Hamilton Accies ace Ahkeem Rose playing through pain barrier but was gutted to be reduced to supersub role in Alloa clash

Hamilton Accies hero Ahkeem Rose admits he has been playing through a pelvic injury but told his gaffer he wasn't happy about starting on the bench for their play-off semi-final win over 10-man Alloa.

The Jamaican striker was subbed on in the 70th minute and netted the winner seven minutes later in Saturday's 3-2 triumph, which saw Accies progress to 5-4 on aggregate to set up a final showdown with Inverness Caley Thistle over Wednesday and Saturday.

Boss John Rankin didn't think the Ayr United loanee was fit enough to play the full game, but Rose was delighted to get on the scoresheet after missing Tuesday's first leg tie at the Indodrill.

He said: "I have been carrying an injury for three weeks now. My pelvis has been really bad so the gaffer has been trying to manage me a bit. I was disappointed I didn't start - and I told him that as well - but he knows what he is doing and I am grateful to him.

"Even when I wanted to play in other weeks, he said we need to look ahead to the other games. It is great to score but the most important thing is getting to the final. The boys are buzzing and we've got two more games to go to get us up.

"We showed a lot of character over the two legs. The boys have been outstanding. It is always hard to play against 10 men because you know they will sit back. I'm just glad to get the goal."

Accies fell behind early on to a Quinn Coulson strike, only for Reghan Tumilty and Lewis Smith to pull them level by half-time. Alloa gave themselves a mountain to climb when Morgyn Neill picked up a double booking for dissent in the aftermath of Smith's goal, sarcastically clapping referee Steven Kirkland after his initial indiscretion, and substitute Conor Sammon gave the visitors a lifeline when he