Dundee United’s Championship woes continued with defeat at bottom club St Mirren.
The Tangerines have won just one of their last nine league outings and are now surely heading for no better than a promotion play-off place at the end of the regular season.
They made three changes from Friday’s defeat against Hibs with Charlie Telfer taking over from the suspended Lewis Toshney, Sean Dillon coming in for the injured Frank van der Struijk and Jamie Robson being preferred to Paul Dixon.
Needing a win to re-ignite their promotion push, Ray McKinnon’s side got off to the worst possible start.
In the second minute William Edjenguele was penalised for handball and when Stevie Mallan’s free-kick was headed across goal, Harry Davis was there to knock the ball into the back of the net.
That stunned United and it would be the best part of 20 minutes before they could muster anything like a meaningful effort.
It came when the ball was rolled to Tony Andreu on the 18 yard line. His effort was well struck, but Gary Mackenzie moved quickly to charge it down.
Simon Murray was next to have a go. Although he did well to make room for a shot, he sent the ball too high from the edge of the area.
There was another blow for United just before the half-hour mark when Scott Fraser was helped off after suffering what looked a serious foot injury. His place was taken by Thomas Mikkelsen.
Things took a turn for the better 12 minutes from the break when Murray did well on the left before crossing low for Andreu to turn the ball home from the six yard line for the equaliser.
United’s joy would be short-lived and in the 37th minute Mallan whipped in a free-kick from out on the left that beat Cammy Bell at his near post to put the home team ahead again.
Three minutes into the second half the scores were almost level again when Willo Flood crossed for Andreu whose header came back off the post.
They went close again after a sweeping move down the left that saw Robson tee up Telfer, but his shot went a foot too high.
The price was paid for those missed chances at the other end when, just short of the hour mark, Lewis Morgan netted from close-range for St Mirren’s third.
United clawed their way back into the game when Andreu struck his second of the night, a fine 20-yarder, in the 69th minute.
They pressed hard after that but could not find a way past a determined home defence.
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