THE sharp end of the first division may have that bright, snappy look

about it. I will even go a bit of the way with those who say that the

competition in this division will be more fierce than among the big

boys, with teams such as Dunfermline, Dundee, St Johnstone, Airdrie, and

Raith Rovers all vying for the one automatic promotion spot.

Down at the other end, however, it is pretty dour stuff and Firhill on

Saturday had more than its share of mediocrity as Hamilton hauled

themselves off the bottom of the table with a 1-0 win over Stranraer.

There were plenty of incidents, and Stranraer almost saved themselves

with an exciting late burst in which Hamilton hung on like a boxer

trapped on the ropes, but the quality of it all left a lot to be

desired.

Much was expected from Hamilton, who, earlier in the week, had put up

such a brave performance against Dundee United before going out of the

Coca-Cola Cup after a penalty shoot-out, but, obviously, they suffered a

reaction to those efforts and they left their fans on edge throughout a

match they should have won with a bit of comfort.

Instead, they had to rely on a goal from Peter Duffield just before

half-time to take the points. Jim Sherry set it up with a powerful run

from deep and he held the ball up well until Duffield ran into position

to take the pass and hammer home a vicious drive.

By that time Hamilton had seen their best spell and allowed Stranraer

back into the match. ''Players who were immense against Dundee United on

Wednesday were terrible today,'' said Hamilton manager Iain Munro.

''I would exempt Peter Duffield, who was lively and nippy, and Paul

Chalmers, who worked hard throughout. When we did manage to string three

passes together we made chances, but that only happened on three

occasions and it just isn't good enough.

''Im just grateful we got away with the three points and got ourselves

off the bottom of the table. But it is ridiculous that it took the

introduction of a 17-year-old boy to lift the team.''

The boy is Paul Hartley, who came on as a substitute for the last 15

minutes. In his short time on the field the youngster showed tremendous

potential. He has everything it takes to make him a star of the future

and now Munro's dilemma must be just how soon to push the lad into a

regular first-team spot.

For Stranraer, the most effective man was Darren Henderson, a big,

strong type who relishes the task of taking on opponents. It was a pity

that too often his final touch was rather wayward, but he was a huge

threat to Hamilton, especially in the later stages of the match.