Last season, St Mirren would have drawn this match. Their defence would have eventually crumbled under a territorial bombardment and an equaliser would have been conceded.
This term, though, things are different. The personnel are, essentially, the same, but the mentality has evolved. Two years of top-flight experience are beginning to have an effect on Gus MacPherson's side.
Without underestimating the quality they exhibited at times on Saturday, the difference between the teams was knowing how to play at this level; how to establish a lead and close out a match.
It took the Paisley side two attempts, mind you. Full-back Franco Miranda - an accomplished performer - opened the scoring, but Marc Corcoran, the former St Mirren winger, equalised. However, the visitors have learned over the past two seasons how to deal with such situations and restored a decisive lead with a messy finish to a fine passing move, Billy Mehmet forcing in.
Mehmet had missed a penalty minutes earlier, but even that did not discomfit St Mirren, who have recorded consecutive wins to propel themselves up the Clydesdale Bank Premier League. MacPherson concurred it may have been different last term but was delighted with the belief shown by a group of players buoyed by a win over Rangers in their last outing.
Now, their experience has fuelled momentum, a valuable currency in this division "It's so tight that it's very difficult to get three wins in a row, but if you do, that's how you move up the league," said Jack Ross, the Paisley defender signed from Falkirk in the summer. "We had a similar run around December last year at Falkirk and ultimately that's probably what got them into the top six, so it can be done. It breeds confidence and we go to Dundee United next Saturday in a positive frame of mind.
"There is a belief here and you have to come to places like this and win if you have ambitions, and we do. We want to progress and improve on what the club's done in the first two seasons back in the SPL. If it's one place higher or four places higher, that can only be done coming to places like Hamilton and winning."
In truth, St Mirren had to be little more than competent to quell their hosts. For all their possession after the interval, in particular, Hamilton created only a couple of opportunities and rarely looked like beating Mark Howard.
James McCarthy, their lone bright spark, identified two problems. "We've not been able to score lately and we've lost two goals again, and we need to stop losing cheap goals," he said. "That's a few games now without a win and we need to improve. But as the gaffer says, we can't beat ourselves up too much because it was just the final ball that let us down."
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