Connor Ripley, the Motherwell goalkeeper, has vented his frustration after another cheap goal cost his team dearly in the Lanarkshire derby. The Fir Park club fell to their fifth defeat in eight games in the Ladbrokes Premiership against Hamilton Accies at New Douglas Park, a result which leaves them rooted to 10th in the table.

For much of the season Ian Baraclough's men have allowed games which deserved more to slip through their grasp. That was the case again on Saturday. In the first half against Accies, Motherwell had by far and wide the clearest chances but couldn't find the killer touch that would have pulled them into the lead. Instead, they were hit with a suckerpunch from Dougie Imrie 18 minutes from time as the Hamilton forward out jumped full-back Joe Chalmers to get on the end of a speculative cross and send a looping header beyond Ripley.

It was the latest in a long line of preventable goals conceded by Motherwell this season, and the club's goalkeeper couldn't help but show his disappointment. “It’s horrible to concede any time but to concede in the manner we did is just not on. We shouldn’t be conceding goals like that - we’re better players than that," said the Middlesbrough loanee. “I’ve watched the goal back. We cleared the ball and it was good play by them but it wasn’t a very threatening cross and as a team we should have dealt with it better.

“It’s been very frustrating for me. My job is to keep the ball out the back of the net and conceding rubbish goals like that is disappointing. I haven’t been beaten by a world beating shot. Hamilton hit the crossbar in the first half with a good effort but it’s been rubbish little goals we’ve been conceding.

“My job is to win games and if I lose a game I’m going to be annoyed and frustrated but I won’t dwell on it. I’ll get on with the next game."

While Motherwell's attention now turns to tomorrow night's trip to Greenock in the League Cup for a way to right their ship amid these stormy Premiership waters, Hamilton can relax with a midweek off to reflect upon a job well done on Saturday. They were not spectacular against Motherwell, but in truth they did not need to be to record their fifth win out of six over the Lanarkshire rivals.

For years seen as the bigger of the two institutions in the county, the men in claret and amber have seen that title slip over the last year and a half, at least in footballing terms. It is a reality that hasn't escaped Accies midfielder Grant Gillespie, although he was restrained in his revelling.

He said: “Motherwell have done well finishing second a couple of seasons but we weren’t in the league at that time. Last season when we came up it was good to have the fixture back.

“They are a bigger club but that doesn’t mean to say they’re a better team and it’s up to us to go out and prove that and I think we’ve done that with our record in the last six games."