Darian MacKinnon may have served his apprenticeship in the rough and tumble of the junior ranks but the Hamilton Accies ace admitted he has never seen anything quite like the brawl which marred Saturday’s encounter with St Johnstone at New Douglas Park.

The Saints duo of Richard Foster and Danny Swanson turned sinners as they became embroiled in an astonishing bust-up on the pitch at half-time and were sent off. They have both been suspended as the Perth club launch a thorough probe into the shameful spectacle.

As tempers flared near the mouth of the tunnel, MacKinnon himself became involved in a heated exchange with St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright during an eventful afternoon which ended with Accies claiming a valuable win thanks to Alex D’Acol’s last gasp winner.

The 31-year-old said: “It was a wee bit heated. It's not usually like that with St Johnstone. Even their manager was having a go at me. Even when I was coming out for the start of the second half he bumped into me and was trying to get me into trouble. It's not usually like Tommy. He is a nice guy, but maybe all the carry on that has happened has made him go a bit mad.

"I've no idea what Tommy's problem was with me. He's probably upset because we were saying to the ref and the linesmen that the two St Johnstone players are off. Just to let them know, as you do, trying to get them off to make it easier for us. He's probably taken offence to that but anyone would do the same and everyone was doing it.”

Of the violent tussle between Swanson and Foster, MacKinnon added: “I’d never seen anything quite like it, not even in the juniors. It was bizarre to say the least. But you can't do that. If you are going to do it, do it behind closed doors. It's not a good example for anyone, and I'm someone who likes a wee scrap now and again. They (Foster and Swanson) were shouting at each other all game. They were shouting about taking the ball in and defending but I never saw that coming.”

The nine-men of St Johnstone had re-grouped admirably after such a shock to the system and displayed terrific resolve and organisation during the second period but their spirited resistance was finally broken with just about the last kick of the game when Danny Redmond set up D’Acol who fired home to haul Hamilton off the foot of the table.

The Accies now face local rivals Motherwell on Wednesday night before another key encounter with Ross at the weekend as the battle to beat the drop intensifies. "It was a massive win for us,” said MacKinnon. “We knew we had to win today and hopefully we can go on a wee run now.”

"I kept saying to Ali (Crawford) and Dougie (Imries) that another chance would come but it came and we kept missing it. I started to doubt it myself but when Redmond came on he showed the composure we needed and Alex does what he does.”