Inverness Caledonian Thistle lost 2-1 to Hamilton Academical in the first leg of their Scottish Championship play-off final on Wednesday night, despite goals from Luton striker Aribim Pepple.

Six minutes in, Kevin O’Hara gave the home team, who came in second in Scottish League One, the lead with a spectacular 35-yard strike that sailed past custodian Mark Ridgers. Midway through the first session, Hamilton extended their lead when Fergus Owens scored after Hamilton’s initial shot had struck the crossbar.

Shortly after the hour, Pepple—who had been named on the visitor’s bench for the team that was second bottom in the Championship—was introduced following the interval. Within two minutes of entering the game, he scored his second goal for the team since moving north of the border in February with a crisp finish from close range. This Saturday, the two teams will play again in the second leg at the Caledonian Stadium. Michael Hewitt and O’Hara both wasted late opportunities to cut Hamilton’s lead to two goals.

Regarding the Town forward on loan, Inverness manager Duncan Ferguson stated on the team’s official YouTube channel: “I thought he was very good, he was direct.” He took his goal well, and you can see that they retreated two or three yards as a result of his strength and pace. Since I believe that was his first touch, I’m quite happy with Bim. I was happy that we were able to get back into the game, but we were unable to find the equaliser.

“At our place, we can overturn the one goal deficit that exists. In my opinion, we played a much better second half, controlling the game and pushing relentlessly. Though it didn’t exactly work out, I felt we were going to get the equaliser. We tend to our wounds, get over it, get back up, and move on. It’s all to play for, as I have faith in the team to reclaim this goal.

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