Newcastle United loanees Lucas De Bolle and Dylan Stephenson clinched silverware as Hamilton beat Raith Rovers in the Scottish Challenge Cup. Where the Magpies failed last month, the Toon duo delivered, with Reghan Tumilty’s first-half goal enough to separate the two sides.
However, the Accies would have to dig in after Daniel O’Reilly was dismissed on 55 minutes. An onslaught saw Rovers have 17 shots to Hamilton’s three without managing to get the ball over the line.
Goalkeeper Ryan Fulton was called upon on several occasions to keep the waves of attacks at bay. De Bolle, who arrived at Hamilton last summer on a season-long loan, played the entire game in the number 10 role.
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The 20-year-old, born in Scotland to a Belgian father and English mother, missed several months earlier this season due to a concussion suffered while playing for Newcastle under-21s. However, he is now finding his feet in the Scottish Championship as Hamilton battle to stay in the division.
Winning silverware by the barest of margins could provide the springboard needed to avoid the drop. Manager John Rankin signed De Bolle’s teammate, Stephenson, in January in a bid to bolster his options.
The Ashington-born forward watched the cup-final triumph from the bench as 10-man Hamilton hung on. He was still very much part of the wild post-match celebrations in the dressing room after Hamilton clinched the Challenge Cup, known as the SPFL Trust Trophy for sponsorship reasons.
Goal hero Tumilty was proud to give travelling supporters a moment to remember after a season of struggle. He said post-match: "That's the most Accies fans I've ever seen and they really spurred us on for the last 20 minutes there.
"It's a tight-knit group and it's one of the tightest squads I've been part of. We battled through adversity. I played three positions today. Boys have come off injured. We've done a job for each other and the fans today."
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