Last updated on .From the section Scottish Premiership

Anders Dreyer's controversial penalty earned St Mirren a draw at fellow strugglers Hamilton as both clubs gained a point on Scottish Premiership bottom club Dundee.

The Dane tumbled under a second-half Ziggy Gordon challenge with what appeared to be minimal contact.

Steve Davies' fine finish had put the hosts head a couple of minutes earlier.

Saints are three points clear of Dundee and four behind Hamilton with five games left.

Despite their relegation fears the teams treated fans to an engrossing second half full of drama and chances.

Either side could have won it in the final minutes. Cody Cooke lashed just wide for St Mirren and Hamilton striker George Oakley had a volley superbly saved, with Tony Andreu's follow-up cleared off the line.

Strugglers put on a show

Hamilton had conceded seven goals in two games and their defence seemed stricken by the jitters in the first half. Too often the hosts were their own worst enemy, giving away possession cheaply at the back and inviting pressure.

They only just got away with it when Scott McMann passed straight to Brad Lyons in the box. The midfielder took too long to get a shot away and McMann's despairing challenge deflected the ball behind.

St Mirren should have gone in front shortly before the break when Lyons raced clean through down the left. The midfielder could have squared the ball to Danny Mullen for a simple finish, but chose to shoot and got it badly wrong.

Earlier, Hamilton's one moment of real quality almost broke the deadlock. Davies turned smartly and his 16-yard drive was well saved by Vaclav Hladky racing out to spread himself.

Accies were much improved after the break and hit the woodwork in the opening minutes when Hladky fumbled a Mickel Miller cross on to his own post.

That set the tone for a breathless 45 minutes. Miller's fierce drive brought the best out of Hladky before Davies grabbed a classy opener, meeting Tony Andreu's left-wing cross on the volley with a deft flick in off the post.

The lead lasted just three minutes as Dreyer's tumble convinced referee John Beaton to point to the spot and the Dane did the rest.

Spurred on by the sense of injustice, Brian Rice's men pushed hard for the winner and came closest with Oakley's volley at the death. They couldn't find a winner, but climbed seven points clear of bottom spot.

Defeat would have been harsh on St Mirren, though, who had their fair share of opportunities as they look to climb out of the play-off place after the split.

'Credit Rice for tactical switch' - analysis

Former Hamilton midfielder Derek Ferguson on BBC Sportsound

I think Dundee are gone now. Accies needed this today and will be happy with a point although they were unlucky not to get all three. Ziggy Gordon was a bit rash at times. The penalty looked soft, but John Beaton was only yards away and thought were was enough contact.

Credit to Brian Rice - he changed Hamilton's shape, went four at the back, allowing the forwarding-thinking players to get into dangerous areas.

St Mirren will be disappointed as they dominated the first half and Brad Lyons had a couple of great opportunities. If St Mirren had got their noses in front, you would have worried about Hamilton's chances of coming back.

The fear went out of both sets of players in the second period and they just went for it.

'I might punch Ziggy' - reaction

Hamilton manager Brian Rice: "I haven't seen the penalty again, but the ref has given it so there's no point arguing about it. I'm sure one day we'll get one.

"If you go to ground in your box you give the referee a decision to make. It was naive of Ziggy, but an honest mistake. I'll go in there and put an arm around him - and maybe punch him."

St Mirren boss Oran Kearney: "It was a big performance throughout the team and just disappointing we didn't take our chances in a game of this magnitude. We feel we should have won, but Vaclav Hladky makes a wonder save at the end so we could easily be coming away with nothing."