Accies are the G force
Hamilton........... 3 Stenhousemuir .. 0
Hamilton boss Martin Canning was happy to get the job done after his team won Group G with an easy victory over Stenhousemuir.
Ali Crawford, David Templeton and sub Steven Boyd were on target for the Lanarkshire side, who had made eight changes in the wake of their eight-goal draw in midweek with Albion Rovers.
Canning said: “We’re happy to be through. These games can be difficult as teams sit back and make it difficult for you to play.
“We created a lot of chances and could have scored another couple of goals. I thought the creative players like Ali Crawford and Danny Redmond did really well and that was crucial.”
The home side had their first real opportunity in 14 minutes with a free-kick 25 yards from goal.
Crawford was brought down by Thomas Halleran before the playmaker got to his feet and guided the ball into the back of the net.
Hamilton doubled their lead in 56 minutes.
Rakish Bingham started the move and substitute Louis Longridge laid the ball off for Templeton to smash into the corner of the net from just inside the box.
Boyd should have stuck the ball in an open goal from 12 yards after being set up by Bingham but he fired over.
He made amends with the third goal in the 74th minute, a cute, looping header over Chris Smith after Redmond’s chipped pass set up the chance.
Stenny boss Brown Ferguson said: “We won’t meet that level of opposition every week so I’m quite pleased overall by how we performed.
“We do need to step up our game but we have a good shape.”