Saints off the bottom

ST MIRREN finally clambered off the bottom of the Championship, but had to settle for a 1-1 draw at home to stubborn Dumbarton.

Kyle Magennis gave them an early lead with a left-foot shot but Lewis Vaughan scored another valuable goal for Dumbarton before the break.

Rory Loy should have put St Mirren back in front with a penalty late in the first half but his effort was comfortably saved by Alan Martin.

St Mirren finished short-handed when Adam Eckersley was sent off for a second yellow card but home manager Jack Ross still maintained it was a chance missed.

“We are disappointed not to take the three points but it is good to be off the bottom of the table but it shows how far we have come as a team as it is a disappointing result but five months ago we would have been delighted to be actually off the foot of the table.”

Ayr United slipped to the bottom of the table on goal difference when they lost 2-0 at home to Queen of the South. A late double from Stephen Dobbie made the difference and kept Queens’ slim play-off hopes alive.

Dobbie volleyed home his first in 71 minutes from Lyndon Dykes’ set-up and then scored a solo second five minutes later.

Dunfermline eased their relegation worries by beating Raith Rovers 1-0 in the Fife derby at East End Park.

Kallum Higginbotham’s calmly taken 49th-minute penalty was enough to settle the outcome. It pushed Dunfermline eight points clear of the drop-zone but plunged Raith into deeper trouble after their eighth successive away loss.

“It wasn’t a classic, but we probably just edged it,” said Dunfermline manager Allan Johnston. “The pressure was on after all the penalties we’ve missed this season, but Kallum showed a touch of class and composure.”

Raith manager John Hughes was unhappy with the penalty decision when Paul McMullan was deemed to have been fouled in the area by Jason Thomson.

“It was a soft, soft penalty,” he said. “They’re a good bunch of boys and they’re giving me everything they’ve got, but we’re playing ‘ hope it happens football’ instead of making it happen.”