Substitute Ben Currie’s second half double sealed Rossvale Inter’s place in the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth District League Cup final and ended Hamilton Accies hopes of an unlikely comeback.

Some of the Hamilton players were still in their beds sleeping when Christopher McKeown volleyed home from a corner to give Rossvale the lead and when they finally woke up after Kieran Hamill had doubled the advantage they found they had a mountain to climb. An unstoppable drive from Cal Connolly made it three before the break and Currie’s goals either side of consolations from Evan Duffy and Lee Brown made it a dream performance from Rossvale.

Accies nightmare began when they went behind with the first meaningful attack of the game. Slack marking allowed McKeown to ghost in from outside of the box and volley home Connolly’s corner from 12-yards.

Neither side looked particularly fluid or commanding. This wasn’t a free-flowing football match, more a battle for supremacy in a tightly packed middle of the pitch. Accies managed to force Jamie Brown into a smart stop from Conner Smith’s twisting volley, but Smith’s resulting corner was easily dealt with.

Then, as quick as a flash, Rossvale were 2-0 up. A rapid counter attack looked to have been mopped up by the Accies defence but Fraser McLennan dispossessed a defender and instantly played through Hamill who lobbed Jordan Pettigrew in the Hamilton goal with ease. It was all too easy for Rossvale who were alert and ready to pounce on any Accies slip up.

Going two down finally seemed to rouse Accies who managed a sustained spell of pressure for the first time in the match. They caused some panic in the Rossvale defence with cross balls that the keeper struggled to deal with, but despite some spills and scrambles the defence held firm. It looked for all the world that Brown was about to pull one back for Accies when Duffy’s shot was parried into his path with the goal gaping but it was taken off his toes by an excellent tackle from Owen McGoldrick.

Accies were still suffering from the same frailties at the back however, switching off and allowing Connolly to play through Hamill one on one only for the striker to screw his shot wide. The lack of concentration was pervasive throughout the Accies team and contributed to the third goal. A simple pass in midfield went astray, with Rossvale showing more fight and desire to get to every ball first, Hamill this time turned provider to Connolly who hit a curving, dipping drive from 25-yards right into the postage stamp, leaving Pettigrew helpless.

It was a stunning strike and with only a few minutes till half-time you felt it was a killer blow for Accies. They threw everything forward to try and get back into the game before the break, Smith coming close after Duffy had won the second ball from a deep free-kick. Something Accies hadn’t done enough of in the rest of the half.

The Hamilton staff were looking for an instant reaction in the second 45 and they almost got it when Nathan Stevenson’s deflected drive almost fell under the bar but it was neatly tipped away by Brown. Had it went in it may have sparked an Accies comeback but it was just one of those days for the Hamilton players and after coming close at one end they went further behind at the other.

McKeown had his back to goal down the right channel and looked to be heading away from danger until he turned, beat his man, and slipped through Currie who fired it across goal from a tight angle and into the far corner of the net.

It was hard to fully justify a four goal lead but in fairness to Rossvale they were absolutely clinical in attack and rightly gained the rewards from their hard work in the middle of the park.

Hamilton were in no mood to concede the tie, this was a semi-final after all, and Stevenson should have done better when he headed Connor Burns’s cross wide while unmarked in the centre of the box. They finally got one back as the game moved into the final quarter when Cameron Ballantyne’s opportunistic effort was deflected perfectly into the path of Duffy who was loitering with intent in the box and nodded home.

Accies hoped it would be the catalyst to a comeback but Rossvale managed to kill the pace of the game and camped out in the Hamilton half for a ten-minute spell, frustrating their opponents forwards and keeping the ball in the Accies box through a series of corners. They came close to extending their lead with Currie inches away from getting on the end of McKeown’s cross, then Kieran Hill ended up in the back of the net after attacking Connolly’s corner but somehow the ball didn’t go with him.

When Accies finally evicted Rossvale from their area they managed to find a second. John Rowan’s cross was headed back across goal by Cameron Stewart and Brown smashed it home from close range to bring Accies within two goals of an unlikely comeback.

They almost shortened the gap further with Callum Douglas twice within inches of getting on the end of deep balls at the back post.

It wasn’t to be, however, and Currie settled the match by taking advantage of another defensive mix up and rounding the goalkeeper before rolling it into the empty net to spark scenes of celebration from the entire Rossvale team who knew they had sealed their place in the League Cup final.