THis was a piece of drama which had a cast of goodies and baddies as well as a satisfactory ending for Hamilton Accies as Alex Neil's side moved into pole position in the Premiership.

For Dundee United's Nadir Ciftci, however, there was the dual role of hero turned villain, with an early goal being followed by a red card, all before the curtain fell on a pulsating first half.

He and Hamilton's Darian MacKinnon, were both booked in a touchline tussle, and when the Accies equaliser came from the boot of Mickael Antoine-Curier he taunted the home dugout and earned a second yellow card.

Neil was right to believe the first decision to book MacKinnon on that occasion was harsh.

"He got caught under the guy's legs," he said. "How he was supposed to get out from under Ciftci, who was on top of him, I'm not quite sure. There were no flailing arms or kicks."

Ciftci had earlier enjoyed a happier moment. A double-Dutch manoeuvre involving the United attacker and his countryman, Mario Bilate after 17 minutes brought its reward. Bilate's quick thinking in taking a throw-in on the right sent his team-mate clear and Ciftci cleverly went inside full-back Mikey Devlin before rounding a hapless Michael McGovern to grab the opener.There then followed a remarkable period which brought three further first-half strikes and that reduction in personnel.

The sequence started when Antoine-Curier capitalised on an error by United defender Callum Morris and drilled home a low shot into the net in the 27th minute. MacKinnon's eagerness to rub salt into United's wound following the goal was a step too far for referee John Beaton, whose second yellow signalled his dismissal.

Like a soap opera, though, there was more to come and the next instalment saw the visitors take the lead in the 34th minute.Anthony Andreu's 25-yard shot brought a hint of comedic value to proceedings as keeper Radoslaw Cierzniak allowed the shot to slip through his hands.

Then came the sending-off sequel. Ciftci used a hand to force the ball home from close-range five minutes before the break, a midemeanour that brought that second yellow card. Five minutes remained of the first-half, plenty of time for another episode of this absorbing game. It came seconds before the referee brought the half to a halt as Gary Mackay-Stevens' corner kick from the left was met by the head of centre-back Jaroslaw Fojut to restore parity.

Unsurprisingly, the second 45 minutes could not recapture the same excitement, despite Jaroslaw Fojut's looping header, which forced McGovern into acrobatic mode to prevent losing a third goal, and a wonderful double stop from Cierzniak to defy first Antoine-Curier and then Alister Crawford.

Duneee United manager Jackie McNamara refused to hide behind a familiar, cliched script. He said: "We were schoolboyish at times. It was a strange game.

"Nadir used a hand to push the ball into their net. You can't do that and he'll be punished for that and then we'll lose him for the derby against Dundee next weekend. Once you're on a yellow card you have to be intelligent enough to ensure you don't get a second one."