Write off the Hamilton Academical at your peril; plenty have already this season, especially when they sunk to the bottom of the table. But if it is fighting spirit, dressing-room unity and a will to succeed you want, then step forward the smallest club in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League, who moved out of the basement with a battling 1-0 victory over Kilmarnock on Saturday.

It was achieved mostly through graft with even the most ardent Accies fan admitting it wasn’t the most skilful game in the world, particularly in a truly awful first half. Still, you don’t get points for flair in this league and the final whistle was greeted with a roar far louder than the crowd of just 2,903 was entitled to make.

Richard Offiong took the game’s only goal well, cutting in from the right before drilling low past Damien Rascle, the Kilmarnock goalkeeper. But it was Tomas Cerny, the Hamilton goalkeeper, who made a brilliant save deep into injury time when he instinctively poked out his right leg to stop Simon Ford’s shot from entering his net.

Cerny was keen to play down his role in securing Hamilton’s first home win since the opening day of the season. “I was really happy to make the save,” the Czech said. “But I have made some good saves before, but they are not spoken about because we haven’t won the game.

“I don’t know how important a save that could be – we will only know at the end of the season.”

Billy Reid, the Hamilton manager, admitted that if Ford had scored, it would have a huge setback for Accies, particularly because they lost a similar last-minute goal at Dundee United last week that prevented them from picking up three points.

Reid said: “It would have been devastating for us if they had scored that goal in injury time after what happened last week.

“I think we are maturing as a team, we are more patient. It’s been a long time coming and it’s nice to get three points and get off the bottom of the table.”

Kilmarnock wasted two huge chances through Ford and especially substitute Donovan Simmonds, who ballooned the ball over the bar with just Cerny to beat.

“I don’t know how he missed it,” Jim Jefferies, the Kilmarnock manager, said afterwards. “It was probably our easiest chance of the whole season. It’s been a long time since we have had so much of a game and come away with nothing.

“You have to score when you get the chances – I don’t think we deserved to lose as on the balance of play we were probably the better side, but we just didn’t take the chances.”

Hamilton Academical (3-5-2): T Cerny 7 – C Swailes 7, M Canning 7, M McLaughlin 8 – T McClenahan 6, J McArthur 6, A Neil 7, J McCarthy 5 (sub: J Gibson, 87min), B Easton 7 – R Offiong 7 (sub: L Akins, 79), D Graham 6 (sub: D Lyle, 76 3). Substitutes not used: S Murdoch, D Elebert, S Ettien, S Taylor. Booked: McClenahan.

Kilmarnock (4-4-2): D Rascle 6 – J Hamill 6, F Wright 6, S Ford 7, G Hay 5 (sub: D Simmonds, 59 2) – J Fowler 6, C Bryson 5, M Pascali 5, W Gibson 7 – D Fernandez 7 (sub: A Russell, 74 3), M Taouil 7. Substitutes not used: C Harpur, G Murray, G Skelton, I Flannigan, D Cox. Booked: Wright, Bryson.

Referee: I Brines. Attendance: 2,903