Peter MacDonald trudged off the New Douglas Park pitch on Saturday with a new sense of pride.

To the 2077 who had just watched the Dundee forward round off a 3-0 rout which would resonate through the SPFL Championship, the source of his contentment seemed obvious. However, the true reason for his joy - and his exhaustion - became clear.

"The last few days have been just unbelievable. Thursday was the best night if my life, and I've had a good few nights in my time," MacDonald said, narrating the tale with stunned amazement. "It's been hectic. My missus' water broke on Thursday at 6.20pm and by 11.50pm my son was born. It was an amazing experience.

"It's my first, a wee boy called Lyle, which is what I wanted for selfish and footballing reasons. My partner Philippa is delighted too. If she'd gone into contractions late on Friday I maybe would've missed the game."

Those of a Hamilton Academical persuasion will be wishing Master MacDonald had taken his time. His old man's header from close range in the dying seconds of this contest was, in truth, irrelevant as a blunt Hamilton Academical were already well beaten by the time MacDonald's effort ruffled Kevin Cuthbert's net. Yet the former St Johnstone man's influence was telling as Dundee continued to use him as a target with a range of long balls forward at pace to frustrate their hosts, who spent much of the afternoon knocking the ball about with precision rather than purpose.

"We all put in a fair shift," said MacDonald, whose goal added to those of defenders Iain Davidson and Declan Gallagher either side of half-time. "We had to be right in their faces. Hamilton are a top, top, side, and we just got them on an off day. It all started with hard work, we didn't give them an inch."

The effectiveness of John Brown's side - who scored with virtually every meaningful shot on target - was only outdone by the sheepish nature of their opponents, as the opportunity to move nine points clear at the top of the table faded with every goal conceded. Hamilton failed to make the ball stick when they got into advanced areas. Jon McShane and James Keatings were ineffectual, while the usually fine deliveries from Ali Crawford were mostly found wanting. They came closest to breaching the Dundee defence through McShane seconds before half-time, with the forward's header dropping just over the bar. Yet even that failed to excite the home crowd, who watched in wonderment as Brown acted as peacekeeper during a halt in play shortly before half-time, thanks to a ruckus between sets of fans near the pie kiosk. "I told them [the Dundee support] to get back up into the stand but they told me to eff off," said Brown. "I'd have been better speaking to the Hamilton fans . . ."

While Hamilton may have been out of sorts, this, only their second league defeat of the season, will not linger too long in the memory of Alex Neil, their manager. His players have coped with a raft of injuries, but as Keatings and Jesus Garcia Tena returned on Saturday, full-backs Stephen Hendrie and Ziggy Gordon ended up in hospital as a result of knocks.

However, with the William Hill Scottish Cup fourth round taking place next weekend, and Hamilton already eliminated, they have until the visit of Alloa Athletic on December 7 to regroup. "Missing going nine points clear is hard, the boys are gutted," said Crawford. "The dressing is silent, but we just need to pick ourselves up. We have a free week so we can get ourselves back fit, and go again against Alloa. They sat in and made it hard for us. We've passed it and they've just lumped it forward, they didn't play any football. We'll continue to play our style and hopefully it will pay off."