St Mirren 1 Saints 1 League Table Here
Team : Cuthbert, J-Ro, McQuilken, Vata, Weir, Maxwell,
Sid, Reilly, Mixu, Parker , McLaughlin
Subs : Nelson, Dods, Bernard, Forsyth, Hay
Well at the umpteenth attempt the game finally got the go-ahead in pseudo- hurricane conditions with a strong wind and drizzle throughout the 90 minutes which made the action on the pitch about as attractive as the view from the away section. Yup, with Saints bringing an even larger support than the start of the season, our hosts still decided to stick us opposite the main stand.
After the exertions of the last week, Saints were unchanged in their starting line-up with Paul Bernard taking Ryan Stevenson's place on the subs bench. Unfortunately Rowbotham turned up to impose his unique interpretation of the rules of the game onto the proceedings.
Saints started poorly kicking against the wind and both sides took a while to settle with the Paisley mob coping better in the conditions. In fact we looked tired from the first minute with the midfield especially struggling to link up. For all that though shots at goal were a rare occurence. A freekick was easily held by Cuthbert in the 5th minute but he had to be a lot sharper a minute later when he could only palm away a long-range low drive - luckily he gathered the ball before a St Mirren player could follow up. The home side were making the most of the wind with a series of balls into the area which the Saints defence made a mess of clearing.
One shot went over the bar but there was little to get excited about - certainly not from Saints' point of view with our first real chance coming in the 20th minute when Donnelly had a good run into the box end in a tackle. Gradually we began to get back into the game. A McQuilken freekick was hit straight at Hinchcliffe then the same player saw a great cross from the left missed by both Parker and Mixu in the 6-yard box. Parker turned provider on one of his all-too-rare runs down the right-wing in the 28th minute but his ball into the box was just missed by McQuilken.
The Cat punched a dangerous St Mirren corner clear on the half-hour and two minutes later, Keigan and the Saints fans vented their anger on the referee after Andy Millen ended the Saints player's run with a tackle on the edge of the box but was allowed to play on by the referee. Five minutes from the break we had our best chance of the match. The trademark short corner routine saw the ball played into the box where it was only half- cleared to Mavis who fired in a great shot from the edge of the area which the keeper did well to parry.
So you can probably guess what happened next? Correct - two minutes later and we were 1-0 down. A St Mirren attack ended with Rudi making a great tackle in the box. Unfortunately the ball broke to an unmarked Murray 25 yards out and his hard, low drive beat Cuthbert and hit the back of the net.
The second period started as scrappily as the first with Vata and Weir making late clearances within the first couple of minutes of the restart. And in the 52nd minute Stark made his first change with the largely ineffective Mixu being withdrawn in favour of Bernard with Sid moving up front. And three minutes later we should have drawn level. A quick break found Robertson on the overlap down the right wing. His shot was blocked by the keeper but the ball broke to McQuilken at the back post. He played it back into the box and found Sid who from close range turned and fired in a shot which came back off the underside of the crossbar with the help of the keeper.
The resulting corner was cleared and St Midden immediately broke up the park and courtesy of the Saints defence standing off him, Gillies was given plenty of room to attempt a low shot which went just wide of the goal - far too close for comfort anyway. By now Rowbotham and his sidekicks were leaving their mark on the game with some inexplicable decisions. Mavis picked up a soft booking on the hour in one of the few non-contentious breaks in play, before Saints were all over the place trying to clear their lines.
Still, in the 63rd minute the travelling faithful were rewarded with as sweet a goal as you'll see all season. Started on the left with some close play, Mavis played a neat one-two with Bernard before squaring the ball to McLaughlin in plenty of room. One step and another pass out found Robbo coming round behind the St Midden defence and before you knew it he was in the box and slamming the ball home to make it 1-1.
Unfortunately the legs were starting to go for Saints in the conditions and the game got scrappier once more. Parker picked up his inevitable "marked man" booking for a late foul. He was quickly followed by van Zanten for a so-late-it-was-next-week challenge which left McQuilken needing treatment.
The chances were few and far between as was the decent football although both teams were chasing a winner. Bernard had a through ball which was just too far in front of Parker and then St Mirren stuck a header just wide of the Cat's goal. Parker was replaced by Hay for the last 20 minutes and in the 73rd minute he should have done better when McQuilken's cross found him in the box but he was unable to turn and get a shot in. Two minutes later he got onto the end of a McLaughlin pass but the angled shot went over the bar. Maxwell had a free kick blocked and we forced a few corners to little effect. At the other end St Mirren had a cross go just wide of target before Saints had another go with a weak Maxwell header. Then with three minutes left a St Mirren corner found Broadfoot but his header went off the top of the bar although the Cat seemed to have it covered.
In the end a draw was probably about a fair result with the conditions being the winner on the day. Saints looked tired for most of the game and struggled to find any flow to their play. MoM isn't easy to pick but I'll go for Rudi Vata who was rock-solid at the back. We didn't really have a bad player as such on the night just a lot of tired legs.
Never mind, just the wee matter of Saturday's match to go then it's back to one game a week......
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| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Points |
| Clyde | 27 | 16 | 5 | 6 | 45 | 30 | 53 |
| Caley Thistle | 27 | 15 | 4 | 8 | 53 | 29 | 49 |
| Saints | 27 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 48 | 31 | 47 |
| Ross County | 27 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 43 | 31 | 42 |
| Falkirk | 27 | 12 | 6 | 9 | 37 | 32 | 42 |
| Queen of the South | 27 | 12 | 6 | 9 | 37 | 35 | 42 |
| St Mirren | 27 | 6 | 10 | 11 | 24 | 36 | 28 |
| Raith | 27 | 7 | 6 | 14 | 29 | 45 | 27 |
| Brechin | 27 | 5 | 6 | 16 | 27 | 56 | 21 |
| Ayr United | 27 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 28 | 49 | 20 |
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