Motherwell loanee Connor Shields bagged a brace for Championship leaders Queen's Park as the Spiders ended Hamilton Accies' five-game unbeaten run.
Shields' double along with strikes from Jack Thomson and Aaron Healy did the damage to sink Accies, who grabbed a consolation through Dario Zanatta.
It is only Hamilton's second defeat in their last 10 outings in all competitions but it has seen their lead over Arbroath at the bottom of the table cut to just one point after Lichties drew with Partick Thistle.
Hamilton now host Arbroath on Friday night in a colossal clash under the lights at New Douglas Park, which could play a pivotal role in determining the automatic relegation spot come the end of the season.
Accies made one change from the midweek win over Inverness as Andy Winter dropped out and Lucas de Bolle came into a 3-5-1-1 formation, having missed Tuesday’s game through injury. They also welcomed back midfielders Tom Sparrow and Reegan Mimnaugh with the duo starting on the bench after injury.
The hosts created the first real opportunity of the game when a Connor Smith free-kick into the box wasn't cleared properly by the Spiders defence. The loose ball fell at the feet of Dylan McGowan 10 yards out and the defender scooped his shot over the bar when he should have at least tested Calum Ferrie in goal.
Queen's Park went straight up the other end and almost broke the deadlock themselves when a cross from the left found Connor Shields, but the on-loan Motherwell striker's backheel flick on the volley flashed past Ryan Fulton's far post.
Some sloppy play from Queens almost gifted the hosts a big chance in 27 minutes when John-Pierre Tiehi applied pressure on a back pass, forcing Ferie to mis-kick his clearance. It looked like falling to Smith 20 yards out but the midfielder couldn't quite get it under his control to punish the Spiders.
Three minutes later the visitors took the lead. An attack down the right saw Marcel Oakley break into the box and when McGowan slid in to challenge him, the rebound fell for Thomson and he kept his composure to curl the loose ball into the bottom corner.
It was almost 2-0 five minutes later when Shields was played in down the left and his fierce goal-bound effort clipped the inside of Fulton's legs and slammed into the side-netting. From the resulting corner, Fulton was forced into further action when he did well to keep out a Stephen Eze header at the back post.
In the act of defending the corner, Accies were dealt a blow when captain McGowan was forced off injured and had to be replaced by fellow loanee Tom Sparrow with 37 minutes on the clock.
Accies were looking for a penalty in 39 minutes when Martin darted into the box and went down under pressure from Oakley. Referee Willie Collum, however, wasn't interested in the hosts' claims.
In the final minute of the half good work by Matty Shiels slipped in Smith and his rasping drive in the box forced Ferrie into a top stop to turn his effort over the bar. Moments later, Smith also saw an effort in the box deflected wide as Spiders clung on to their lead at the break.
Accies turned to their bench at the break as Lewis Smith replaced Lawson, as they looked for a creative spark to get back into the contest.
Their task was almost made tougher just 40 seconds after the re-start when Oakley burst into the box and his low drive brought out an important save from Fulton at his near post.
Malachi Boateng should have scored moments later when he got on the end of a dangerous Dom Thomas delivery and glanced his header agonisingly wide of the target from inside the six-yard box, leaving Accies to breathe another huge sigh of relief.
Down the other end, space opened up for in-form Connor Smith, who had bagged three goals in his last three appearances, to have a pop at goal from the edge of the box but he sclaffed his strike, allowing Ferrie to gather comfortable.
With 57 minutes on the clock, Accies fell further behind when the visitors enjoyed another bit of good fortune to score. Shields did well out wide to create space for a cross and when he delivery took a deflection off an Accies head, Healy was on hand, unmarked, to blast the ball beyond Fulton.
It got worse for the hosts six minutes later when good work from Dom Thomas picked out Shields and he hammered home a strike from inside the six-yard box to give Fulton no chance.
That could have been enough to make Accies completely crumble but they stuck in and substitute Dario Zanatta pulled one back in 68 minutes when a Tiehi strike was blocked and he buried the rebound.
Accies sensed their could be a comeback on the cards and Tieh should have reduced the deficit further in 76 minutes when Lewis Smith's determination earned him the break of the ball in the box. When he cut the ball back to Teihi on the six-yard line and he blazed over under pressure.
That came back to bite them just seconds later as Spiders surged down the field on their next attack and Shields grabbed his second of the day, latching on to another Thomas assist to strike from close range and ensure Accies were sent packing.
John Rankin's men must now lick their wounds for Friday's massive match against their relegation rivals.
HAMILTON: Fulton, O'Reilly, McGowan (Sparrow 37), Owens, Lawson (L Smith 46), Tumilty, Martin, Shiels, de Bolle (Zanatta 60), Tiehi (Winter 82), C Smith (McGinn 60).
Scorers: Zanatta 68
Bookings: L Smith
Subs not used: J Smith, Easton, Mimnaugh, Stephenson.
QUEEN'S PARK: Ferrie, Eze, Robson, Fox (Reid 90), Oakley (Davidson 71), Boateng, Savoury, Thomson, Thomas (Bruce 90), Healy (Henderson 71), Shields (McPake 79).
Scorers: Thomson 30, Healy 57, Shields 63, 76
Bookings:
Subs not used: Heraghty, Jarrett, Biggar, Williamson.
HT: 0-1
Ref: Willie Collum
Att: 1,310
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