AFTER a week of explosive drama off the pitch, St Mirren and Hamilton produced a damp squib on it, with a 0-0 draw on a bitterly-cold day at New Douglas Park.

Scotland's whistling walkout has brought us seven days of strike-related shenanigans, meaning today was the day attention could move back to on-field matters.

But this was an error-strewn, poor-quality game, with little to warm up the 2,280 punters who sat shivering their way through it.

St Mirren could have won it with 20 minutes left when Simon Mensing turned Paul McGowan's cross into his own net, but the Israeli officials opted to chop the goal off.

Hamilton may feel they should have edged it, with both Paixao brothers managing to squander good chances after the break.

But Saints had two near-misses of their own through Steven Thomson, and overall a point was fair result from a game neither side did enough to deserve to win.

After the incredible will-they, won't-they, have-a-ref scenario being played out all week, it was ironic that it was probably the weather that posed the biggest threat to this game going ahead.

But the efforts of the Hamilton ground staff - who were still gritting the stands until half an hour before kick-off - allowed Israeli ref Meir Levi to declare the game on.

St Mirren made two changes; Aaron Mooy and the fit-again Steven Thomson came in, with youngster Kenny McLean benched and the suspended Michael Higdon out.

Hamilton had the better of the early chances, with Gary McDonald volleying high into the air from eight yards out, before Gavin Skelton hooked an effort wide.

Skelton tried his luck again with a dipping effort from distance, before Flavio Paixao came closer when he beat Craig Samson to the ball but volleyed over from four yards out.

Both teams were struggling to play with any sort of fluidity, with the frozen pitch contributing to error-strewn performances on both sides.

One wayward Paul McGowan shot from distance, aside, it took St Mirren nearly half an hour to threaten, but when they did it was a move of real - and rare - quality.

McGowan's incisive through ball was cleverly flicked on by Mooy for Thomson, but the midfielder pulled his shot just inches wide from 15 yards, with Cerny looking beaten.

Hamilton's deliveries were making it difficult for Saints, and Marc McAusland had to head one dangerous Flavio Paixao cross out for a corner, before Martin Canning nodded wide at the back post.

So far, the stand-in referee had barely been noticed, but he got a card out just before half time to book Mooy for a blatant handball just in front of the dugouts.