Sibbald stops the party

ST MIRREN’S title party did not last long as Falkirk secured Championship safety thanks to a dramatic stoppage-time winner from Craig Sibbald.

Delighted Bairns boss Paul Hartley said: ‘We’ve managed to keep ourselves in the division but we’ve got to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

‘It’s been a tough season. We’ve done the job, we’re happy with that but now we’ve got to make sure that we’re going to have a strong enough squad that’s going to compete next year.’

With the visitors needing three points to secure their Championship status, and the newly-crowned champions nursing a title party hangover, the match did not look set for a goalfest.

After a turgid first half, the game sparked into life, though, when St Mirren took the lead in the 55th minute.

Paul Watson was booked as he conceded a soft penalty and Myles Hippolyte stepped up against his former side to score his first goal for Saints.

Falkirk reacted quickly, however, with Alex Jakubiak crossing the ball to Joe McKee unmarked at the back post — only for the midfielder to spurn the chance.

Yet the Bairns had to wait until a dramatic late finish, with a missed Lewis Kidd penalty, before taking truly decisive action. On 83 minutes, McKee poked home a rebound when Kevin O’Hara’s effort came back off the bar.

Then, a minute into stoppagetime, visiting striker Jakubiak whipped the ball to the back post and Sibbald was there to score the winner.

St Mirren boss Jack Ross said: ‘I’m not happy. I don’t care about the circumstances of the game and team selection.

‘We’re 1-0 up with six minutes to go. We shouldn’t lose the game.

‘The players are disappointed. They should be because we’ve set standards far higher than that in terms of how we do things. Just because you win a league, they shouldn’t drop.’