The former Burnley striker scores his first goal while enjoying the rough nature of Scottish soccer

To assist Accies in advancing to the SPFL Trust Trophy quarterfinals, the powerful striker opened his Accies account.

Joel Mumbongo scored his first goal for Hamilton Accies in his debut game to help the team defeat East Kilbride, and he says he is enjoying Scotland’s tough brand of football.

Holders Hamilton advanced to the quarterfinals of the SPFL Trust Trophy with a 5-2 victory thanks to a goal from the Swedish striker.

Mumbongo, a former Burnley player, has joined the club from Tranmere Rovers on a one-year deal with an option for another year, and he is excited to be getting started right away.

The 24-year-old was scoreless in 20 appearances for Rovers last season, but he has scored once for Accies and says he is loving the physical nature of the Scottish game.

Mumbongo, who received a yellow card for a second-half brawl with Chris McGowan of EK, said: “It felt fantastic to get the goal. That’s what I’ve been hoping for, and hopefully I can keep going.

The first goal is usually a relief for a striker, but the most important thing is to contribute to the team.

“The goals will come when you work hard and make the appropriate runs.

“This place is fun for me. It is a fantastic squad and one that you should join.

We have a terrific manager, a strong squad, and good staff, so it has been extremely easy for me to come in. However, you still need to adapt and put in the work to learn the system and how we play.

“This place is physical, akin to England, but I like it since I’m a physical player.

“I feel that it fits me nicely. That aspect of the game is fun to me.

“I play with fire, and I’m not complaining. I think you have to.

“When you give it out, you need to accept that people are going to come for you, but that’s fine.”

Former Burnely teammate Joe McGlynn set up Mumbongo for his goal, which saw Mumbongo’s strike partner repay a favor from the most recent 5-0 league victory over Annan.

We have a fantastic chemistry on the field since we are familiar with one another from our time at Burnley, he continued.

“We spent about three years there.

“You develop strong relationships with everyone on the team over time, but it helps to start out ahead.

“I was confident that I would move into position as soon as Joe turned. I ran and asked Joe to get the ball.

It was then my responsibility to put it in the net.

“The team played well, and the game was good.

“There is a lot of confidence right now, and it is a result of the diligent effort we put in on the practice field.

“We don’t just show up on a Saturday and score five goals; we work hard, take care of ourselves during the week, and do what we need to do.

“We will keep on working hard.”

Accies manager John Rankin was happy to see his striker score on his fourth Accies appearance and believes it is the first of many. His team has gone 16 games without a loss.

“I’m thrilled for Joel to get off to a strong start,” he remarked. He works quite hard.

He occasionally accepts too many touches. He occasionally lacks polish, but that’s okay. We are prepared to create that and work with it.

He also contributes his athleticism, power, and strength to the team, among many other qualities.

“It’s fantastic that he scored, and I took him off after 70 minutes only to protect him.

We are attempting to develop him because he hasn’t had a preseason or many playing minutes.

“Hopefully this breeds confidence in front of goal and gives him a bit more impetus to score more goals.”