Late stunner saves Saints

Tom Walsh sat on the Saints bench, gutted not to have started – then bounced off it to rescue a priceless point.

Three minutes from time, and with belief ebbing out of the home fans in a Saturday night crowd of 2344, the 20-year-old Ibrox prospect took the ball into feet from a Stevie Mallan pass.

The home side were trailing to Craig Sibbald’s deflected early opener and looked certs to lose again.

Then Bairns defender David McCracken slipped and Walsh pounced to speed into space and rip a thrilling 20- yard left- foot shot low into the corner out of the grasp of new Republic of Ireland call-up Danny Rogers.

It was reward for a week shining on the training field that caretaker Saints boss Allan McManus admitted could have justified a start.

McManus said: “It was a tough one not to start Tom because he has been magnif icent in training and he deserved his goal.”

He added: “I am enjoying the role and I have learned a lot about myself, it’s a role in football I said I would never go near.

“Now I have a wee taste for it but maybe in five years once I have completed the head of youth task I have here already.”

When you are without a clean sheet in eight league games the last thing you need is your most experienced defender getting crocked in the warm-up.

That’s what happened to suffering Saints as 34-year-old former Scotland stopper Andy Webster was scratched off the teamsheet with calf trouble and Jack Baird hurriedly pitched in