We are suffering for not killing games off, says Hamilton boss Canning

Hamilton manager Martin Canning warned his players they would find themselves in relegation trouble if they kept throwing away points after 10-man Motherwell snatched a last-gasp draw at the SuperSeal Stadium.

Accies initially took advantage of a 27th-minute red card for Lee Lucas when Alex D'Acol's diving header put them ahead nine minutes after the break.

Louis Moult had a couple of chances to level, but Gary Woods foiled him and Accies passed up a series of late opportunities to finish off their Lanarkshire rivals.

But Moult converted a free header from Carl McHugh's cross in the closing seconds of injury-time to seal a 1-1 draw and make it 12 games this season that Accies have let a lead slip.

Canning said: "It hurts keeping on sitting here saying the same thing. Again we put ourselves in a comfortable position. We created more than enough opportunities and maybe we are lacking a bit of quality at the top end of the park to go and kill games off.

"Albeit we see on a daily basis the quality is there, maybe it's just decision-making in games. I don't know how you put your finger on it.

"Defensively we didn't look like we were being caused many problems. How their most dangerous player ends up in the middle of our six-yard box standing by himself at that stage of the game, I will never know. That's the reason we are where we are.

"We are throwing away points and if you are throwing away cheap points at this level then you are going to be in trouble. We need to make sure when we come back we get our finger out and stop giving teams opportunities."

Motherwell manager Mark McGhee felt Moult's equaliser was just reward for their efforts with 10 men.

McGhee said: "To leave it as late as we did was probably the best thing because 25 seconds to go didn't give them the chance to get a winner. Young Allan Campbell was making his debut, Carl McHugh was only playing his second game (in five months) and to play another 90 minutes was a big ask.

"We also took risks, we pushed people forward, we put on Lionel (Ainsworth), we threw everything at it to get the equaliser, so I think it was deserved."

Motherwell had the better of the first quarter and Scott McDonald and Craig Clay were denied by a Woods save and a Michael Devlin goal-line clearance, before the match changed when Lucas went in two-footed on Massimo Donati.

"The boy Lee Lucas is not a dirty player," McGhee said. "I think he went to protect himself a bit and he just went a bit too robust. I think the referee had no choice, but to send him off, but it wasn't malicious. It was just a guy who is not a very good tackler."

Lucas is soon out of contract, but McGhee said: "We are talking to his agent and we would like Lee to stay."