NON-STOP SAINTS LEAD THE WAY AFTER LAST-GASP STRIKE
THAT’S just what teams contesting at the top of the table do. They keep going and going until the bitter end.
Okay, this is early days and there can be room for a little lightheartedness when sides not accustomed to such lofty positions make a promising start to the season. Step forward, St Mirren.
The Buddies find themselves sitting a point clear at the top of the Premiership — ahead of today’s fixtures — after a crazy conclusion to what was, for the majority, a torturous game in Livingston.
Having lost midfielder Andrew Shinnie to a sickening head knock in the first half, David Martindale’s men thought they had clinched victory in the 89th minute when Luiyi de Lucas tapped home.
But in the sixth minute of stoppage time, on-loan Maccabi Haifa striker Stav Nahmani knocked in a lastgasp equaliser to maintain their unbeaten start to the league campaign.
‘The league’s getting cancelled — all done!’ joked Saints boss Stephen Robinson. ‘We’ve won, that’s it, all over. That would be nice, wouldn’t it?
‘But it speaks volumes for the start we’ve made. It’s full credit to the players. They’ve been fantastic throughout the cup competition and now they’ve taken that into the league form.
‘We weren’t at our best today but good teams don’t get beat at venues like Livingston — and we’ve proved we’re a good side.
‘It wasn’t pretty on the eye. It wasn’t as fluent as we have been but the character of the boys showed and to get a point was fantastic.’
There was concern after 18 minutes when Shinnie jumped for a header with Keanu Baccus and clattered to the ground head first.
Medics were immediately waved on and play was paused for six minutes before the midfielder was stretchered off with his head in a brace.
Saints threatened when Conor McMenamin’s delivery from the right was met by Greg Kiltie at the back post but his downward header was saved by Livi goalkeeper Shamal George before the game entered nine minutes of first-half stoppage time.
A terrible match was stumbling aimlessly along but there was a spark among the hosts when right wing-back Jamie Brandon burst forward and cut inside. With no yellow shirts for assistance, he had no option but to go for goal. However, his effort from a tight
angle was saved by Saints keeper Zach Hemming.
Within a few minutes, the hosts thought they had taken the lead when substitute Bruce Anderson raced through to slot past
Hemming but VAR soon adjudged that the striker was offside.
The hosts did have something to cheer, though, when the breakthrough finally arrived — and this one did count. Stephen Kelly’s free-kick on the right found Mo Sangare, who sent the ball back across the face of goal and De Lucas couldn’t miss.
But just when Livi thought they had sealed the win, Alex Gogic nodded the ball across goal and Nahmani converted from close range in the sixth minute of stoppage time to bag the Buddies a point.
Addressing Shinnie’s injury, Livi boss Martindale said: ‘He’s okay, he was in the changing room at the end. It was a head knock and I thought the medical team dealt with it very well.
‘We caught him at the tail end of half-time walking into the medical room. He’s a bit groggy but he’s okay.
‘It was nice to see him and it probably gave the boys a lift.
You’re in there at half-time not really touching on it because you’re trying to get the boys ready for the second half, you’re not talking about Andrew. To see him walk in was a bit of positivity for him.’