Dundee 0-2 Hamilton Academical

Hamilton leapfrogged Dundee to move two points clear of the relegation play-off spot with victory at Dens Park.

A frantic first half yielded chances aplenty, Marcus Haber and Faissal El Bakhtaoui both coming close for Dundee.

But when Tom Hateley brought down Dougie Imrie in the box, Alex D'Acol converted the penalty for Accies.

El Bakhtaoui saw another shot saved before Michael Devlin headed home a corner late on to condemn Dundee to a seventh straight defeat.

Paul Hartley's side slip into the relegation play-off spot in 11th, five points above bottom side Inverness.

Accies' first Premiership away win of the season lifted them up to ninth, level on points with Ross County, who host Celtic on Sunday.

Haber brought the first save of the match from Remi Matthews as his low driven shot from the angle of the box was turned round the post by the Accies goalkeeper.

The Canadian striker should then have got his head on a fine Hateley cross from the right, but from eight yards out he failed to make contact with the ball.

As the first half flowed from end to end, Massimo Donati blasted over from long range and Rakish Bingham watched as his powerful right-foot effort was turned round the post by Scott Bain.

Greg Docherty then had an effort parried by the Dundee keeper, and when the ball broke to Imrie, he sliced his volley wide.

But midway through the first half the visitors took the lead. Hateley mistimed a tackle on Imrie and D'Acol dispatched it beyond Bain for his ninth goal of the season.

Dundee striker Faissal El Bakhtaoui (left) came close to scoring on several occasions

El Bakhtaoui led the hosts' charge for the equaliser. The talented former Dunfermline striker came close on two occasions, firstly with a surging run and shot which went wide and then a header which Matthews tipped to safety.

The French-Moroccan forward also had a penalty claim turned down after colliding with Georgios Sarris, while Craig Wighton's shot was cleared off the line by Docherty after a well-worked corner kick from Hateley.

The second period yielded fewer chances as Donati headed an Imrie corner over the bar while Matthews had to be alert once again to keep out El Bakhtaoui's low shot at his right-hand post.

It became a frustrating day for the hosts as anxiety crept in, and they conceded a second goal six minutes from time.

Devlin got free of his marker to head home Danny Redmond's corner kick and seal Accies' first away league win of the season - a potentially significant moment in their efforts to secure Premiership status for another season.

Post-match reaction

Dundee manager Paul Hartley: "I am disappointed in certain aspects of the performance and obviously the result is a body blow for us.

"We started OK, we were lively and we had some opportunities, but we weren't clinical enough. That probably sums up the story of our season, and the last half-dozen games.

"Then we were sloppy and gave away a penalty. We are just not playing well enough, it is pretty simple.

"Seven defeats in a row is not nice but it is a challenge to myself and the players. We just have to dig in and fight for every point between now and the end of the season."

Hamilton Academical manager Martin Canning: "It is a big, big result for us, and I thought we did it with a bit of quality as well.

"We played really well in certain parts of the game, and probably should have scored a couple more, particularly in the second half when we broke away a few times.

"But at this stage of the season the most important thing is getting three points and I am really pleased with the effort and work-rate today.

"You can't get too low when you lose, and you can't get too high when you win. We have got five huge games left but if we keep our intensity and keep working hard, I'm pretty sure we'll be fine."