St Mirren secured a narrow 1-0 victory over St Johnstone in the Premiership's second round of matches at home on Friday. The result keeps the hosts fourth in the table on ten points, while the visitors remain seventh with seven. It was a game decided by moments rather than dominance, and by then you could sense which side would get the reward.
J. Gullan went close for St Mirren when his penalty was saved in the forty-ninth minute, but K. Phillips made no mistake from the spot in the seventy-third to put the hosts ahead. Before that, the match had been tightly contested with both sides earning yellow cards — M. Fraser and R. Carr for St Mirren, J. Gullan for St Johnstone. To be fair, neither side created much, and the penalty kick changed everything.
St Mirren controlled possession at fifty-two per cent and threw more shots at goal, registering four on target compared to two for the visitors. Their shot accuracy sat at thirty-one per cent, but they managed three big chances against St Johnstone's two. St Johnstone were more effective in the air, winning seventeen aerial duels to eleven, and their six successful crosses outperformed the hosts' two. Things came to a head when Phillips converted, and the visitors were left flat-footed.
There were plenty of changes on both sides as the game wore on. St Mirren brought on M. Fraser, E. Sule, S. Ramos, J. Holt and L. Smith, while St Johnstone introduced J. Fowler, E. Sule and J. Holt as well. The substitutions were tactical rather than urgent — neither manager felt the need to send on a striker to chase the game after the goal.
The win moves St Mirren closer to establishing themselves in the upper half of the table, though they have not won since their opening fixture. St Johnstone's run of three defeats in six games continues, and they will be looking for answers before the next round. The scoreline tells only part of the story — both sides had their moments, but one moment was enough.