Painful weekend in Paisley as Shaughnessy sees shot At history slip away

IN the raw aftermath of a painful 1-1 draw with Hamilton that felt like an agonising defeat, St Mirren manager Jim Goodwin pinpointed the decision by referee Don Robertson to award Accies a late free-kick, from which they scored, as the reason for his team failing to reach the top six.

Joe Shaughnessy, the defender punished in that situation that led to Kyle Munro’s equaliser, however, knew it went much further than that.

The Paisley side lost out to St Johnstone by just two goals in the race for that last slot in the top half of the table and Shaughnessy felt you could cast an eye over any number of moments over the past two months and make the case for that being the deciding factor in St Mirren not meeting their pre-season target by the thinnest of margins.

One win in their last eight games is not the record of a team roaring into late-season form. A period of four draws on the bounce during a hectic run of fixtures in February ultimately proved costly. Had just one of them been converted into a win then the outcome would have been different, as Shaughnessy acknowledged.

“It’s sickening really,” said the Irishman. “We didn’t do enough in the Hamilton game and should have put it to bed. We had enough chances.

“But we shouldn’t have even let it come down to this. It wasn’t that goal on Saturday that cost us. It was all those games in the last six weeks or so and not putting enough points on the board.

“We had seven games at home last month and drew three and only won two. So we had enough time and chances to book our place in the top six. It should never have come down to the last five minutes of the last game.”

Shaughnessy praised former club St Johnstone for not resting on their laurels after winning the Betfred Cup last month.

In contrast to St Mirren’s stuttering run, the Perth side have won four of their last five matches to somersault into the top six with perfect timing.

“We didn’t make the top six and St Johnstone have been on a brilliant run, and that kind of sums up the season they’ve had – winning the cup and getting into the top six,” he said.

“They’ve done very well and we’ve stumbled. We’ll just need to learn from it and use it as experience for going forward.

“I had an idea of the St Johnstone result when I was get

It’s sickening really... but we shouldn’t have let it come down to this

ting told to go up front in the 91st minute. A draw was never going to be enough for us.

“I always fancied St Johnstone to win that game but it shouldn’t have come down to this.

“Whatever way it happened, whether it was points or goals, it was never going to be nice to miss out on the last day. That’s the way football is – you can’t win them all.”

Shaughnessy did at least agree with his manager that his late challenge on Hamilton’s David Moyo did not merit a free-kick.

“I wouldn’t have thought it was a free-kick but the referee has seen something. I think it’s a clean header and most of the game there were headers like that and he them.”

The Hamilton squad and staff celebrated Munro’s header as if it was a goal to win them the league. Accies are now bottom of the table but that point could yet prove priceless.

“That’s the way Hamilton are – we just keep going to the final whistle, even if we’re getting beat 3-0 or 4-0, we still try,” said the goalscorer.

“Maybe in the first half we weren’t the greatest team, but in the second half I thought we were all over them and deserved a point, maybe even a win.

“But any point on the board for us is good. That one could be massive. We’ve got five cup finals to go.” hasn’t given