Champagne has to be put on ice
Almost there… almost.
St Mirren were forced to wait at least another few days to clinch the Championship title after a late Livingston strike against Morton kept the Lothian side in the running by the skin of their teeth.
Four minutes were all that stood between Saints and the trophy. They did their job. But their Renfrewshire rivals couldn’t do them the favour they so dearly required.
One point is all that is now needed to seal it. And tomorrow night’s clash with Dundee United at Tannadice could be the one that rubber-stamps the deal.
In a strange afternoon at Glebe Park, it was Kyle Magennis’ thunderous seventh minute strike that guaranteed the Buddies the three points.
But in a day dominated by the news filtering in from Almondvale, the 2,200 St Mirren supporters that made the trip to Angus were left walking off into the sunset disappointed not to party.
Cheers rang out every time Morton scored, first going 1-0 up, and then equalising 2- 2. But sighs could be heard when it was confirmed that Alan Lithgow had made it 3-2 to Livi with minutes left to go.
It was perhaps fitting that a flat
afternoon was marked by a rather flat display on the field as well, with Saints almost going through the motions having earned an early lead.
Having raced out the traps, some quick-thinking from Magennis saw him collect Adam Eckersley’s throw in.
The midfielder only had eyes for goal, wasting no time as he rattled into the bottom corner from the edge of the box to put the Paisley side deservedly ahead.
The stands erupted as news soon filtered through of Thomas O’Ware putting Morton in front against Livingston – putting Saints in the driving seat to wrap up the title.
But it wasn’t always easy for Saints, with Jordan Sinclair cracking a longrange effort off Craig Samson’s crossbar in a rare Brechin attack.
Tensions crept in slightly as Livi equalised at Almondvale, but St Mirren were fully focused on their own game as Harry Davis forced Smith into a fine save down low with a header from a Magennis free-kick.
But despite enjoying much of the first- half possession Saints were unable to hammer home any form of dominance with another goal.
The two sides again started the second half in a rather slow fashion – clearly struggling to get going.
Instead it was the hosts having the better of the ball and they even had a call for a penalty turned down after striker Isaac Layne was outmuscled by Gary MacKenzie.
City gaffer Darren Dods was spoken to by ref David Munro in the aftermath for overstepping the mark in his reaction to the whistler waving away his claims.
That call appeared to be the catalyst for St Mirren to up the tempo just short of the hour mark.
Danny Mullen was the creator, robbing Aron Lynas of the ball 25 yards from goal, before cutting across the face of goal where Cammy Smith could only fire wide of target.
Mullen was again in the thick of the action moments later as he clipped over Smith after seizing upon a poor pass back, but defender Euan Smith was on hand to clear.
It appeared that Saints were on course to win the league as the stands erupted when Ricki Lamie equalised for Morton.
But St Mirren had their own business to attend to, staving off the threat of Brechin substitute Dylan Mackin who was a handful from the moment he came on.
The striker was posing MacKenzie and Davis all sorts of problems but Samson was on hand to palm around his post at full stretch following the striker’s best effort.
Lewis Morgan came close to wrapping up the win with another drive across goal but still Saints were unable to find that second goal.
But regardless the champagne was to remain on ice as Lithgow’s late goal kept Livingston all but in the race.
Livi can no longer better Saints’ current haul of 70 points.
One more, at Tannadice, would seal it for the Buddies.
It’s only a matter of time.