Hamilton opened up a five-point cushion on relegation rivals St Mirren as they halted the Buddies recent resurgence with a 3-1 triumph in Paisley.
Oran Kearney’s men were looking to leapfrog Accies out of the drop zone after taking four points from the previous six.
But those hopes were crushed as first-half strikes from Dougie Imrie and Ziggy Gordon were followed up by a third from James Keatings after the break to give Martin Canning’s team just their second win in nine.
Stephen McGinn had given second-bottom Saints hope when he halved Hamilton’s advantage on the stroke of half-time but Simeon Jackson’s dismissal midway through the second period killed off any chance of a comeback.
St Mirren also shipped three goals to Accies back in September but they had a confident look early on after registering their first win under Kearney against Hearts last week.
However, it took just 21 minutes for the underlying fragility that has plagued the Paisley outfit all season to be exposed again by Hamilton’s opener.
From a Keatings corner, Imrie peeled away from the front post before glancing a looping header over defender Ethan Erhahon at the back post.
Saints had lost their way and Kearney responded 11 minutes before the break by introducing Ryan Edwards for Ian McShane, who made his thoughts on his manager’s decision clear as he stormed back to the bench.
The change was not enough to stop Accies netting again three minutes before the interval. Another pin-point Keatings delivery caught out the Buddies back-line as they stepped forward. Rogers stayed put on his line and Gordon was left free in the danger zone to stab home.
However, the deficit was back to one just before the half-time whistle as Accies failed to clear a Saints corner. Erhahon turned the ball back into the box for McGinn, who hooked in on the swivel.
Yet St Mirren were left fuming six minutes after the restart when Gordon escaped with just a booking despite hauling back Jackson as the striker burst through on goal.
And with their full complement intact, the visitors raced forward to hit Saints with a third goal in the 55th minute.
Darian MacKinnon’s cross-field pass sent Aaron McGowan scampering clear on the right. The full-back drove inside to tee up Keatings, who whipped a stunning finish into the top corner.
And bad went to worse as Jackson got his marching orders with 23 minutes left, collecting a second yellow after going in late on Gordon.
Saints continued to fight but were left frustrated as Danny Mullen’s volley rattled the crossbar late on.
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