Home win takes Accies through

Nigel Hasselbaink helped Hamilton claim their first home win of the season in a 2-0 victory over 10-man Alloa in the Scottish Cup fourth round.

Simon Mensing saw a late penalty saved after Alloa goalkeeper Stephen Robertson had been sent off before Flavio Paixao sealed the win in injury time as the majority of the 1,054 crowd headed home happy for once thanks to the win against the Second Division side. Hamilton were boosted by the return of Hasselbaink, who was back in the side following an absence of six weeks with a knee injury. Alloa were without injured duo Brown Ferguson and Mark Brown, while Dougie Wilson was unavailable for the cup tie. Accies' form at New Douglas Park this season meant this was a match where an upset could have been on the cards and Alloa would no doubt have fancied their chances ahead of the trip to Lanarkshire. With a point to prove, it was the home side who looked more dangerous in the opening spell and David Buchanan slipped a decent pass into the path of Marco Paixao in the box but goalkeeper Robertson was off his line quickly to clear before contact could be made. The Portuguese then saw another chance squandered moments later, this time sending a header flashing just wide of the upright. Alloa's first real chance came when Kevin McDonald tried his luck with the shot only to rifle over. He then had a decent penalty shout when he appeared to be tripped in the box by Andy Graham but referee Alan Muir ignored the pleas. The visitors had another opportunity to open the scoring when Andy Scott picked out Bryan Prunty in front of goal only for the striker to swipe at fresh air with the goal at his mercy. At the other end, a Marco Paixao header crashed off the crossbar but the offside flag was up anyway, before Accies surged into the lead with 33 minutes gone. Flavio Paixao was the provider with a lovely pass for Hasselbaink, who slipped the ball through Robertson's legs. Scott Walker desperately raced back and tried to hook to safety but his pace let him down and the ball trundled over the line. Accies had the chance to all but put the tie beyond Alloa a few minutes after the restart when Marco Paixao whipped across the face of goal for Dougie Imrie, whose point-blank shot was blocked well by Robertson. The Wasps could have levelled in spectacular fashion just before the hour mark when Michael McGowan tried his luck with an audacious attempt from the halfway line which was only just gathered by Tomas Cerny in the Hamilton goal. There was concern Hamilton when Hasselbaink required treatment following a challenge by Walker but he was able to return to the action before eventually making way for the introduction of Damian Casalinuovo. With just over 10 minutes to go, the home side were desperate to ensure there would be no late comebacks and Flavio Paixao set up substitute Jim McAlister for the header only for Roberston to pull off another decent save. There was a dramatic climax to the match when Robertson was shown a straight red card for a foul on McAlister in the box, as the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Substitute David Gormley took over the gloves and did well to save confidently from Mensing's spot-kick with a minute to go, but Paixao did manage to bullet a header home from close range in injury time.