Hamilton Accies boss John Rankin was delighted to see his side make a little bit of history by knocking Ross County out of the Scottish Cup - as he praised veteran defender Brian Easton for climbing out of his sick bed to help them do it.
The New Douglas Park side may be bottom of the Championship right now but they stunned Premiership strugglers Staggies with a 5-3 penalty shooutout win, after neither side was able to find a way to goal across 120 minutes of football.
Andy Ryan hit the decisive spot-kick for Accies after goalkeeper Ryan Fulton had paved the way with a save from County's Jordan White.
It is the first time in more than 20 years that Accies have prevailed in consecutive Scottish Cup ties at home and marked 15 years since they last came out on top in three consecutive matches.
But Rankin, whose side had beaten Clyde in the SPFL Trust Trophy and Morton in the league going into the clash, reserved his praise for stricken skipper Easton who had to unexpectedly climb off the bench after an hour to ensure County were kept out.
He said: "I'm absolutely delighted to get into the next round.
"I asked this morning when the last time the club went and won three games in a row and it was 2008 so for 15 years we haven't managed this.
"The other thing I asked was when we'd won two Scottish Cup games in a row at home and that was 2002, so for 20 years we haven't done that.
"So there's a wee bit of history for the players and a bit of momentum, dare I say it.
"We've won three games in a row now, albeit in three different competitions, and I thought we looked solid today, really organised, with real leaders on the pitch.
"I am going to mention one who never started and that's Brian Easton.
"Easty has been off sick all week and he climbed out of his sick bed to go on the bench for us. I asked him this morning if he'd sit on the bench because I didn't think he'd be called upon.
"But Chrissy McGinn takes cramp after 60 minutes and we have to call Easty on. I thought it was a real captain's performance from him even though he'd been in his bed all week, so I take my hat off to him.
"That's the type of characters we need and the type of commitment we need to get ourt of our position in the league right now."
It took some heroic defending and goalkeeping for Accies to keep County out and when it came to penalties, Rankin insists he could feel the belief coursing through his squad.
He added: "I was quite confident with the way players were coming to me and asking to take penalties.
"We had seven players come forward when you are usually scraping and scrimping for them.
"I had a good feeling about the penalties and I could feel a relaxed vibe around the players.
"We'd done the hard work by getting to penalties so it was a case of them just going up and enjoying themselves, and I thought they did that.
"They looked really relaxed in their run up - although I thought Scott Martin had to slow down in his sprint to get the ball before he hit his penalty, he was that excited about hitting it.
"I always draw on past experiences and when we played Queen's Park in the League Cup earlier in the season, Fults came out on top that day as well.
"The overriding emotion is delight and I am happy for them because it has been a tough season for us so far."
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