Fraser proves importance as future remains undecided

There’s something about making his mark late on that Marcus Fraser seems to enjoy.

His three goals this season have all come towards the end of ninety minutes.

The defender’s first was an 89th minute equaliser against Queen of the South in the BetFred Cup group stage, which led to a penalty shootout win that helped the Saints top their section.

His next strike was a crucial opener against Ross County on Boxing Day in the 76th minute, a result that kept the club’s league campaign ticking along nicely.

And Friday night’s winner in the 89th minute was arguably the most dramatic of the bunch.

The full-back summed up this side’s never-say-die attitude by rampaging up the field to tap home and send the Buddies flying into the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup.

As well as three crucial goals, Fraser’s made 43 appearances for the Saints in his first season in Paisley.

One of Jim Goodwin’s best signings as a manager, the gaffer will surely be doing everything he can to get Fraser signed up for next season with the former Ross County captain intrinsic to this team.

While the 27-year-old stopped short of committing himself, he did say he’d loved his first campaign in the stripes and was delighted with the amount of game time he’d been handed.

The defender has shown countless times over the last nine months just what he’s worth to this Buddies team, which surely won’t have gone unnoticed by other Premiership sides.

Goodwin recently stated talks were“going well”, so fingers crossed he’s still putting in the same impressive performances for the Buddies come next season.