Hamilton Accies boss hails goal hero's bravery in win over Jags

Hamilton Accies boss John Rankin hailed Lee Kilday’s bravery as the defender handed him a valuable three points against Partick Thistle.

And Rankin says his side were much more like themselves, after tearing a strip off of them after last weekend's 3-3 draw at Raith Rovers.

Defender Kilday isn’t renowned for scoring, but popped up with a back-post header from a Connor Smith free kick in 56 minutes to keep all three points in Hamilton and move Accies up to fifth in the Championship table.

Rankin said: “I’m delighted with the way Lee defended things and put his head onto things, and not only that, he was brave enough to put his head on it at the other end and get us the three points.

“I’m delighted for him, and his professionalism at that age is second to none.

“Lee sees the fact that we trust in him and believe in him, and it’s a case of making sure he gets a run of games, but I thought he was fantastic today.

“I thought we were much more like ourselves today, it was a much more composed performance, I thought we looked as if we were a team and were playing with a purpose.

“I have to give the players huge credit because I asked them to play slightly differently, because we knew how dangerous Partick are at the top end of the pitch.

“They took it on board, they’ve worked on it this week, and I’m delighted for them.

“Getting a goal in the last minute last week in the 3-3 draw at Raith Rovers felt like a victory, the players worked really hard, and we knew, having been in the play-offs in the last couple of seasons, that Partick Thistle were going to be a hard nut to crack,

“It turned out that way, they’re a good side, but I thought our back four defended great, today.

“There have been questions asked of the