St Mirren 0 - 0 Hamilton: Accies frustrate St Mirren

The First Division side earned a goalless draw at Paisley in their fourth-round tie, and the teams will now meet again on January 17 to determine who will progress to the last 16. Mensing, the influential Hamilton player, said: “It was a good result for us – to come here, play an SPL team and get a draw is excellent. We put in a lot of hard work and at times had a lot of the ball, especially in the first half. It was a good performance and it’s a massive result, especially for confidence. The replay is at home so we’ll maybe approach it a little bit differently.”

Mensing praised his side’s returning goalkeeper, David Hutton, as well as former Accies team-mate Paul McGowan, who was at the centre of the action for St Mirren. He said: “I was glad to see David come in and do well. He was excellent and deserves all the plaudits that he gets as he commanded the defence well. The defence were also very good. Playing against Paul is a hard task as he’s a good little player; he’s quick and you can see he’s central to a lot of what they do. The gaffer said to keep an eye on him; that can be quite hard at times, as he’s a tricky player.”

St Mirren manager Danny Lennon expects to have Jim Goodwin and Steven Thompson back for the replay. He said: “The dream’s still alive, we’re still in the cup and that’s the most important thing. I have to give Hamilton credit for the way they played. They’ll be the home side for the replay and they might have a different approach to the game. It’s a lovely big pitch at New Douglas Park, which will suit both teams.

“We know the importance of cup runs – everybody gets a bit of a lift. Players, managers, coaches and more importantly the supporters come out with the belief and the dream that maybe this is their club’s year.”