Hamilton secured their first win of the season with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Neil McCann’s Dundee in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
After back-to-back defeats against Aberdeen, the home side were desperate to kick-start their campaign with three points and got their reward 24 minutes in when Darian MacKinnon angled a low volley into the net beyond Scott Bain.
Steven Boyd’s lofted finish made it 2-0 on 36 minutes and, after Dundee’s Scott Allan passed up the chance to get his side back in it by firing a penalty over the bar 12 minutes from time, Dougie Imrie showed how it should be done from the spot to seal the home rout.
It was a frantic opening period and the Accies should have been in front within two minutes, when an Ali Crawford flick-on was sliced wide by Boyd.
The Dark Blues then spurned two golden opportunities. Allan robbed Georgios Sarris but opted to square the ball to Marcus Haber, who could not convert. The ball bounced back in Allan’s direction but Gary Woods produced a fine stop.
Faissal El Bakhtaoui was equally wasteful when he latched onto a long ball. The striker, initially denied by Woods, smashed the bar with the rebound and incredibly blazed over at the third attempt.
The deadlock was broken by Hamilton when Crawford’s hanging corner was cleared only as far as MacKinnon. The midfielder showed composure to hit the ball first time, nestling his effort into the bottom-left corner.
Boyd, found in space by MacKinnon, then went one better with an exquisite chip leaving Bain stranded in no-man’s land.
Dundee tried to force their way back into the match in the second half but ultimately lacked the finishing power.
Allan was left frustrated when his corner was headed inches wide by Williams eight minutes into the second half before El Bakhtaoui tried his luck from long range, narrowly clearing the bar.
Williams was a threat for the away side and won a penalty when Scott McMann was adjudged to have fouled him. Hamilton were aggrieved at referee Bobby Madden’s decision, but Allan’s penalty was high and wide.
In the closing stages, Accies put the game beyond all doubt. Kevin Holt’s clumsy challenge on David Templeton in the area left Imrie with the task of wrapping up proceedings and he did so with aplomb, firing high into the right side of the net and securing a deserved victory.