Saints were held to a disappointing draw against a stubborn Hamilton Academical side who finished up with 10 men.
Junior Morias wasted an early chance for the Buddies which proved to be a sign of what was to come as they struggled to convert their first half dominance into meaningful chances.
The dismissal of Accies' George Oakley early in the second half could have provided fresh impetus but that failed to appear and when Sam Foley's late goalbound effort hit team-mate Jon Obika it pretty much summed up a frustrating afternoon for the hosts.
Morias started up front on his own as Tony Andreu replaced Obika, who was relegated to the bench. So to was Kyle McAllister with Ilkay Durmas restored to the team, while Kirk Broadfoot was handed his first start since his return to the club as he replaced Gary MacKenzie. The Hamilton defence included Sam Stubbs, son of former Saints boss Alan, with Oakley and Marios Ogkmpoe leading the attack.
Large sections of the home support thought their side had taken an early lead when Kyle Magennis spun and let rip with his left foot, however his effort from the edge of the box found the wrong side of the net. Another nice passing move allowed Paul McGinn to tee up Morias but unfortunately his shot posed more of a threat to the corner flag than the Accies goal. Morias turned provider when he fired in a cross for Magennis but he was unable to react quickly enough and the ball bounced off his head and away.
The visitors hadn't threatened at all in the opening quarter but nearly took the lead with their first effort on goal. Ogkmpoe had plenty of time and space on the right to pick out Oakley and Vaclav Hladky got the slightest of touches to the striker's shot as it went inches wide of the post. Accies were able to force a series of corners without making them count and it proved to be just a blip as Saints were soon back on the attack, Andreu heading Magennis' dinked delivery straight at Hamilton goalie Owain Fon Williams.
Things got a bit scrappy after that, both teams enjoying possession but not able to do a great deal with it. Magennis shot wide from a well worked corner before the Saints fans were screaming for a penalty. Foley sent Morias bursting through on goal and he went down under a challenge from Brian Easton, however ref David Munro was unmoved. A Blair Alston header from a corner gave Accies a rare chance just before the break, Oakley's header flying just wide.
Saints started the second-half brightly but hadn't created anything of note before the visitors were reduced to 10 men. Oakley had already been booked in the first half for flattening Ryan Flynn and when he caught Sean McLoughlin with his elbow Mr Munro felt he had no option but to show the striker a second yellow card. McLoughlin nearly rubbed salt into the wound a few minutes later as he fizzed a shot over from 25 yards.
The Buddies quickly looked to take advantage of their extra man, Paul McGinn sending in a teasing cross that Stubbs did well to clear with Morias lurking. However, they were finding it difficult to break down the well organised Accies defence so it was little surprise to see McAllister replace Durmas after an hour. His arrival forced the visitors even further back but chances, let alone goals, were rare, Magennis flashing a shot from the edge of the box just wide of the far post.
Both keepers had made few meaningful saves but Hladky did well on the rare occasions he was called into action, palming away a stinging Alston drive. Saints just couldn't create anything and McAllister wasted a free-kick when he curled it tamely into the arms of Fon Williams. The winner should have arrived a minute later. Andreu's replacement Danny Mullen saw his header from a corner deflected back to Foley and his effort was going in – only to be blocked by Jon Obika. Despite five minutes of added time it proved to be Saints' final chance of note and a fitting end to frustrating afternoon.
Full-Time: St Mirren 0-0 Hamilton Academical
St Mirren: Hladky, P.McGinn, McLoughlin, Broadfoot, Waters, Flynn, Foley, Magennis (c), Andreu (Mullen 69), Durmus (McAllister 62), Morias (Obika 76)
Subs Not Used: Lyness, S.McGinn, Breadner, Djorkaeff
Hamilton: Fon Williams, McGowan, McMann, Stubbs, Easton, Collar (Hughes 62), Alston, Gogic, Smith (Beck 78), Ogkmpoe (Moyo 74), Oakley
Subs Not Used: Southwood, Fjortoft, Davies, Want
Referee: David Munro
Assistant Referee: Frank Connor
Assistant Referee: Graham McNeillie
Fourth Official: William Collum
Attendance: 4,807
Gallery pictures by Allan Picken © - Allan Picken Photography
