St Johnstone crashed back down to earth from their weekend high and out of the Scottish Communities League Cup after coming off second best in the clash of the Saints.
The Perth men let their standards slip from the 3-0 win against Motherwell on Saturday against a vibrant Paisley outfit who scored both their goals in the first half a Jamie Adams own goal and a spectacular long-range Jim Goodwin strike.
There was improvement after the break from the hosts but boss Derek McInnes admitted: ”The better team won. I thought St Mirren showed more hunger than us in the first half.
“We were better in the second half but we huffed and puffed and the damage was already done. We’ve had good cup runs in recent times but we didn’t treat this like a cup tie until it was too late. It was a disappointing night.”
Kevin Moon missed out for the home team and was replaced by Sean Higgins. It was the former Dundee man’s first start for Saints and he was slotted in just behind the front two.
The first shot on goal came from the visitors on seven minutes. Kenny McLean’s low strike from outside the box took a deflection off Dave Mackay but Peter Enckelman kept it out comfortably.
Steven Thomson drove into the box on 15 minutes and took a lay off from Steven Thompson in his stride. Instead of shooting, which would have been the better option, he tried to cut the ball back for Nigel Hasselbaink and Steven Anderson intercepted.
Lennon’s men continued to press and moments later Enckelman was at full stretch to tip over a McLean effort.
On 20 minutes McInnes was forced into making a change at the back when David McCracken came on for an injured Frazer Wright.
Midway through the half Fran Sandaza worked himself space in the box with his trademark quick feet and his shot was charged down by Thomson. The loose ball rebounded to Liam Craig but he shot straight at Craig Samson.
St Mirren should have taken the lead in 26 minutes when Jeroen Tesselaar picked out David van Zanten unmarked 10 yards out, only for the full-back to direct his header into the arms of Enckelman.
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It was perhaps a sign that the game wasn’t going the Perth men’s way that they picked up two bookings within three minutes for late tackles. The men to receive yellow cards were Adams and Mackay for fouls on Tesselaar and McLean respectively.
It was no surprise when St Mirren took the lead on 38 minutes. Thomson crossed deep to Thompson, and when the veteran targetman nodded the ball back into the danger area, Adams headed into his own goal under pressure from McLean.
The Buddies rounded off their first-half dominance with a second just before the break. Alan Maybury did well to block a Hasselbaink shot but, when it broke to Goodwin, nobody could get close to his rocket from 25 yards out wide on the right.
McInnes made a double substitution for the start of the second 45, sending on David Robertson and Willie Gibson for Adams and Higgins.
Seconds after the match got under way again, Sandaza was booked for clearly using his hand while diving to try and get on the end of a Gibson cross.
Saints began to build some pressure for the first time in the cup tie and Samson had to deal with a Mackay shot and a Sheridan header in quick succession.
Sandaza latched on to a punt from Enckelman and passed up the opportunity of a first time left foot shot in favour of cutting back on to his right. From there his effort was a tame one and Samson kept it out with ease.
On 81 minutes the Paisley keeper had to scramble across his line to turn a Sheridan header round his left hand post.
Gibson was booked late in the game for dissent.
St Mirren manager Danny Lennon said: ”This is a very difficult venue and you always know you’re in a game of football here. We earned the right to play and showed real desire for the victory.”
Attendance: 2296.
It was perhaps a sign that the game wasn’t going the Perth men’s way that they picked up two bookings within three minutes for late tackles. The men to receive yellow cards were Adams and Mackay for fouls on Tesselaar and McLean respectively.
It was no surprise when St Mirren took the lead on 38 minutes. Thomson crossed deep to Thompson, and when the veteran targetman nodded the ball back into the danger area, Adams headed into his own goal under pressure from McLean.
The Buddies rounded off their first-half dominance with a second just before the break. Alan Maybury did well to block a Hasselbaink shot but, when it broke to Goodwin, nobody could get close to his rocket from 25 yards out wide on the right.
McInnes made a double substitution for the start of the second 45, sending on David Robertson and Willie Gibson for Adams and Higgins.
Seconds after the match got under way again, Sandaza was booked for clearly using his hand while diving to try and get on the end of a Gibson cross.
Saints began to build some pressure for the first time in the cup tie and Samson had to deal with a Mackay shot and a Sheridan header in quick succession.
Sandaza latched on to a punt from Enckelman and passed up the opportunity of a first time left foot shot in favour of cutting back on to his right. From there his effort was a tame one and Samson kept it out with ease.
On 81 minutes the Paisley keeper had to scramble across his line to turn a Sheridan header round his left hand post.
Gibson was booked late in the game for dissent.
St Mirren manager Danny Lennon said: ”This is a very difficult venue and you always know you’re in a game of football here. We earned the right to play and showed real desire for the victory.”
Attendance: 2296.