A Con job kills off bogey side

0 Comments | Sunday Mirror, Apr 12, 2009 | by NICK McFARLANE

CRAIG CONWAY grabbed the goal which finally allowed United to overcome bogey side Accies.

Craig Levein's side had failed to defeat the SPL new boys - including the painful Scottish Cup defeat at the start of the year.

But this time United started brightly and should have been well ahead by half-time before they had to stop a fightback from the Accies after the interval .

German Andis Shala made his first start for United but it was the established frontman Francesco Sandaza who set up the fourth-minute goal for Conway (inset).

The Spaniard chased a ball down the right wing before cutting it back for the winger to drive past Tomas Cerny.

Levein's men should have doubled their lead in the 18th minute, Sandaza and Shala shots being blocked before David

Robertson wasted the third and best chance by blasting over.

Conway then forced Cerny into a reaction save before Lee Wilkie somehow lifted the ball over the bar from right on the Hamilton goal- line.

When Shala headed a Paul Dixon cross onto the bar, Accies must have wondered how they were not dead and buried by then.

They brought on Joel Thomas and James Gibson at the break, and Lukasz Zaluska had to make his first save of the game from Simon Mensing.

Then Hamilton came close to an equaliser when Thomas stabbed at Trent McClenahan's ball from the right, sending it wide of the post.

Levein said: "The players were fantastic today and we thoroughly deserved to get the three points." Accies boss Billy Reid said: "We looked tired and weren't ourselves and had too many players not on top of their game."