Livingston 3 Hamilton 0: Accies boss fuming over penalty that wasn't given in defeat
Hamilton Accies boss John Rankin was left fuming after his side were denied a penalty in their 3-0 defeat to Livingston on Saturday.
But he admits they never gave themselves a chance in West Lothian anyway after a nightmare start.
Accies - who handed a debut to Ricki Lamie after his arrival on loan from Ross County - fell a goal behind inside three minutes when Robbie Muirhead fired the Lions in front, before Cristian Montano doubled their lead inside 16 minutes.
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The visitors then had a big penalty shout when Danny Wilson appeared to handle the ball on the ground, blocking a Scott Martin pass, but Accies' claims fell on deaf ears as referee Euan Anderson waved away their claims.
Ex-Accie Lewis Smith then completed the win in the final stages of the game with a deflected strike that looped over goalkeeper Charlie Albinson.
Rankin said: "We've got a strong penalty shout in the first-half at 2-0. It is a handball. Kyle MacDonald is going to shoot and the arm comes out to grab the ball. How we don't get that, I don't know. That is a big moment in the game and could change the game, so that is really disappointing.
"But I don't think we gave ourselves a chance in the game. The match is three minutes old and we concede a goal.
"We built back into it but then we gave away a second goal with a ball straight down the middle, there's a flick-on and then they get in behind us for an easy finish. We had lots of possession but never had any penetrating runs or penetrating passes, so that is really frustrating.
"We flipped it slightly at half-time and got a reaction, getting back into the game. Again we had lots of possession but we didn't do enough to get ourselves a goal. There wasn't an urgency to go and beat a man in a wide area and that frustrated me.
"We can't feel sorry for ourselves, we need to get on with it and dig deep."
Accies have a quick opportunity to bounce back with a home clash against Raith Rovers tomorrow night and could leapfrog the Kirkcaldy side into seventh place on goal difference if they win.
Rankin added: "We need to dust ourselves down for Tuesday. We've got a fight and we have to have positive heads for Raith Rovers and make sure we don't give opportunities up. There's work to do."
