Hamilton Accies are out of the Premier Sports Cup after conceding a late equaliser at home to Queen's Park.
John Rankin's men looked to be on the road to qualification for the knockout stages when Andy Winter struck after four minutes to net for the third game in succession.
However, Hamilton's resolve was broken 12 minutes from time when Jake Davidson curled the ball home inside the box to level.
In the shootout for the bonus point in the Group H clash, Accies prevailed 5-3 in a result that sent both sides out.
Rankin's men finish the group in second spot on eight points but it will not be enough to qualify due to their goal difference.
Accies made one change from last week’s 3-0 win away to Forfar as summer signing Jonny Ngandu dropped to the bench and Andy Winter came in after netting in their success at Station Park.
The visitors also had a solitary alteration from their last outing, a 2-1 defeat at Dundee, with Liam Brown being replaced in midfield by Alex Bannon.
Former Accies star Louis Longridge was among the Spiders 11, while Josh McPake started on the bench following his loan move from Rangers earlier in the day. Ex-Cambuslang Rangers striker Scott Williamson was also among the substitutes.
Inside the first 90 seconds Accies came agonisingly close to taking an early lead when Steve Lawson's out-swinging corner found Dan O'Reilly darting into the box, but his downward header was hoofed off the line by Dom Thomas.
And that early pressure paid off in the fourth minute. Winter latched on to Lewis Smith's through ball and the forward drilled a low strike past Calum Ferrie into the bottom corner for a deserved lead.
Moments later Accies breathed a sigh of relief as the break of the ball fell kindly for Thomas inside the box, and his shot whistled past the far post with no-one able to turn the ball goalwards.
The hosts were enjoying the best of the play early on with Matty Shiels firing just wide and Dan O'Reilly continuing to cause problems at set pieces with another header turned away after 20 minutes, this time deflected over the bar by his own team-mate, Andy Ryan.
Some stoic defending from skipper Brian Easton kept the Spiders at bay as he got his head to most things into the box and put his body in the way to get a vital block on Patrick Jarrett's strike at the edge of the box after half an hour.
As half-time approached Ryan will have felt he was about to score when Lewis Smith's header over the top of the defence looked to have played him in for a strike 10 yards out, but the outstretched boot of Charlie Fox pinched the ball away from his grasp, just as he looked like pulling the trigger.
Four minutes into the second half Accies were relieved to see the offside flag go up as Simon Murray nodded the ball past Ryan Fulton at the back post.
Accies had another escape when Thomas honed in on goal and lifted the ball over the out-rushing Fulton, only for his effort to land narrowly wide of the empty net.
In 63 minutes Queen's Park introduced McPake for his debut alongside Williamson as they chased an equaliser.
Down the other end O'Reilly was a threat in the air again and, thankfully for Queen's Park, a bullet header from another Lawson delivery was blocked in the box.
Tensions falred when Owen Coyle to exception to something and marched over to the Accies dugout, but a telling off from referee Don Robertson for both managers cleared the air.
The Spiders were continuing to ask questions of Hamilton's resolve and eventually it broke in the 77th minute.A bit of pinball in the box saw the ball fall to Jake Davidson 10-yards out and he kept his cool to curl the ball past Fulton after some of his team-mates had fluffed their lines before him.
Both sides pushed for a winner as Andy Ryan had a header well saved in the dying minutes while Jack Thomson fired straight at Fulton.
And in the 90th minute a superb stop from Fulton denied Thomas Robson a winner as he broke into the box and tried to find the far corner and the sides had to settle for a point.
In the shootout Steve Lawson, Matty Shiels, Dan O'Reilly, Andy Ryan and Jonny Ngandu all netted in a perfect display of spot-kicks. For Spiders Liam Brown, Grant Savoury and Simon Murray while Jake Davidson missed the crucial kick on the third round of kicks.
Accies now look ahead to league action and host Morton, managed by Hamilton legend Dougie Imrie, in next week's Championship opener.
HAMILTON: Fulton, O'Reilly, Want, Easton, Doyle, Shiels, Martin (Spence 71), Lawson, Ryan, L Smith (One 81), Winter (Ngandu 71).
Scorers: Winter 4
Bookings: Want, Martin
Subs not used: J Smith, Owens, McGinn, Mimnaugh, Brown.
QUEEN'S PARK: Ferrie, Fox, Davidson, Robson, Bannon, Longridge (McPake 63), Thomas (Thomson 73), Brown, Jarrett (Williamson 63), Savoury, Murray.
Scorers: Davidson 78
Bookings:
Subs not used: Heraghty, Kilday, Gilles, Bruce, Naismith, Moore.
Ref: Don Robertson
HT: 1-0
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