Tagliapietra settled at Hamilton

Lucas Tagliapietra is confident he can make an impact and establish himself as a first-team regular at Hamilton this season.

The Brazilian was named in the starting line-up as Accies were held to a goalless draw by Partick in their Ladbrokes Premiership opener on Saturday.

The 24-year-old arrived at New Douglas Park in January and made a handful of appearances last term.

And he insists he is more than ready to hit the ground running this season and show exactly what he is capable of.

Tagliapietra said: "This year, I had a pre-season with the team and I started from zero.

"It's very different to last season because I've had all the preparation.

"When I came here in January, I had to start from the middle of the season and it was a little bit difficult physically.

"But I'm feeling well, I'm feeling confident, I'm feeling happier."

Thistle were reduced to 10 men when Frederic Frans was dismissed for a second bookable offence after just 25 minutes.

Hamilton went on to dominate most of the match but could not find a way past stubborn Partick, who defended staunchly.

Former Accies goalkeeper Tomas Cerny, in particular, had a big part to play in securing a point by producing a superb save to deny Ali Crawford in the second half.

Tagliapietra admits the home side should have taken maximum points from the league curtain-raiser.

He added: "It's impossible to be happy with the result because I think we deserved to win.

"We controlled the game, we kept the ball and we had so many chances.

"Their goalkeeper had a great day. We played very well but we couldn't get the result.

"However, there are a lot of positives we can take from this game into the next game, so we are looking forward to next week."

Partick boss Alan Archibald was satisfied with the goalless draw in the circumstances.

He said: "I've got to be happy with the point, with 10 men. We worked hard and rode our luck.

"Our goalkeeper was outstanding and you need that with 10 men. It's hard with 10 men in the first game of the season.

"But we prepared well in pre-season and that was good as they showed great fitness levels and energy and I was delighted with the togetherness of the team."