Robinson takes the positives despite draw

STEPHEN ROBINSON believes there are plenty of positives to take despite his St Mirren side not quite managing to secure a place in the top six after drawing 1-1 at Motherwell.

The Buddies opened the scoring after 18 minutes when Marcus Fraser nodded home but they were pegged back with 16 minutes remaining as Theo Bair bundled over the line.

Robinson’s side remain fifth in the Premiership and hold a five-point advantage over Hibernian in seventh with just two games remaining.

He said: “Overall, to come to Fir Park and get a point is another point towards our ultimate goal which is top six. The fact we’re in the running for the top six two years in a row after such a long absence tells you we are going in the right direction.”

Having lost 5-2 at Kilmarnock in their last league outing, Robinson was pleased with the resilience his side demonstrated against the Steelmen. The Northern Irishman also praised their travelling support for staying with the team throughout.

“After Kilmarnock, it was important we were hard to break down, hard to beat and we were,” he added. “The reaction to two weeks ago and the fans reaction, they stayed with the boys even when they equalised.”

Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell talked up his team’s spirit after they battled back from behind to claim a hard-earned point.

Bair took his tally for the season to 12 to earn Well a share of the spoils.

“I thought we started really well in the game, we played with a real purpose and we were a real threat down our left-hand side,” Kettlewell said. “There was a frantic four or five-minute spell, St Mirren hitting the crossbar from a free-kick and even from the follow-up that cannons off the bar as well.

“It probably just rocked us a wee bit leading into the goal we concede. We’ve got the throw-in, it leads to a corner for then and, fundamentally, we’ve got to defend it better.

“The most pleasing aspect is not being at our best, not passing as well as what I’ve seen us do, not connecting key players in the game – we still had that bit of character.”

Motherwell have kept their slim hopes of landing a top-six place alive. The Steelmen are six points behind Dundee, with just two games remaining before the split, so will need favours from elsewhere and to take maximum points before the split.

Kettlewell added: “It keeps us in the mix, we need a few favours and a few things to drop our way.”