AGONY FOR THE SAINTS
Lacklustre display costs Saints dearly as Accies win
St Mirren had alarm bells ringing in their ears before a ball was even kicked on Saturday.
A pre- match fire alarm, which sounded for what felt like an eternity and resulted in kick-off being delayed for 10 minutes, acted only as a precursor to another wretched display.
The sirens sounded before the match but there was silence from the away end come the full-time whistle, with the visiting section all but emptied come the end.
Oran Kearney’s men, who started so brightly under the Northern Irishman against Celtic the previous week, failed to even get out the traps on a miserable afternoon for his side.
Danny Mullen up front was reduced to chasing lost causes for the entirety of the 90 minutes, while the defence and midfield both struggled.
The new gaffer was honest and reflective in his assessment of the match and failed to make any excuses for a team that still appears to be finding its feet in the top flight.
The Buddies face a real test of character in the coming months, with Kearney playing the cards he has been dealt in terms of the players at his disposal.
But there was no finger pointing or anything like that post-match, instead it was the honest answer that St Mirren weren’t good enough.
First- half strikes from Frederik Brustad and Mickel Miller got the hosts going, before Miller doubled his tally with a sensational strike shortly after the hour mark.
The only silver lining for the Buddies was that fellow strugglers Dundee also succumbed to a 3-0 defeat of their own to keep them rooted to the foot of the table.
When the teamsheets appeared, Kearney had made just one switch to the side that held Celtic just eight days previously.
Kyle Magennis was the man to miss out having picked up a knock in training on Friday, with Hayden Coulson returning to the fold in his favoured midfield position.
Nicolai Brock-Madsen earned a spot on the bench having recovered from a virus, while 17-year-old Cameron Breadner was involved in the first-team squad for the first time.
However, by the time kick- off eventually came around at 3.10pm Jack Baird had pulled up in the warm-up and Cammy MacPherson replaced him in the starting XI.
A scrappy first half had little to write home about from a Saints point of view, with nothing in the way of clear- cut chances for the Paisley side.
The 2- 0 half- time scoreline was perhaps harsh on the Buddies however, they could have little complaints with the zero in the score column.
It would take Accies 37 minutes to fire themselves in front – but they should have been ahead much earlier after Shaun Want fluffed his lines from close range when Steven Boyd’s corner somehow dropped to him inside the six-yard box.
A MacPherson free-kick gave the large visiting support something to get excited about but he could only swing it inches by Gary Woods’ post in a brief flurry of dominance.
Ryan Flynn then saw a strike blocked following a clever one-two with Smith but that was as good as it got for Kearney’s men.
A spanner was thrown in the works on the half hour when Coulson limped off to be replaced by Jordan Kirkpatrick.
That said, Accies were looking the more dangerous of the two sides and deservedly fired themselves in front.
A bursting run from Miller, who had been causing Saints problems all afternoon, saw Stephen McGinn fail to halt him in his tracks.
With the Saints defence all at sea, Miller laid in Boyd to fire at goal. His strike was blocked by Craig Samson but big Norwegian striker Brustad was on hand to bundle home from no more than three yards out.
The Buddies then shot themselves in the foot just three minutes later when Kirkpatrick needlessly barged over Dougie Imrie inches inside the box.
Referee Greg Aitken didn’t need to be asked twice as he pointed to the spot and up-stepped Miller to lash home beyond Samson to double the advantage at the interval.
Kearney would have expected an improvement from his men in the second half but it was not forthcoming as the Saints looked in nothing more than damage limitation mode.
Accies, on the other hand, were just as content to sit on their lead and waste time wherever possible in what could prove to be a match that might just decide the fate of the teams in the league this season.
The Danish battering ram that is Brock-Madsen was introduced shortly after the hour mark to at least give Saints a target to launch the long balls that they had been peppering around for much of the match.
Unfortunately for Saints, he proved just as ineffective as the rest of the starting XI had been when it came to threatening Woods’ goal.
St Mirren’s fate was all but sealed in 66 minutes thanks to a moment of magic from Miller, whose turn and strike from 25 yards cannoned off of both posts before nestling behind Samson to confirm the rout.
The Buddies looked like their race was run and they could have found themselves even further behind had it not been for the woodwork sparing their blushes from a Boyd shot.
A late cameo for Matty Willock did little to spark the Paisley side into life as they went through the motions over the closing stages.
And things don’t get any easier this weekend as Neil Lennon brings his highflying Hibs side to the Simple Digital Arena.
It’s back to the drawing board for Kearney, his coaching staff and the players.