Hamilton's day might not have started well but it ended well, says boss John Rankin as holders beat Coleraine in SPFL Trust Trophy clash

The Accies had their flight delayed from Edinburgh Airport early on Saturday morning, meaning kick-off had to be rescheduled for 3:45pm at The Showgrounds.

However, whilst unforeseen circumstances off the pitch could have derailed preparations, the holders of the competition showed a killer instinct in front of goal to ensure their name is in the hat for Thursday's fourth round draw.

The 300 travelling supporters were celebrating with just 11 minutes on the clock as Liam Smith arrowed a curling effort into the far corner, but Oran Kearney's men levelled before the break as Lee Lynch netted his first goal of the campaign after being picked out by Matthew Shevlin.

Hamilton would take the lead through Dario Zanatta on 48 minutes with a combination of poor finishing and excellent goalkeeping by Jamie Smith denying Coleraine an equaliser thereafter.

The game would be over as a contest on 82 minutes as Jamie Barjonas added a third with a devastating finish following a sweep counter attack.

"We were up at 5am this morning then the flight was delayed which led to the kick-off being delayed," Rankin said after the 3-1 success.

"At one point we were thinking, do we need to let them know that the game is maybe going to be off.

"But I think we had a duty to the supporters to put on a performance because they travelled in numbers to be here.

"There must have been about 250-300 fans here, so we're delighted for them to have come this distance and get into the next round.

"So the day didn't start well, but it certainly finished well.

"I thought the boys got better the longer the game went on."

Whilst acknowledging the performance of his goalkeeper amid Coleraine pressure, Rankin was delighted with the discipline his side showed before punishing the Bannsiders at the other end.

"Coleraine were always going to dominate spells of the game," he added.

"They are a decent side and we've had them watched three or four times.

"As I say we knew they would dominate periods so it was a case of us trying to weather that storm.

"The goals came at the right time for us today to get ourselves in front albeit in my opinion we conceded a sloppy goal.

"We got back in front at a good time at the start of the second half.

"It was then a case of if we could be disciplined, retain our shape and make sure the distance between our lines is good.

"It was and that's another side we need to see at times.

"We got the third and probably should have got a fourth before the end.

"The main thing is we're in the next round of the cup and I saw a different side to my players today, one being there was a determination to overcome adversity and they certainly did that."