ST MIRREN..................3 DUNDEE UNITED........................2

ST MIRREN boss Jack Ross hailed his battling Buddies after they stunned Dundee United to move within a point of safety at the foot of the Championship.

Goals from Harry Davis, Stephen Mallan and Lewis Morgan were enough to see off United, who countered with a Tony Andreu double but couldn’t find another equaliser despite a bout of sustained late pressure.

The victory draws Saints ever closer to Ayr United in the relegation play-off spot and Ross believes the players have given themselves a real chance of avoiding the drop with just eight games left.

He said: “We’re still in the most difficult position in the league and that doesn’t change tonight.

“But from where we were not so long ago where we were written off by quite a lot of people, we are back i n amongst it.

“I believe that we will continue to pick up points over the last quarter of the season.

“The confidence in the group is there now, which is brilliant.

“I’ve always felt it was possible since the window closed and we made the changes, and it’s about them believing that now as well.”

St Mirren could not have hoped for a better start as within two minutes they were in front. It stemmed from a carefully-crafted free kick, Mallan flighting his delivery to the back post where first Rory Loy and then John Sutton nodded on before Davis applied the finishing touch.

Saints couldn’t add to their lead, however, and with their first shot on target of the game United equalised after 33 minutes. It was a well-worked strike, Simon Murray crossing for Andreu and the former Hamilton Accies man finished well.

But the home side responded quickly and were back in front just four minutes later. It was a glorious moment for Mallan, who marked his 100th start for the club by firing in a free kick from around 35 yards that caught Cammy Bell napping, the ball creeping in at the goalkeeper’s near post.

There was a setback for Saints when goalscorer Davis had to leave the field on a stretcher with what looked like a serious knee injury but they still ended the half on top if unable to add to their narrow lead, despite Sutton coming close with a header from a corner.

United almost equalised twice early in the second half. The impressive Andreu was unfortunate to see a header crash against the outside of the post, while Charlie Telfer