All- Saints clash ends in goalless stalemate as both sides fail to break through fog
St Mirren returned to action to claim their first Premiership point since August with a goalless draw at home to fifthplaced Dundee United.
The Paisley side dominated for large spells of a game played in heavy fog for the entiret y of the second half but could not find the breakthrough.
United struggled to get into t he c onte s t but t he p oi nt e x t e n d e d t h e i r u n b e a t e n sequence in the league to four matches.
This was second- bottom St Mirren's f i rst Premiership game for five weeks after a number of Covid- 19- enforced postponements, with boss Jim Goodwin handing debuts to recent arrivals Brandon Mason and Jake Doyle- Hayes.
Unit e d were unchanged from the side that had defeated Ross County at Tannadice the previous weekend.
The match took place at the newly- christened SMISA Stadium, renamed earlier in the day in recognition of the club's transition towards fan ownership next summer.
St Mirren started the stronger but it was United who had the first real chance of the match, Ian Harkes' low drive c o mf o r t a b l y h e l d b y J a k Alnwick.
S a i n t s t he n h a d a g r e a t chance to get their noses in front but Richard Tait's goalb ound e f f or t was br ave l y blocked by Jamie Robson.
It was a competitive game of f ew chances i n t he f i rst half. But from one Cammy
Macpherson cross, Kristian Dennis was unlucky to see his header drift just off target.
Heavy fog started to descend at the start of the second half but both teams continued to
press for an opener. From a Dennis lay- off, Mason's driven effort arced just over the crossbar. The full- back then picked up the first booking of the game for a late tackle on Luke Bolton, before Jamie Mcgrath shot wide in another St Mirren chance.
Referee David Munro spoke to both managers as the fog got heavier with half an hour still to play, before booking Nicky Clark for a late tackle on Saints' Ethan Erhahon.
The home s i de t hen had a n o t h e r c h a n c e w h e n Macpherson's free- kick struck the wall and was cleared to safety, before Saints’ Marcus Fraser shot just wide of goa.
They thought they had won a late penalty when United substitute Paul Mcmullan appeared to trip Jon Obika in the box but the referee waved away the claim.