jodie Pratt alongside her was complementary with her ability to play out from the back.

Hamilton’s captain Kim Black began to grab the game by the scruff of the neck. Black’s first touch is superb and she was influential in bringing the ball forward from defence and picking out impressive passes. The captain nearly ended up on the score sheet when she finished a move, which she began in her own box, by lashing a shot past the post from the edge of the Glasgow Girls box.

Then in a moment of sublime quality, Glasgow Girls’ Karla Palmer sent a delightful pass on the turn into the path of Shannon McManus, who was bursting into the Hamilton box. The goalkeeper was out like a flash to narrow the angle and save well to keeper her side in the game. Hamilton flew forward on the break and Barbour flashed the ball across the face of the goal but none of the lunging strikers could get a toe to the ball to steer it home.

A fairly even first half came to a close with Glasgow Girls narrowly in the lead.

Half Time: Hamilton Accies 0-1 Glasgow Girls

Glasgow Girls began the second half with the intent to finish the game early. McManus broke menacingly into the Hamilton box but the danger was mopped up well by Deborah McLeod who had the strength and clout to hold off the full back and skip clear with the ball.

Then the impressive Barbour for Hamilton strode forward with the ball before stroking it through the smallest gap in the Glasgow Girls defence for Lamont but she scuffed her shot wide of the target.

McManus was Glasgow Girls’ liveliest player throughout the match and her tireless running was the main threat to the Hamilton goal as the game progressed. McManus has a great engine and a real knack of arriving in the penalty area, all the way from the full back position, at just the right moment. Hamilton however were managing to deal with the threat and keep the game within touch.

The Accies got their deserved equaliser half way through the second half. Jodie Brannan made an excellent run behind the Glasgow Girls’ full back to meet a delightful pass into the box. With defenders bearing down on her, a cool finish from Brannan saw the ball slide into the net via the post to make the score 1-1.

Moments after her equaliser, Brannan was nearly on the score sheet again when she latched onto a pass by Hannah Preston but Dannielle McNamara in the Glasgow Girls’ goal was out quick to smother the ball just in time.

Both teams were having a real go and wanted to finish the season with a victory. McManus nearly restored Glasgow Girls’ lead with an audacious lob from the right wing position but the keeper managed to pluck the ball out of the air under the crossbar. Then Peacock cut in from the left wing with the ball and curled a right footed effort into the keepers arms from 25 yards. Peacock was at it again moments later when she robbed Barbour of the ball on the left wing and leathered a shot across goal but just beyond the far post. The plucky striker was unlucky.

Then some good work by Hamilton’s Brannan on the left wing saw her skin her marker and whip the ball into the box. The stramash that ensued ended in the award of a penalty for the Accies. Brannan stepped up to take it but blasted wide of the mark and let Glasgow Girls off the hook. Still, Accies came forward and some silky footwork in midfield by Lamont gave her the space to stride forward and shoot but her effort was saved well by McNamara low at the post.

Coleman returned to the action for Glasgow Girls and had the opportunity to make an immediate impact through a free kick. Her effort struck the wall however, and Susan Lang was first to the ball to clear the danger under pressure.

With moments remaining, the game was rapid and end to end. There was a ‘next goal’s the winner’ feeling to the action. Then in the game’s final piece of play, Lamont sent a beautiful pass into the Glasgow Girls box for the flying Tegan Lawson arriving from the left wing. Lawson picked out Courtney McAvoy, who refused to be stopped by a solid defensive challenge, and then buried the ball into the top right-hand corner of the net with the last kick of the ball. It was a moment of pure determination from McAvoy and her willingness to battle for her opportunity to score, was in the end the difference.

Hamilton won the match 2-1 and finished the season on a well-earned high. Glasgow Girls however have a date at Toryglen for their season’s finale.

Full Time: Hamilton Accies 2-1 Glasgow Girls