ST MIRREN may have cause to wonder what might have been had Kristian Dennis been able to return to the team a fortnight earlier.

It was impossible to shake the feeling of deja vu here as Jim Goodwin’s men tried to protect their slender one-goal lead in the face of growing Hamilton pressure.

Two weeks earlier, the failure to score a second goal had cost St Mirren a place in the top six when Hamilton plundered a late equaliser to break their hearts.

This Scottish Cup tie appeared to be drifting towards an identical denouement until Dennis emerged off the bench after 63 minutes for his first appearance in two months.

Goodwin had feared an Achilles injury would keep the Englishman out for the rest of the season but he showed no sign of any lingering aches as he made a stunning intervention to catapult St Mirren into the fourth round.

Fastening on to Jon Obika’s lay-off, Dennis took a touch before launching a shot high into the top corner of the net. A third goal from the penalty spot five minutes later made sure but it was Dennis’ intervention that proved the key.

“It’s great to have Kristian back and he took his goal superbly,” said Goodwin. “We thought he was out for the rest of the season after he had an eight-inch tear in his Achilles tendon but it’s credit to him and our physio that he’s back.

“And if we can get him fit then we have a 20 goal a season striker.”

The other two goals were supplied by Jamie McGrath who continues to impress. Given the current travails of the Republic of Ireland national team it seems somewhat negligent of manager Stephen Kenny not to be running a regular eye over this St Mirren team for whom five of his countrymen regularly feature.

Most impressive of the bunch this season has been McGrath who continues to thrive in an attacking central midfield role.

He collected his 12th goal of a stellar personal campaign after just five minutes here, latching on to Ilkay Durmus’ cross to lift an exquisite lob over goalkeeper Ryan Fulton and into the far corner of his net.

His second goal – and St Mirren’s third – came from the penalty spot. McGrath seems to have a way of beguiling goalkeepers as he makes his run-up and it was the same here after Fulton had been adjudged to have tripped Obika. The end result was the same.

“Jamie’s goal was outstanding in terms of his technique and his composure,” added Goodwin. “With no disrespect to anyone, he is easily the best player I’ve ever worked with as a manager. All the other players look up to him, not because he’s a shouter and bawler because of the courage he shows.

“The Republic of Ireland team is crying out for goals and creativity. Stephen Kenny has a hard enough job without me telling him who to pick but Jamie supplies both.”

Accies will regret not taking advantage of a sustained spell on top as they chased an equaliser. The worst offender was David Moyo who, after being picked out by a terrific raking cross from Ross Callachan, somehow headed the chance over.

In an astonishing post-match outburst, a clearly frustrated Brian Rice felt his team were repeatedly getting a raw deal from referees.

He said: “I’m angry as we are getting nothing. I’m fed up phoning Crawford Allan [head of refereeing] and getting shoved to the side because we are only Hamilton. Am I paranoid?

“I would like Crawford to take us seriously. I have been in football 40-odd years. I know when I am getting shafted. Well, it’s not me getting shafted, it’s my players.”