Hamilton climbed off the foot of the Tennent’s National League 2 table with their first win of the season against Berwick.
And they could stretch their four-point lead over bottom side Cartha Queen’s Park when they travel there on Friday night.
The 28-14 four-try bonus point victory against a mid-table side will have provided a major boost at Laigh Bent.
Coach Ben Addison – who was at pains to stress that he’s not in charge, but part of a coaching team – said: “There was an excitement, a desire to day.
“We knew we had under performed in previous games, but we were improving.
“We had played well for spells, but not put a complete performance. We knew this was coming.”
Hamilton took the lead in 15 minutes.
Andy Wilson kicked a penalty to the corner, from the resultant lineout the ball was driven to the Berwick line, and while Josh White was held up just short, Grant McCowan scooped up and dived over, with Wilson’s conversion giving them a 7-0 lead.
Ball was then fed wide to Ryan Burrell, who raced 25 metres, beating several cover tackles to crash over in the corner, with Wilson again converting for 14-0.
Berwick had a sustained period of pressure towards half-time, but Hamilton held firm.
The visitors then pummelled Hamilton for 20 minutes of the second half, and while the Bulls held them out, they were visibly tiring.
A Berwick try seemed inevitable, but Adam Ryan stuck out a hand to intercept, gather and race virtually the length of the pitch to score a quite stunning try, with Wilson again converting for 21-0.
Berwick continued to dominate field position and eventually Alistair Grieve dived over for a try, converted by Jack Webster, while Hamilton’s Scott Whitelaw made his way to the sideline, having been yellow carded for trying to kill the ball.
With about 10 minutes left, Ryan burst onto a Euan Whelan pass on halfway, weaved through midfield traffic and emerged with Wilson and Ryan Burrell, finding the former with a deft pass for him to crash over, with Wilson converting again for 28-7.
Back came Berwick, but with both sides virtually dead on their feet, several moves were repelled until Grieve got his and his side’s second try, with Webster again converting for the 28-14 final score.
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