St Mirren U20s were left disappointed as they fell to defeat at home in the SPFL Development League. Visitors Hamilton went into a 3-0 lead in less than an hour and, despite a late goal from Conor O'Keefe and chance from the penalty spot from Kalvin Orsi, Saints couldn't get their way back into the match.
Hamilton dominated the first half but it was Saints who began the game in bright fashion. O'Keefe whipped in a good free kick from the left that met the head of Lewis McLear but the effort went over the bar. O'Keefe then believed he'd have the chance to open the scoring a minute later as he got on the end of a ball through from Kalvin Orsi, leaving him one-on-one with Darren Jamieson in the Hamilton goal but was to be denied by the linesman's flag.
Hamilton went closest to opening the scoring with a little over five minutes on the clock when Rakish Bingham's goalbound effort was deflected narrowly beyond the post Darren Whyte. The visitors had a couple of corners in quick succession and were having the best of the pressure which paid off just before the 20 minute mark with Ross Cunningham opening the scoring. The midfielder was there to tap the ball into the net after Reece Willison had pushed away Daniel Redmond's initial attempt. It was a disappointment for Saints but Hamilton had been having more pressure and deserved the lead.
Accies continued to have the best of the pressure with Cunnigham going close to getting a second five minutes after opening the scoring but his shot from outside the box was well held by Willison. Bingham had two opportunities for Hamilton; first ballooning a shot over the bar before sending a free kick from around 22 yards out over as well.
Saints finished the half strongly and could've equalised twice through McLear. The striker forced a tremendous save from Jamieson as he leaped above the Hamiton defence to power a header towards the top corner but the Accies keeper tipped the ball over the bar. From the resultant corner, McLear found himself in space at the far post to get his head on to the deep corner but he couldn't direct goalward and the Saints went in at half time 1-0 behind.
The hosts would've wanted to build on the strong finish to the first half but found themselves two behind just a few minutes after the break. Ryan Tierney broke into the box, cut inside before lashing the ball beyond Willison to double Accies lead. It was a fine finish and left Willison with no chance but it was a frustrating start to the second half for the young Saints.
Any hopes the Buddies would have of getting themselves back into the game looked to have been killed off less than 10 minutes later when Bingham put Hamilton 3-0 ahead. The big striker was in the right place at the right time to knock the ball into the net. There was no way he could've missed as he tapped in following Jack Breslin's run into the box and cutback and it put the gloss on a good night's work for the visitors.
The Saints U20s tried to get back into the game with McLear sending another header by the post and Calum Gallagher forcing a fine save out of Jamieson after stinging drive from a tight angle. Conor O'Keefe pulled a goal back with 10 minutes remaining, beautifully lifting the ball over the Accies keeper to reduce the deficit. Things were set to take an interesting twist two minutes later when McLear's cross was handled by a Hamilton defender and a penalty was awarded. Orsi stepped up to take the penalty but was left disappointed as Jamieson was equal to the attempt.
The young Buds couldn't find a way back into the game and Hamilton leave Paisley with the three points.
St Mirren: Willison, McNaughton, Stewart, Magennis, Whyte, McDonald, Gallagher, McLear, Orsi, Flanagan, O'Keefe
Subs: Henry (GK), McKendry, Barclay, Johnston, Fawkes, Scally, MacPherson
