And they sparked into life with five tries, which laid the foundations for their round two tie against Falkirk this weekend and, what the club hopes will be, another Murrayfield final appearance.
Not that it was all plain sailing however as Accies
, desperate for points to keep them away from the relegation zone, almost snatched a losing bonus try deep into injury time.
However, that ended when Melrose's Callum Anderson intercepted a loose ball and ran the length of the field for a breakaway try.
It was not a day for kickers with the normally reliable Scott Wight handing over his duties to James King after missing five – and the ex-Borders Reiver took it all in his stride.
His first kick wobbled over, but King crowned his experience by adding three more.
He told TheSouthern: "I got the call off Wighty. "I was not sure if he was injured or could not take any more. The first one was a bit left to right but I struck the ball well after that.
"I kicked with Berwick and the Borders and then stopped practicing because of my knee injury.
"It was a good win for us as we had to work hard for it. Over the past couple of months it has been difficult with no games but the hard ground suited us.
"That gets the confidence back up and now we are ready to go on a cup run, although we will not take Falkirk lightly."
Melrose were boosted when a yellow card for Dan Teague left an opening for a try each from Nick Beavon and Fraser Thomson in the space of seven minutes – while Accies also cashed in on extra numbers when David Rattray went over with Beavon in the sin bin.
Accies rumbling forwards are perhaps not pretty to watch, but they are effective, and it was only when Melrose started to put the ball wide and their pace generated their maximum potential that victory looked on the cards.
Melrose played to their strengths against an Accies side which relied heavily on its pack. But the home pace provided early tries for Ben Allen and Thomson before Rattray's score and the boot of Gavin Douglas saw Accies turn round 13-12 ahead.
But Melrose's two tries with Teague off the field, and Anderson's touchdown in the fifth minute of injury time, ended the contest.
Melrose: F. Thomson; C. Anderson, J. Murray, J. King, B. Allen; S. Wight, S. McCormick; K. Cooney, W. Mitchell, N. Beavon, S. Johnson, G. Elder, J. Dalziel, N. Mactaggart, R. Miller. Subs: L. Gibson, A. Gillie, T. Miskelly, R. Chrystie, A. Dodds.
PREMIER DIVISION ONE