Hamilton boss delighted to see 'nervy' Accies 'stand up and be counted' to claim first win

John Rankin hailed his Hamilton side for overcoming their nerves to see off Dunfermline and land their first win back in the Championship.

The Accies boss saw his side go in front midway through the first half when Reghan Tumilty powered home a Jamie Barjonas corner in acres of space at the back post.

But in the second half, Accies had to withstand plenty of pressure from the Pars to hold out for their first three points since coming up via the play-offs at the end of last season.

And Rankin said: "I am absolutely delighted to get the three points. Towards the end of the game we looked like a team that hadn't won in a wee while and there was a wee bit of nerves there, which is expected.

"But I have to see that I am delighted with the leadership we showed at the end of the game. Scott Martin had to come off because he is so competitive in the middle of the pitch and we had to get him off [so he wasn't sent off], and the rest of them stood up to be counted. I'm delighted with that, the clean sheet and that first home win.

"I said to the boys at half time that I thought we were great. We had a great 45 minutes, although it was nervy at the beginning with boys teams looking for their first win.

"Once we settled in, we played some really good football. Kevin O'Hara had a great chance before the goal and we could have done better there and got ourselves in front with that opportunity.

"With us performing well in the last few games but not getting the results, you could see those nerves. But this will give us confidence and something to build on."

Rankin was also delighted for Tumilty to get off the mark and said it was a training ground move that paid off perfectly.

He added: "The goal is one off the training ground and it