THEY had waited three-and-a-half years to see who would claim the bragging rights in Lanarkshire.

Then another 120 minutes and penalties on top of that.

At the end of a League Cup tie that started slowly, but warmed up as temperatures dropped, it was Hamilton Academical who eventually emerged victorious.

Their reward is a quarter-final tie against Aberdeen at Pittodrie and the title of kings of the county for the next three days, at which point these two local rivals -separated by just three miles - will do it all again in the league at Fir Park.

It will do well to match the drama of what unfolded last night. It took penalty kicks to find a winner. Even then the teams matched each other stride for stride, the first five from each side converting their kicks with aplomb.

Simon Ramsden, Motherwell's first taker in sudden death, then saw his shot saved by Michael McGovern. That left the way open for Craig Watson, the 19-year-old midfielder, who kept his nerve to score.

The celebrations that followed were a sign of just what it meant to both players and supporters.

Motherwell lost to Albion Rovers in the Scottish Cup on their previous visit to this ground - and they would depart harbouring similar feelings of frustration on this occasion.

Hamilton prevailed despite playing a large chunk of the second half and all of extra-time with just 10 men after full-back Stephen Hendrie was sent off for a second booking.

Motherwell, too, finished a man down. Mark O'Brien, the defender on loan from Derby County, had been booked in the tunnel at half-time for a crunching tackle right before the whistle.

That would come back to haunt him in the first period of extra-time when he was penalised for impeding Ali Crawford.

He could only watch on helplessly as Hamilton held their nerve in the shoot-out.

It was, eventually, a tumultuous affair. As derbies go, the Lanarkshire edition is unlikely ever to be mistaken for Boca Juniors versus River Plate - the behemoths of Buenos Aires football - but it was still a fairly animated affair.

It was particularly frenetic in the crowd at the junction of the Main Stand - where the more exuberant of the Hamilton support gather - and the corresponding corner of the away stand, where flares were lit and missiles thrown amid other boisterous scenes.

Hamilton player-manager Alex Neil named a young side for the match.

From the team that drew 0-0 with Kilmarnock on Saturday, Neil reduced the average age even further by benching Jason Scotland and Dougie Imrie and starting 23-year-old Louis Longridge and 18 year-old Eamonn Brophy.

It begged the question whether they should all be out this late on a school night.

None seemed fazed by the occasion or sense of responsibility, especially in the shoot-out.

Motherwell, historically, have had the upper hand in this but the diverse manner in which both have begun their respective league campaigns meant Hamilton went into the tie sporting greater confidence.

The way in which the bulk of play flowed mainly in the direction of Dan Twardzik's goal was a reflection of that, although Motherwell would gradually begin to redress the balance the longer the second-half wore on.

The only frustration for Neil would have been the lack of chances that arose from his team's initial superiority. Most tended to be of the speculative kind, with Crawford the one looking most likely to break the deadlock.

One shot, following Tony Andreu's pass, was blocked, while a second from distance drifted just wide of goal.

When Twardzik was finally called into action, it was to haul in Longridge's impressive turn and thud that seemed to be soaring into the top corner.

Motherwell's sole response of note before half-time was a John Sutton header from a corner that drifted harmlessly over.

By the time Accies defender Hendrie was shown a second yellow card, for obstructing Ainsworth in 66 minutes, Motherwell were beginning to look more dangerous on the counter-attack.

They had a penalty appeal for handball dismissed by referee Craig Charleston.

Momentum swung behind the visitors as they finally created meaningful goalscoring chances.

Sutton slid an effort just wide from a corner, before Michael McGovern threw up his hands to keep out Iain Vigurs' blast from close range.

Motherwell continued to knock on the door in extra time. Jack Leitch fizzed a shot wide then Josh Law powered an attempt against the crossbar and Ainsworth scudded the rebound against a post.

They would regret those misses when Hamilton prevailed on penalties.