Ali Crawford had the best moment of his career at Easter Road as Hamilton defied the odds to beat Hibs and win promotion to the Premiership, so don’t tell him that lightning can’t strike twice.

There won’t be many people lumping their money on an away victory today as Martin Canning’s men make the trip east, although being written off is hardly a new concept to the Accies players.

As Crawford reflected upon one of the most famous days in the history of the club as they prepare to visit for the first time since, he is given sufficient reason to believe the can stop the rampant Hibees in their tracks by upsetting the odds again.

“I wasn’t meant to be starting that game,” Crawford said. “I was told the day before I was on the bench.

“But on the morning of the game the gaffer, Alex Neil, pulled me aside, said that he had made a mistake and that I would be starting. That was a bit of shock after what I was told the day before.

“We went into the game and started well, going 1-0 up. I was taken off with 20 minutes to go. It was hard to watch from the side but once we got the equaliser I had no doubt in my mind we would go on and do it. The scenes afterwards were special.

“Watching it, it felt like the longest game. Extra time felt like another 90 minutes. But we did the job and it was probably the best day of my career.”

While another club in the division with a budget that dwarfs Hamilton’s relatively meagre resources will undoubtedly make their annual mission to survive that much tougher, Crawford is happy to see Hibs back.

Accies, and Crawford in particular, have previous form for shining on the big stage, and he reckons a win for Hamilton today would have their many doubters eating their words.

“[Hibs] have been missed,” he said. “They have one of the biggest grounds and their fanbase is massive. It’s good to have them back.

“We go there expecting a tough game given how they have started this season. They have gone to Ibrox and beaten Rangers on their own patch.

“It will be difficult, but we have been there before and beaten them so it is not impossible.

“It is different circumstances this time as we are not fighting for promotion. But it is still a big game. You want to try and win every match possible. A positive result there would stand us in good stead for the rest of the season.”