Same old story – despite new faces
MIRREN MATCHES AS THEY WERE REPORTED AT THE TIME
St Mirren............1
Falkirk ............... 2 What can be said that hasn’t been said already?
Saturday was just another weekend in a season littered with disappointment, tinged with frustration and what- might- havebeens.
St Mirren may look brand new, eight new faces in all. But the results don’t.
And it was former Bud John Baird who scored twice, hammering another nail in the Paisley side’s survival bid to render Rory Loy’s strike little less than a consolation as Falkirk earned a 2-1 win.
Time is now quickly running out for Ross’ team, with a trip to Dumbarton taking on the mantle of make-it-orbreak-it in their quest to avoid the drop.
Even in the case of a win, they would still face a huge task to turn their season around. Who knows what happens next, but they will make a fist of it at the very least.
Ross opted to hand Cammy Smith his St Mirren debut out on the right flank, following the departure of Kyle McAllister to Derby County in midweek.
And the new boy wasted no time in endearing himself to the home support when he curled narrowly wide of the goal with just 20 seconds on the clock.
But despite a commanding spell of early pressure, Saints found themselves behind with just 11 minutes on the clock – albeit in controversial circumstances.
Baird was the man on the scoresheet, sprinting clear of Gary MacKenzie from a Miles Hippolyte throw- in, before slotting beyond Billy O’Brien and into the bottom corner.
But the Saints fans and players were rightly aggrieved with the award of the goal, with Hippolyte taking the throw-in at least 15 yards from where the ball went out of play, so much so that the throw-in was actually taken in a different half than it should have been.
Ross and assistant manager James Fowler were both spoken to in the aftermath as they vented their frustrations to the linesman, while striker Loy also aired his views to the man on the touchline.
The goal rocked the home side and Hippolyte came close to doubling the advantage five minutes later when he curled over the bar from 20 yards, following a mix-up between O’Brien and Gary Irvine.
A Craig Sibbald drive then thundered wide of the goal as the Bairns continued to press.
Things went from bad to worse for Saints on 22 minutes as Gary MacKenzie was forced off with what appeared to be a hamstring strain, to be replaced by Andy Webster.
It took until the 24th minute for St Mirren to regroup and Smith was unlucky to see his effort saved by Danny Rogers from Sutton’s knockdown.
The Falkirk goalkeeper produced a fantastic save to preserve his side’s slender advantage.
Sibbald should have doubled his team’s lead at the other end shortly after the half hour, sidestepping Webster before firing straight at O’Brien.
But the Falkirk midfielder seemed determined to get himself a goal at Paisley and he went even closer minutes later as he cannoned a looping drive off of the crossbar.
The St Mirren fightback failed to materialise in the opening exchanges of the second half as Falkirk continued to control possession.
As a result, Ross elected to roll the dice and introduce Stephen McGinn for his first appearance since returning to the club on Friday.
And he immediately had the desired impact, starting a fine build up move, which resulted in Rogers smothering at the feet of John Sutton.
But there was nothing the returning hero could do to prevent his side falling further behind shortly after the hour mark. Calls for offside fell on deaf ears as Lee Miller crossed low across the face of goal for Baird to rattle home his second.
Despite having nothing of the second half, ex-Falkirk man Rory Loy handed his new Buddies a lifeline on 78 minutes, with a well-placed effort across the keeper, even though he as under heavy pressure from the visiting defence.
But even his goal failed to ignite Saints, with a Jack Baird header in stoppage time being the closest the hosts came to picking up a crucial point.