HAMILTON, Scotland — Twelve miles outside of Glasgow, at the tiny New Douglas Park soccer stadium, Colin McGowan was talking about divine intervention.

McGowan is the chief executive of Hamilton Academical, a soccer club founded by a school in 1874. It has experienced little success in its 140 years; at the turn of the 21st century the club was close to extinction. Wages were unpaid, players went on strike and the team was relegated to the third tier of Scottish soccer.

But this season, after an unlikely ascent to the Scottish Premier League, Hamilton Academical, or the Accies as it is known, had risen as high as first place.

The club moved up to the top of the league with a surprise 1-0 victory over nearby Celtic, which, along with its Glasgow neighbor Rangers, has dominated Scottish soccer for three decades.