An Adam Rooney penalty was enough to hand Aberdeen a seventh straight win as it overcame Hamilton Academical 1-0 at Pittodrie on Wednesday (AEST) to stretch its lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership to five points.

The host, still on a high after a memorable win over Celtic at the weekend, took the lead on 23 minutes when Graeme Shinnie was fouled in the box by Hamilton's Ziggy Gordon.

Rooney then stepped up to convert the resulting spot-kick, although Aberdeen should have increased its lead as the game wore on.

Rooney came close to doubling his tally just after half time, but his header was denied by a terrific save from Hamilton goalkeeper Michael McGovern.

Niall McGinn hit the bar 13 minutes from time after some good work from Kenny McLean as the host continued its efforts to kill the game.

Yet despite Gramoz Kurtaj seeing an effort deflected wide, the host's slender lead proved enough to claim another valuable three points and condemn Hamilton to a second straight defeat.