Hamilton Acad 3 -1 Dundee United Scorers. Hamilton - Stevenson (29), McArthur (39), Graham (63); Dundee Utd - McLaughlin (23og) A town that for the past 20 years has traded on the success of its racecourse and its popular Palace nightclub now has a team to be proud of again. What an addition Hamilton Academical are already proving to the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.

After the Old Firm's insipid start to season 2008-09, Billy Reid's newly promoted side heralded their arrival with an enthralling and contemptuous win against Dundee United, a team roundly tipped to finish top of the league within a league.

For now, Accies can revel atop the entire division, if only till the weekend. First impressions last: on last night's evidence, Accies will not be fleeting visitors to the top flight. This was feel-good throwback football; the kind a younger generation imagine Third Lanark to have played before their untimely demise.

Reid will rarely, if ever, have experienced a more sweaty or satisfying stint in the dugout. The manager twitched and hollered his way through 90 minutes as menacingly as Ray Winstone in a gangster flick. He needn't have fretted.

Hamilton's reputation preceded them but their combination of youthful vitality and collective fearlessness prevailed handsomely. James McCarthy and James McArthur, the great inseparables, strangled the life out of United's midfield. It forced Craig Levein to leave his seat in the stand and administer radical surgery to his flummoxed side.

McCarthy, the precocious 17-year-old, was deterred by force as United's desperation grew and his brilliance blossomed; Willo Flood was booked for a tackle that lacked malevolence but reeked of frustration all the same.

McCarthy limped off in added-on time to a hero's acclaim. In contrast, the half-time removal of Prince Buaben, United's ineffectual playmaker, symbolised Accies' tactical and technical triumph. The hosts were relentless in their high-tempo passing game. By the end, they were rampant.

Tony Stevenson, their buzzing right-back, tore down the flank at will to claim a goal and a winning assist. Mark McLaughlin, a journeyman centre-back, caused menace at either end. Richard Offiong, once of Newcastle United, demonstrated the kind of athleticism that made mannequins of United's brutish centre-backs, Lee Wilkie and Darren Dods.

The last time Hamilton troubled the top division they did so as fashionably as one of John Lambie's dovecots or Willie Jamieson's hairstyles. They left with a whimper 20 years ago but, ominously, with a departing win against Dundee United. The new Accies returned to the big stage in New Douglas Park, complete with a new SPL-compliant pitch but with their style founded on old-fashioned principles of attractive and entertaining football.

It made for a refreshing and rousing night in South Lanarkshire. The welcome mat was rolled out by Ronnie MacDonald, the club's caustic chairman, and the pleasantries continued inside. Officials, resplendent in standard issue shirt and tie, were as attentive and subservient as airline cabin crew while pom-pom girls provided the glamour.

The unfurling of the first division championship flag may have been an anti-climax but not so Hamilton's contribution. A statement of intent was immediate. Offiong danced past Dods and sent David Graham darting clear. The striker's shot, though, was shovelled away by Lucasz Zaluska. It would be the start of a busy night for the Pole.

Such bravado was heartily encouraged by a throbbing crowd. Chris Swailes was next to engage Zaluska, thumping a header that was unconventionally swiped away by the keeper. The Premier League can be an unforgiving environment, though, and Hamilton's early sparring was rewarded by a bloody nose.

Flood, United's impish Irish midfielder, delivered a cross that was intended for the new boy, Warren Feeney, but instead found the forehead of McLaughlin, who rather expertly dispatched the ball past his helpless goalkeeper, Tomas Cerny. Redemption would take the sweetest form. It was a learning curve that momentarily took the wind from Hamilton but they simply drew breath and resumed their adventure.

The equaliser came in equally freakish circumstances. Tony Stevenson clipped a free-kick into the centre of United's goal that did not appear to take a deflection, but the ball's trajectory confused Zaluska to the extent that it better had, to spare his embarrassment.

A manic first half finished in marvel for McLaughlin. The initial felon flung himself at another Stevenson free-kick and thumped a header past the right goalkeeper this time. McArthur was credited with a poaching touch on the line but - although it appeared to strike his hand - he did not argue with his senior colleague.

A memorable night entered dreamscape when Graham - booked moments earlier for diving by the immaculate Stuart Dougal - thumped home emphatically after Offiong fluffed his lines. Just for good measure, Cerny spent the final moments fending-off United's late bombardment.