Hammered and tried to find gold (6)
I believe the answer is:
panned
This clue is a double definition.
'hammered' is the first definition.
(both can mean criticised heavily)
'tried to find gold' is the second definition.
'and' is the link.
(Other definitions for panned that I've seen before include "Washed earth for gold" , "Expressed a totally negative opinion, of a play say" , "Gave a bad review to" , "Severely criticised (a play, etc)" , "Heavily criticised" .)