NEVER mind the Celtic players' new diet; these are salad days instead for Hamilton Academical.

Widely predicted to struggle around the foot of the SPFL Premiership table following promotion via the play-offs, Alex Neil and his group of young, enthusiastic players continue to confound expectation week after week.

They arrived at Celtic Park yesterday guarding a nine-game unbeaten sequence, having not lost since the opening game of the season. They departed a few hours later having taken that run to double digits courtesy of a 1-0 victory that also had the effect of taking them back to the top of the table. It was not undeserved either. They and their vocal bunch of supporters, who crowed in jubilation at full time, will not forget this afternoon in a hurry.

History had not been on their side. The last time Hamilton had won a competitive match at Celtic Park, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was hot-footing it across Europe to meet the German Chancellor, Adolf Hitler, as the threat of war grew ever more apparent. The date was September 14, 1938. They won again at the same venue in a friendly game a year later once conflict had begun, but subsequently had known only sorrow and disappointment in Glasgow's east end.

One swipe of Ali Crawford's boot dispelled those years of heartache. A cross from Stephen Hendrie after 49 minutes found its way to the midfielder and he got in ahead of Virgil van Dijk to thud a low shot into the bottom-right corner of the goal. Craig Gordon, Celtic's saviour against Dinamo Zagreb three days earlier, could do nothing to keep this one out. To add to Hamilton's growing list of achievements, Crawford is now the league's top scorer.

The lead was not undeserved, given how much the visitors had contributed to the first half, but it left them needing to defend for the best part of 45 minutes. It was not always pretty but they somehow managed it. By the end Celtic were increasingly desperate. Gordon was sent up for a late corner to offer an additional presence in the box and when the ball was only partially cleared, the goalkeeper hung around on the off-chance of an opportunity that never came his way.

By that point, Celtic should have been at least level anyway. Shots and headers rained in but were either off-target or cleared by a Hamilton defence expertly marshalled by Jesus Garcia Tena. Leigh Griffiths volleyed a chance wide and Kris Commons had a header saved but the worst culprit of the lot was Anthony Stokes.

The Irishman had been in the morning's newspapers extolling the virtues of Ronny Deila's new fitness regime but the weight loss seems to have affected his balance and sense of direction. Twice in the second half he headed wide when it seemed easier to score, the second miss from an Aleksandar Tonev cross in the 89th minute particularly glaring. Celtic Park groaned collectively in despair, correctly sensing it would be their team's final real opportunity to salvage something from the game.

Their profligacy was not restricted to the closing moments. John Guidetti, back in the team after being ineligible for the Europa League tie, shoved a shot wide of goal in the first half, before Michael McGovern made a great save to keep out a header from Jason Denayer, then parried a low drive from Commons.

This was Celtic's first home league defeat since November 2012 and brought to an end a run of games that suggested Deila had maybe turned the corner. It was his team's first defeat since losing to Maribor in the Champions League qualifying tie at the end of August but it left them in sixth place in the table, six points behind yesterday's visitors, albeit having played a game fewer. The looming international break offers Deila lots of time for contemplation.

His opposite number can reflect with a far greater sense of satisfaction. Neil, who did not play in the game but still managed to get booked, had promised his team would come and play with a sense of attacking spirit and he was true to his word. They could have scored within 40 seconds - Dougie Imrie failed to touch in a tempting Hendrie cross - but did not let their heads go down. They were impressive throughout, especially in the calm manner in which they defended. In periods when they had to survive some sustained Celtic pressure their preference was always to clear the ball with a series of short, sharp passes rather than simply hoofing it up the park. It was hard not to be impressed.

Celtic, to be fair, would have won comfortably had they taken just a small portion of the chances they created but their overall play was unconvincing at times and they looked vulnerable on the counter attack when they pursued the game late on. Hamilton could have eased their nerves had they scored a second but Tony Andreu was denied a tap-in when substitute Louis Longridge chose to go for goal himself, and then saw his shot curl just the wrong side of a post. In the end, one goal was all they needed. They would have been dancing in the streets of Academical for a long time last night.