Manager Pre Hamilton

07/02/13: JJ - "We pinpointed before the game that you cannot give Stevie May space - you have to mark him tight, don't let him turn

Jim Jefferies feels that there was not much between Hamilton Accies and Dunfermline. Despite losing 2-0 to them last Saturday he considered Paul Gallacher to have had little to do and the Accies keeper Kevin Cuthbert made a great save to keep Ryan Wallace out.

"We pinpointed before the game that you cannot give Stevie May space - you have to mark him tight, don't let him turn. If he gets an opportunity inside the box, you have to close him down quickly and the video clearly shows that we didn't. We should have got the break of the ball but I thought it was a 50-50 challenge that we lost and when it broke to him nobody went to close him down quick enough. He is capable of putting it in the top corner but this time he dipped it for that crucial first goal."

The Manager felt that the Pars sprits went on a downer after going behind probably because confidence was not high anyway following a string of poor results.

"It is our job to pick them up and we threw caution to the wind by moving everybody forward. We probably had our best spell in the last twenty minutes, we hit the post from Kirkie and wee Whittle didn't have an easy tap in because there were two defenders defending it very well. It was a big disappointment."

The cup tie had been in doubt because of frozen area down the centre of the park but the gaffer has no doubts now that the First Division campaign needs to get back on track:-

"We have four tough games to pull ourselves back into the mix - Hamilton away, Falkirk away and Morton and Partick at home. And we have Cowdenbeath re-arranged for next Tuesday."

Saturday will be the fourth meeting this season against Hamilton and so far it is won one, lost one and drawn one. The win was at New Douglas Park so hopefully that can be repeated. The cup tie was taken on with three regular starts missing through injury. Andy Barrowman, Stephen Jordan and Andy Geggan were badly missed meaning a first start for 18 year old Ross Millen and another start for 19 year old Shaun Byrne.

"We weren't at our strongest" continued JJ "we might have a chance of having Stephen Jordan back this week but Geggan and Barrowman look as though they are still out. Ryan Thomson has been off all week with a virus until reporting back today and there is a doubt over the kitman as well!

"When you come off disappointed like we were on Saturday you just want to get back as quick as possible. The players were as gutted as anybody with the result. Hamilton played well and their game plan was to sit tight, get in behind the ball and hit on the break. They are very good at that because they have some very good players.

"The first goal was a terrific strike but up until then it had 0-0 written all over it. The first goal was crucial and if we had got it we could have gone on to win the game."

Accies captain Alex Neil was hugely influential in the middle of the park but Billy Reid's side will be without him on Saturday since he is in the middle of serving a two match SFL suspension.