
Oli Shaw sets Hamilton on the way to an opening day victory
Oli Shaw gave Accies, relegated from the William Hill Championship last season, the lead on the stroke of half-time before Charlie Telfer made sure of the win in the 62nd minute.
Jason Brown bagged a brace as Peterhead brushed aside East Fife 4-1 in the battle of the teams promoted from League Two.
Lewis Latona put the Fifers in front after 20 minutes but David Wilson drew level moments later, while Kieran Shanks struck from the penalty spot just before the half hour.
Brown then put Peterhead in firm control just before half-time and then rubber-stamped an excellent start to the season a minute before the end.
Cove Rangers, beaten in last season's Championship play-off final by Airdrieonians, started their campaign with a 2-0 defeat at home by Queen of the South.
Kurtis Guthrie put the Doonhammers ahead just after the quarter of an hour mark but it was not until the 81st minute that they sealed all three points courtesy of Kai Kennedy's strike.
Alloa came from a goal down to claim a 2-1 win at Stenhousemuir.
Dale Carrick put the hosts ahead after a quarter of an hour but Steven Buchanan and Kurtis Roberts struck either side of the interval to help the Wasps start their season on the right note.
Billy McKay, Luis Longstaff and David Wotherspoon were all on target as Inverness eased to a 3-0 victory at Kelty Hearts.
In League Two, Alistair Roy and Mark Durnan scored to help relegated Dumbarton collect a 2-1 win over Clyde, whose goal from Marley Redfern proved to be mere consolation.
Annan, also relegated from League One last season, were grateful for Miles Gaffney's late winner after creeping past Elgin 3-2 in a game with a dramatic finish.
Dylan Gavin's goal for Elgin was cancelled out by Gaffney before Aidan Smith headed home a minute from time. Keith Watson's own goal looked to have rescued a point for Elgin but Gaffney had the final say.
Stuart Morrison's first-half effort ensured Forfar ran out 1-0 winners over Stranraer, who played the last half hour with 10 men when Evan Dunne was sent off.
Russell McLean's double lifted Stirling to a 2-1 win at Edinburgh City, who bagged a late consolation through Robert Mahon's spot-kick.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Footy star reveals the shocking job he had to do to get enough money to afford nappies for his newborn baby despite being contracted to an NRL club
Cronulla star Sione Katoa is flying high in 2025, but the hulking winger has revealed he struggled for money so badly early in his NRL career that he had to collect cans and bottles for recycling just to make ends meet. Katoa, born in Hamilton, NZ, has played on the wing for the Sharks at NRL level since 2018, making 120 appearances and scoring 79 tries. Internationally, he represented Tonga between 2022–24 and in the 2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s, earning four Test caps and three appearances in the 9s tournament. His journey to the NRL began when he was just six years old and his family moved to Australia, setting roots in Sydney's west in Granville. Katoa was always the naturally gifted one amongst his friends in Sydney, dominating basketball contests that would stretch until 1am at the local youth centre because they had 'nothing better to do'. 'The youth centre days were some of the best, most fun days I've had in my life,' he said. 'If I did go to school, that's where I would be after. If I didn't go to school, that's where I would be. If I didn't go to school, it was because I would stay until 12 or 1 in the morning playing basketball. 'I can honestly say that place helped me a lot, looking back now.' It helped them stay on the rails in a tough environment, with many of their peers living on the street, getting involved with drugs and facing a bleak future. Eventually, Katoa's athletic talents were noticed by the Cronulla Sharks, and he was offered a minimum wage contract to start in 2018 when he was just 20 years old. 'Coming through I didn't think "I want to play NRL", it just slowly happened,' he said. 'I enjoyed it, I had fun and that's how I got there.' However, his rags-to-riches story didn't quite play out that way in the beginning. While Katoa grew up poor and humble, he now had a young family to feed and the first contract he signed with the Sharks didn't go far in the gentrified Shire. Once a surfer's hangout, Cronulla became a coastal paradise with luxury homes lining the foreshore, and Katoa spoke about what he needed to do just to make ends meet after leaving Sydney's inner west for the Shire. 'I got married young,' he told the Bros and Cons podcast, hosted by friends he has known since childhood. 'Because I got my wife pregnant. In the Tongan culture, we got married. 'So we had a little wedding and then we had a newborn and then I had to move into the Shire.' That was the moment Katoa realised the road to the NRL was not paved with gold. 'It was my first time moving out of home,' he said. 'At that time, my contract was not that much. The minimum was about $60k [a year] or something. 'When you move to the Shire, you've got to pay rent, bills and all these [expenses].' Katoa quickly realised that the $60,000 contract was not going to stretch far enough once all those bills were factored in. 'There was a time I had to collect the 10-cent bottles [for recycling].' It would have been a strange sight for locals, to see a towering Tongan NRL star walking the streets and collecting rubbish for money. So he collected the bottles and cans under the cover of darkness. 'I would wait until Tuesday nights, that was bin night,' Katoa said. 'I would wait until it gets dark. So that is what I was doing that time when it got hard. 'In Cronulla, there is a lot of drinking. There is a lot of partying. 'So I would wait until 11pm, 12am at night to go out because I was scared people might see me. I was shy to show my face [while] I am doing this. 'But at home, I just needed money.' Things got so bad that Katoa and his young wife Taufa ran out of money for essentials like nappies and formula for their child Keziah. 'I knew every street, where the jackpot was, cases of [empty] beer [bottles],' he said, able to laugh about it now. 'I was probably the only one doing it at that time. 'Some nights I would have my daughter in the car with me sleeping. 'I would fill these bags up, stack them up on top of my car. 'My wife would tell me that is enough, come home.' Highlighting how much extra work Katoa was doing to bring in extra income, the Sharks winger said he would bring home at least $200 from his Tuesday-night scavenges - collecting an average of 2000 bottles. 'That's a story that, I never want to tell it. Because I feel embarrassed.


Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Inside Reading's grand plan to get back to the top: Rob Couhig's promise to 'burned' fans, the unusual reason they hired English football's first head of AI and why a 'no paper' office can lead to the Premier League
Very little clutters Rob Couhig's desk but there is a royal blue baseball cap to his left with a slogan promising to 'Make Reading Great Again' and a flashcard on his right with a felt-tipped reminder scribbled on it to be in the Championship by 2026. Couhig, the club's new American owner, denies responsibility for either. He is at a loss to explain the source of the promotion pledge, but the cap is the work of his wife Missy.

Leader Live
3 hours ago
- Leader Live
Falkirk come from behind twice to get the point against Dundee United
The Bairns fans watched the Championship flag being unfurled on the pitch before the game, marking their return to the top flight after a 15-year absence but against the general run of play Max Watters scored his first United goal in the 39th minute with a terrific volley from 14 yards. Dylan Tait levelled in the 50th minute with a fine finish but Ivan Dolcek restored the Tannadice side's lead in the 71st minute, with his first counter for United – only for home defender Ethan Ross to level with a deflected strike two minutes later. A share of the spoils was probably the correct outcome. Falkirk, unchanged, began the game unbeaten in their four Premier Sports Cup games this season. Jim Goodwin's side had won through to the Conference League third qualifiers with a 2-0 aggregate win over Luxembourg side UNA Strassen on Thursday night. Kristijan Trapanovski and Will Ferry missed out through injury, with Watters and Isaac Pappoe, the midfielder on loan from Ferencvaros, taking over. Falkirk, so comfortable on their artificial surface, immediately had United on the back foot, albeit failing to really test visiting goalkeeper Yevhen Kucherenko. The free-flowing Bairns kept pushing forward and in the 20th minute left-back Leon McCann's whipped in cross from the left arrived at Calvin Miller at the back post via a Brian Graham flick but he could not redirect his header towards goal. Kucherenko caused another scare when he was closed down by Ross as he aimed to clear but the ball bounced wide. United had a terrific chance to score on the break in the 26th minute but unmarked Watters' header from a Panutche Camara cross was too tame to unduly bother former Celtic keeper Scott Bain. However, the Taysiders forged ahead following a driving run into the left channel by former Falkirk midfielder Craig Sibbald, whose cross was repelled by Bairns defender Liam Henderson but only to on-loan Barnsley forward Watters, who thrashed the ball behind the helpless Bain. The second half continued in an open fashion and, after United striker Zac Sapsford was booked for diving in the Falkirk box, the home side levelled. Right-back Keelan Adams forced his way to the byline and cut the ball back for skipper Brad Spencer to lay it off to midfielder Tait, who hammered the ball high into the net from 12 yards. The home side had the ascendancy again but United stormed back into the lead after Camara drove forward and set up Dolcek, who beat Bain after his first effort had been blocked. Falkirk returned fire moments later when Ross' deflected shot from 14 yards after taking an Adams cross, wrong-footed Kucherenko. There were further opportunities at both ends in an exciting finale but the two sides sides had to settle for a point apiece.