Solid as a Rock
WITH FOOTBALL IN COLD STORAGE WE TAKE A LOOK AT OLD ST
Craig Ritchie
“The day the league was won”.
According to BBC Radio Scotland that is.
Anyone listening to the radio, with the car heater on full pelt as they raced away from The Rock would have heard it themselves.
And it is proving increasingly difficult to see why not as the wins keep rolling in.
Cammy Smith and Stephen McGinn were the heroes of the piece with two second-half strikes that proved to be the difference in miserable conditions.
The victory, coupled with Dundee United dropping two points at Dunfermline, move Saints eight points clear at the top of the Championship ahead of Scottish Cup week, which will pit Saints against Premiership big guns Aberdeen.
Boss Jack Ross chose to stick with the same starting line- up that had triumphed over Inverness Caley Thistle the previous weekend.
And there was a spot on the bench for Nathan Flanagan after the young midfielder returned from a loan spell at East Fife.
In a feisty encounter, St Mirren were forced to stay focused on the task at hand as they struggled to break down a stubborn Dumbarton side over the course of the first half.
Star Saint:
Lewis Morgan
It’s easy to see why
Morgan has courted so much attention. The little twists and turns, the wee sparks of magic, Dumbarton were no match for the trickery of the winger as he carved them open time and time again. by former Saints keeper Scott Gallacher.
But, as a result of the tactics employed by the hosts, St Mirren were struggling to create anything else clear cut inside the first 25 minutes.
Reilly’s luck was out as he struck wide of goal after nipping in ahead of his former Queen of the South teammate Andy Dowie before racing through.
His effort from the edge of the box looked set to creep in at the far post, but wound up just inches wide with Gallacher beaten.
Saints were handed a reality check just before the break when Christian Nade found enough space just inside the box, but the bulky forward couldn’t keep his effort down as he blazed over Craig Samson’s bar.
Saints may have been frustrated that they hadn’t forced themselves in front, but could take confidence from their first- half performance on what was proving to be a quagmire.
With a renewed sense of optimism, St Mirren raced out of the traps in the second period as they opened the scoring just two minutes after the restart.
A sublime through ball from Ian McShane caught out both Dowie and Smith to find Stelios lingering on the left-hand side of the box.
The Cypriot showed some tricky footwork to outwit David Smith before curling a delightful cross between the two centre backs for Cammy Smith to nod home from close range.
A weight appeared to be lifted from the collective shoulders of the Buddies camp and they cranked up the pressure in the immediate aftermath of the opener.
Match Facts
Score - Dumbarton 0 St Mirren 2
Scorers - Smith (47), McGinn (58)
Bookings - Walsh (39), Carswell (62), Dowie (71)
Red carded - No-one
Referee - Gavin Duncan
Attendance - 1,652
Teams: Dumbarton Gallacher, Smith, Dick, Dowie, Barr, Hutton, Carswell, Gallagher (Russell 59), Walsh, Handling (Roy 59), Nade. Subs not used: Ewings, Hill, Wilson and Johnston. St Mirren Samson, L Smith, Stelios, Baird, Davis, McGinn, McShane, Magennis, C Smith (Sutton 87), Morgan, Reilly (Mullen 61). Subs not used: Stewart, MacKenzie, Irvine, Erhahon and Flanagan.
Morgan would go close soon after, but it was Reilly who should have doubled the advantage after 56 minutes.
Again, Saints were finding success down the left-hand side, with another ball in behind Cammy Smith for Stelios putting Dumbarton in a world of trouble.
This time, the full-back decided to cut for the byline before playing a low ball across the face of goal, where Reilly lay with the posts at his mercy, but he was unable to hit the target as he scuffed wide.
But, two minutes later, and it was 2-0 — and the points all but in the bag.
A Magennis corner saw the ball find Reilly, but, again, his luck was out as his strike was blocked. The rebound fell to captain Stephen McGinn, on his 100th start for Saints, to curl a delightful strike into the bottom corner for his first goal
of the season.
The toys were out the pram at this stage for the hosts, with Stuart Carswell taking matters into his own hands as Stelios again made a mockery of the Dumbarton defence down the left. The former Saints midfielder simply clattered right through the back of Stelios, much to the outrage of the visiting support and Carswell could count himself lucky to escape with just a yellow card.
Dowie was next in the book, cautioned for scything down Morgan following the sort of trademark run that has earned him a move to Celtic.
A Magennis free-kick in the closing stages came close to extending the lead further, but Gavin Duncan’s full-time whistle was met with delight on what could to be another massive win.
Are Saints on their way?