DECOY SEALS THE WIN
Cup herotumilty’s delight after‘one of those ones’falls for him
Match winner Reghan Tumilty was thrilled to be Hamilton’s unlikely hero and their utility man after firing 10-man Accies to glory in the SPFL Trust Trophy final.
The defender/midfielder popped up on the half-hour mark to rifle home the winner against his old side Raith Rovers, netting from 10 yards when a Reegan Mimnaugh corner broke kindly for him at the back post.
Accies came under the cosh when Dan O’reilly saw red after 55 minutes, but their resolute rearguard action and a man-of-the-match display from inspired goalkeeper Ryan Fulton saw the club cling on for a 1-0 win and their first cup triumph for 30 years.
Not only did Accies have to defend for their lives after O’reilly’s dismissal, they were forced into two early changes when Benny Ashleyseal and Marley Redfern hobbled off injured in the opening 20 minutes, before Matty Shiels came off at halftime crocked.
That led to Tumilty shifting into three different positions during the game and he said: “We battled through adversity. That’s something with this team, it doesn’t reflect where we are in the league, there’s a great team bond.
“We had to make early subs, people played out of position and then there’s the sending off. We battled through and to come out with the win is brilliant.
“The gaffer called me the utility man today, and that’s what I was.
“If it gets us the win, I don’t mind.
“It was a great result, a battling performance and the fans, you could hear them the whole game but in the last 15-20 minutes, especially.
“I saw the gaffer giving it the windmill.
“It was brilliant.”
After grabbing his first Accies goal, Tumilty has now triumphed in consecutive finals having lifted the trophy with Raith last season.
But 2023 trumps 2022 for the 26-year-old after being the unlikely hero thanks, in part, to boss John Rankin.
He said: “It’s good to be involved in two in two years and to get the result.
“To get the winning goal in the end is special for me. It’s never usually me, I’m never up for corners.
“But the gaffer sent me up for a setpiece – I’m not even the man to head the ball, I’m the decoy! I’ve played a wee one-two with Dylan Easton’s heels and it’s fallen nicely for me.
“It was one of those ones you see on telly and think ‘why do they never fall for me?’
“Finally, to get one of those is nice. “It was amazing, I just went to the Hamilton fans and celebrated.
“They definitely pulled us through the last 15-20 minutes of the game.”
Having downed his old team with Accies team-mate and fellow exraith man Dario Zanatta, the duo have now both won the trophy twice and will be going for a hat-trick next season.
Tumilty laughed: “That would be good, wouldn’t it?
“I think our experience actually helped us and calmed everyone down. They started poorly and we were finding a few spaces.
“With 10 men, it was like us a few weeks ago against Arbroath. It’s really hard to break down if you play really well.
“They couldn’t break us down. Okay, they had a few chances but Fults bailed us out and that’s brilliant.
“He was a thoroughly deserved man of the match.
“He’s bailed us out with two or three brilliant saves from point blank range, and that’s what he’s there for.”
That goal is likely to make him unwelcome in Kirkcaldy for the foreseeable future and Tumilty, whose side are currently bottom of the table in the Championship, said: “I won’t be going on my night out there, but I’m sure there’ll be a free bar somewhere in Hamilton.
“We’ll celebrate but we’re in a relegation battle and we’re still only a week away [from the next game], so we need to humble ourselves.”