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St Mirren move off the bottom of the Scottish Premiership table after beating Hamilton Academical to claim their first away league points.

Jim Goodwin's side had lost all eight previous games outside Paisley this term but had by far the better chances.

The visitors hit the woodwork three times before Cameron MacPherson struck the winner just after half-time.

Alex Gogic was sent off with 15 minutes left as Hamilton's winless run stretches to 10 games.

Only one side in it

Manager Goodwin sensed that this was a big chance for his side. Their away form had been, quite frankly, abysmal, but that was not in his mind. He saw an opportunity to take a massive three points.

"I'm not interested in setting up negatively - draws aren't good enough," he said pre-match and his team started sharply, setting the tone for the rest of the game. Winger Ilkay Durmus came close inside five minutes, with a strong hand by Luke Southwood touching his half-volley on to a post.

St Mirren initially failed to build on that start and allowed the hosts back into the game. In fact, they could have very easily had conceded a penalty, with Marios Ogkmpoe adamant he had been brought down by Calum Waters inside the box. But referee Don Robertson waved play on.

The two teams failed to carve out any chances of note in the remainder of the half but St Mirren came out flying after the break. Hamilton kicked off and 15 seconds later, the visitors hit a post. A long ball forward unsettled the home defence and Junior Morais squeezed in before toe-poking against an upright.

St Mirren sensed blood, Accies were rattled. As was their woodwork just a few minutes later for a third time in the game. MacPherson's whipped free-kick was too high for everyone, including Southwood and it clanged off bar and clear.

It was an onslaught, and then came the breakthrough. An inviting cross from the left was not dealt with properly and in came MacPherson, whose blistering shot was too fast for Southwood. All this inside the first seven minutes of the half.

Though they did not create many further chances, St Mirren were in complete control. Brian Rice attempted to change things and had made all three substitutions by the hour mark, but to no avail.

And when Gogic brought down substitute Cooke after good work from Morais, there was no indecision from referee Robertson and the game looked to be done.

There was still time for a scare, though. Just five minutes from time, substitute David Moyo found himself in acres with a free header. He could not have placed it more accurately in the hands of Vaclav Hladky had he tried. St Mirren travelled to South Lanarkshire with just one available centre-back, yet that was Accies' first and only attempt on target - 85 minutes into the game.

As Robertson blew his whistle for the final time, Goodwin walked over to each of his players to congratulate them. He clapped the travelling supporters before beating the St Mirren badge on his chest.

Off the bottom of the table, a first away win of the season, a performance he will be proud of and hope going into a busy festive period. A good day's work.

Man of the match - Cammy MacPherson

BBC Sport Scotland's Jane Lewis at Foys Stadium

The award goes to St Mirren's MacPherson. His thunderbolt of a strike gave the Paisley club their first away league win this season but he was also one of St Mirren's key men, creating chances and keeping a cool head in what was a vital game for him and his team-mates.

He also played with confidence, which was impressive considering this was only his fifth league appearance of the season. His free-kick demonstrated he's not frightened to have a go.

'It could have been a lot easier' - reaction

Hamilton head coach Brian Rice: "It's a bad result for us. We didn't capitalise on the chances we created in the first half. The quality wasn't there today.

"I have faith in the boys. Sometimes we lack quality but we know that. You need endeavour and commitment and we've got that in abundance."

St Mirren manager Jim Goodwin: "We're all delighted. A hard-fought victory. It could have been a lot easier if it wasn't for hitting the woodwork so many times.

"Thankfully we got over the line - a huge result against a team who are going to be in and around us all season."