Hamilton Accies' five-goal Edinburgh City blitz not enough for boss

Hamilton Accies produced a blistering 20-minute spell to blow Edinburgh City away in the first half on Saturday – but boss John Rankin criticised his side for taking their foot off the gas after the break.

Accies raced into a 5-0 lead with Kyle MacDonald hitting a quick-fire double in the 12th and 19th minute of the game, before Mikey Hewitt, Euan Henderson and Kevin O’Hara also netted with just 32 minutes on the clock at Meadowbank.

With the points all but in the bag at the break, City grabbed a couple of consolations through Ouzy See’s 47th minute strike and Robbie Mahon’s 68th-minute effort to limit the damage.

While delighted with their five-goal blitz, Rankin was far from happy with his side for not adding to their tally.

He said: “The overriding feeling is that the second half performance was disappointing.

“Before the game, we spoke about how important it was to take our chances and the first 30 minutes were great.

“The way we got after the game, the way we took our chances was really pleasing and you have to give the players huge credit for that.

“After that, it becomes a case of us facing issues we’ve had during the season - we get opportunities and we don’t take them.

“We hit the bar twice in the second half, we had numerous balls flash across the goal and that was the disappointing part. Then we conceded a couple of goals.

“But we scored five goals away from home so that is good and getting the three points was the main thing.

“The players take huge credit for that spell. They were relentless.

“The ball was getting cleared and then put straight back into the box. They were really on it and it was great to see that hunger.

“The first half performance was up there with the best we’ve played.

“But rather than