Hamilton Accies star Jake Hastie hopes first goal for club can lead to regular starts

Hamilton Accies winger Jake Hastie hopes opening his account for the club on Saturday can be the catalyst for him to become a regular starter.

The 25-year-old has been in and out of John Rankin’s side since joining on loan from Hartlepool in January, making seven appearances.

Only three of them have been starts but at the weekend he climbed off the bench to bag the final goal in the 90th minute of Hamilton’s 3-0 triumph over Stirling Albion in League One, which he hopes could prove a turning point.

He said: “It’s good to get that first goal because it just gives you confidence that you can take into the rest of your game.

“Scoring and assisting is what I want to do and with goals throughout the team, it gives the rest of the boys confidence as well.

“Everybody wants to start but I know it is a team game.

“The gaffer has been good. He has changed things quite a bit since I’ve come in, so I’ve just had to be patient and, hopefully, this is the start of me getting a run of games.

“I just want to help the team and score goals as much as I can.

“I feel really good. The games I’ve started in I have felt fit, I feel sharp and I have been training hard.

“I felt as if I should have had a couple of goals against Queen of the South – I hit the post twice – and I had some wee half chances at Annan as well, so I think I was due a goal!

“I’m just raring to play more games.”

The win over Stirling was a marked improvement over the previous week, where Accies laboured to a 1-0 win over now relegated Edinburgh City, and Hastie hopes that upturn continues at play-off chasing Cove Rangers.

With Falkirk on the cusp of the League One title – which they could wrap up this weekend if they win and Accies fail to beat Cove – consolidating second spot is the