Ten-man Hamilton beat holders Raith to win SPFL Trust Trophy

Posted Monday, March 27, 2023 by PA

Ten-man Hamilton hung on to defeat defending champions Raith Rovers 1-0 in the final of the SPFL Trust Trophy.

Raith, who saw off Queen of the South 12 months ago and also shared the trophy in 2020, were hoping for a repeat at Falkirk Stadium but could not find an equaliser after Dan O’Reilly was sent off early in the second half.

Hamilton took the lead in the 30th minute through a fine finish from Reghan Tumilty against his former club and that proved to be enough as they lifted the trophy for the first time since 1993.

Hamilton, who sit bottom of the Scottish Championship, were forced into two early changes because of injury, with first Benny Ashley-Seal and then Marley Redfern going off.

It was they who made the breakthrough, though, as Tumilty fired in from a corner and they held onto their advantage until half-time.

Raith came out strongly at the start of the second period and Ryan Fulton made an important save before Hamilton were reduced to 10 men as defender O’Reilly saw red for a challenge on Sam Stanton.

Fulton quickly found his goal under siege but he proved the equal of everything thrown at him, keeping out efforts from Scott Brown, Lewis Vaughan and Stanton, while Brian Easton also cleared off the line.

The result means, for the first time since 2019, Raith’s name will not be on the trophy after they shared the spoils with Inverness in 2020, while the tournament was cancelled in 2021.