Hamilton Accies team of academy graduates is 'the dream' for coach

Hamilton Accies ending the final game of their League One season with 11 Academy graduates is “the dream” for coach George Cairns.

Accies beat Kelty Hearts 4-1, with a debut goal for Liam Morgan, and a strike from Lewis Smith, who also came through the youth-set up, as well as a double from Jake Hastie.

That’s great news for Academy head Cairns, who says it was a huge moment for the club to end up with 11 former youth players on the pitch.

Morgan and Smith were joined by goalkeeper Jamie Smith, Jamie Hamilton, Marley Redfern, Chris Neeson, Stephen Hendrie, Andy Winter, Fergus Owens, Gravine Kalala and Aaron Preston.

And Cairns said: “That’s the dream, to have 11 players who have come through your system playing for the first team, and I don’t think that has been done in this country.

“It is certainly a huge achievement for the club.

“It takes a lot to get 11 kids on the pitch, the likes of Stephen Hendrie, Jamie Hamilton and Andy Winter, who are obviously a wee bit older, playing with the younger ones, but it’s a fantastic achievement.

“It’s fantastic, for the club more than myself. Our academy is based on kids, giving them chances in the first team and trying to change their lives.

“It’s huge for our coaches that played a part in that as well, our sports scientists, our medical staff, physios and so on.

“There are over 60 people who work in the academy, so some of these coaches have had them since they were eight, nine, 11 or 12, so every different coach has played a part in getting the kid to where he is.

“Ryan One and Gabe Forsyth have gone on to bigger things this season (Sheffield United and Norwich City, respectively) and that tells us our grounding and environment must be right.”

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