Hamilton 2 - 2 Motherwell: Jutkiewicz hails strength of spirit after late equaliser

Published on Sunday 8 November 2009 21:32

LUKAS Jutkiewicz claims Motherwell are developing a "never-say-die attitude" after striking an 86th-minute equaliser against Hamilton.

Jamie Murphy had levelled in the 78th minute before Marco Paixao added to Simon Mensing's opener for ten-man Hamilton, but Jutkiewicz secured a 2-2 draw in a thrilling finale to the Clydesdale Bank Premier League clash.

The on-loan Everton striker netted two late goals as Motherwell fought back for a 3-3 draw at St Mirren two weeks earlier. And he is delighted with the spirit at the club as the youthful side finished their first round of fixtures with just one defeat.

"It's obviously good for the boys to have a never-say-die attitude," Jut-kiewicz said. "We've nicked a few late goals and it's good for morale that we can keep going on an unbeaten run for as long as possible. When we pegged the goal back the first time, all of us thought we would maybe go on to win the game, so it took a little bit out of us when they went and scored the second."

The Lanarkshire derby began frantically enough but the game intensified following Guillaume Beuzelin's 30th-minute red card. Hamilton were furious with Craig Thomson's decision to hand the Frenchman a yellow card for a foul on Mark Reynolds, less then two minutes after he had been booked for bringing down Jim O'Brien.

Hamilton keeper Tomas Cerny said: "I think the majority of players feel it was very strict, especially the second yellow. It was a normal foul, you could see so many fouls like this during the game and nobody has been booked.

"The referee made a few decisions against us. We dealt with it quite well."

Cerny kept Accies in the game with a string of saves, including one from a Ross Forbes penalty in the 39th minute. "I made a few important saves which allowed us to score the first goal," he said. However, Cerny could do nothing about Murphy's 30-yard strike, after Mensing had headed Hamilton into a 60th-minute lead.

The goalkeeper also got a hand to Jutkiewicz's late equaliser following a low cross by Giles Coke.

"I was a little bit disappointed but I couldn't see the ball," he said. "It was a last-second reaction and the ball hit the crossbar after that and still went in."