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By Jonathan Sutherland BBC Scotland at New Douglas Park

St Johnstone duo Danny Swanson and Richard Foster were sent off for fighting with each other as Hamilton struck late to move off the foot of the Premiership table.

Alex D'Acol scored the crucial goal that lifted Accies above Inverness CT.

But the main talking point came at the end of the first half.

Swanson and Foster were involved in a furious on-field altercation after the whistle and both were shown red cards at half time as a result.

The sides were evenly matched in the first half with the hosts marginally shading possession.

Saints, however, coped well with the numerical disadvantage and looked like taking an unlikely point until D'Acol scored from close range.

Despite the defeat, St Johnstone have confirmed their place in the top six due to results elsewhere.

The battle of New Douglas Park

The football became an afterthought after the incredible altercation between Foster and Swanson.

Richard Foster (left) was sent off for his part in the incident with team-mate Danny Swanson

There appeared to be a verbal exchange between the players, Foster then aimed a punch at Swanson and he retaliated by appearing to kick Foster in the face.

Other players then intervened and before long it seemed as if every player - plus backroom staff - were involved.

At half-time news emerged that referee Don Robertson had sent-off both Swanson and Foster, and brandished yellow cards to Ali Crawford and Paul Paton.

Hamilton assistant manager Guillaume Beuzelin was sent to the stands.

It was the second major brawl in a matter of days in Scottish football following the fracas involving Hibernian and Morton.

Low quality first-half

The half-time brawl took away almost every memory of a lacklustre opening 45 minutes.

Hamilton had had the better of things, with Greg Docherty impressing in midfield.

His shot in the fourth minute was fiercely struck and forced St Johnstone keeper Alan Mannus into a fine save.

Saints' Danny Swanson (number 11) saw red for the altercation with Richard Foster

A fluffed volley by Dougie Imrie should have yielded more for the home side, before Georgios Sarris' header was deflected wide.

Then came a glorious chance for Rakish Bingham. The striker had an age to get his volley away but he blazed the effort high into the stands as the groans rang out around the stadium.

Late joy for Accies

With a two-man advantage, Hamilton put the pressure on Saints but again they struggled to create any clear cut chances.

Credit is due to the Saints players left on the pitch as they dug in to try to salvage a point.

A great chance fell to Crawford who flashed in a first-time shot from the edge of the area but St Johnstone keeper Mannus produced a fantastic reaction save to keep the score at 0-0.

Alex D'Acol was the hero for Hamilton with a vital late winner

But just as it looked like it would finish goalless, the ball fell to D'Acol who fired home from close range in the 90th minute to grab a hugely valuable three points for the home side.