Dario Zanatta was delighted to grab a brace as Hamilton beat Alloa 5-2 to win their play-off semi-final – but warned they’ve done nothing yet.
Accies fought back from a 3-0 aggregate deficit to blast their way into the final as an Andy Winter hat-trick and double from Zanatta cancelled out strikes by Connor Sammon and Stefan Scougall, with George Stanger sent off for the Wasps in 23 minutes.
But the 25-year-old Canadian warned that there’s still a lot of work to do at New Broomfield on Wednesday before taking the tie back home next Saturday.
He said: “We came into this knowing we wanted to play four games.
“We’re only halfway there, we’ve done nothing, and we’re still fighting for our spot in the league.
“Airdrie have obviously done well on their side, so we’re looking forward to it.
“But it was an enjoyable day for both of us [Andy Winter too], and most importantly, we’ve still got two games left in the season.
“There were six goals in the first half and I don’t think I’ve been anywhere close to that, with a red card and a few yellows.
“The fans were a bit annoyed, and it turned out to be a great day for them, and it turned out to be an enjoyable day.”
Having been a bit shot-shy this season – Hamilton had scored only two goals in six games leading up to Saturday – Zanatta says the 5-3 aggregate win will be a huge confidence booster.
He said: “I feel as if we didn’t even play poorly for the first 20 minutes, but a set-piece and then an unfortunate error at the back cost us.
“I thought we were still in the game, we had a few half-chances, and then I think the way we scored the first goal lifted the spirits more than it was a pretty goal.
“That got us back in the game and there was a five-minute spell where we kicked on and put the foot down, and it was really enjoyable.
“I think a few of the forward players, myself, Smithy (Connor) and Andy Winter probably haven’t had our most enjoyable season, but a little bit of confidence can go a long way.
“That showed, and it was enjoyable.”
Zanatta says the opposition being down to 10 men doesn’t always work in your favour, and was happy that it did on Saturday.
He said: “We’ve been in this position before against Arbroath when they were down to 10 men, and we didn’t capitalise.
“This time we were switching the ball, making them work, and it turned out to be a really good day.
“It builds a lot of confidence, going into Wednesday night.”
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