St Johnstone 1 - 0 Hamilton: Liam Craig penalty sees Hamilton relegated

Published on Tuesday 10 May 2011 21:21

Hamilton saw their hopes of an unlikely escape from relegation disappear on a miserable night in Perth as Liam Craig's penalty ended their three-year stay in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.

Hamilton had threatened to continue their recent revival with a bright start but all hope was extinguished when Mark McLaughlin was sent off for bringing down Andy Jackson.

Craig slotted home the resulting penalty in the 29th minute and Hamilton's spirit could not make up for their numerical disadvantage.

Hamilton had taken ten points from four games to cut their deficit on St Mirren from 12 points to three but knew they faced dropping out of the SPL if they did not match the Paisley side's result at Aberdeen.

Hamilton had the ball in the net within a minute after Liam Craig's poor corner had allowed Simon Mensing to lead a break of three against two. But with Dougie Imrie and Nigel Hasselbaink to choose from, Mensing delayed his pass and the Dutchman was flagged offside as he slotted home. Hamilton's survival hopes then suffered what proved to be a fatal blow when McLaughlin was beaten for pace by Jackson after Peter MacDonald had headed on a long ball.

The centre-back slid in to bring Jackson down just inside the box with referee Steve Conroy awarding a penalty and showing a red card.

McLaughlin pointed at the referee's assistant as he complained about the outcome but Craig sent Tomas Cerny the wrong way to give Saints a 29th-minute lead.

Neil dropped back before Billy Reid brought on David Elebert for David Buchanan, to a chorus of boos from the travelling fans, and switched to a 3-4-2 formation, and while Accies did not look like conceding again before the break they struggled to get forward.

Reid's misery was compounded by news of St Mirren taking the lead at Pittodrie. Hamilton kept going forward but, when they did work themselves into a decent position, they lacked composure and the final whistle put them out their misery.

St Johnstone: Enckelman, MacKay, Maybury (Invincibile 75), Anderson, Duberry, Millar, Davidson, Adams (Reynolds 84), Craig, MacDonald, Jackson (May 76). Subs Not Used: Smith, Taylor, Robertson, Durnan.

Hamilton: Cerny, McLaughlin, Buchanan (Elebert 36), McDonald, Mensing, McAlister, Routledge (Gillespie 90), Crawford (Chambers 79), Neil, Imrie, Hasselbaink. Subs Not Used: Murdoch, Kilday, Elliott, Antoine-Curier.