The 2501 home fans in a crowd of 2589 that filed into the Paisley 2021 Stadium were finally rewarded for a level of dedication that would put Greyfriar’s Bobby to shame as St Mirren mercifully chalked up their first home win of the season over Alloa.

It all started in such familiarly deflating fashion for the home regulars though, as referee Craig Charleston awarded an early penalty against their side that was harsh in the extreme.

Alloa striker Isaac Layne picked the ball up and drove at the heart of the St Mirren defence. As he cocked the trigger the expected explosion from his right foot never materialised, but the scuffed contact actually worked in his favour as the ball inadvertently found the arm of Keith Watson, who had flung himself in front of Layne to block the anticipated howitzer.

The only thing more puzzling than the spot-kick award was the production of a yellow card for Watson for the heinous crime of a ball going nowhere near the target accidentally making contact with his arm.

“It was obviously a bit disappointing,” said master of understatement Watson.

“It did hit my arm but I thought my arms were close to my body. It wasn’t a great hit and I don’t think it was going anywhere.”

Credit must go to Layne, who ignored the hubbub to calmly despatch the penalty low to Langfield’s right.

Watson was to have his redemption though, and after a period where Alloa had looked comfortable, a moment of magic from Watson hauled his side level eight minutes before the break.

Slaloming through three challenges after picking the ball up on the edge of the area, he then planted an unstoppable left-foot shot past Scott Gallacher, much to the shock of boss Alex Rae.

He said: “I thought it was Lawrence Shankland at first because his feet were so good, it was surprising! I need to give Keith credit, although I don’t know why he was up there!

“He took it really, really well and that kind of settled us down a bit.”

That it did, and after 58 minutes they capitalised on some hesitant Alloa defending to hit the front.

Debutant David Clarkson, who was excellent throughout, drove through the centre of the park before his shot was blocked, looping up in the air towards the head of Alloa defender Colin Hamilton in the centre of the box. He inexplicably decided to allow the ball to bounce around the penalty spot rather than clear, and Callum Gallacher nipped in to head the ball home.

The visitors, to their credit, didn’t crumble, and they remained in the game until the dying moments, when another error as they were pushing for the equaliser handed St Mirren’s Stevie Mallan the clincher in injury time.

An Alloa corner was cleared wide, and Mitch Megginson was woefully short as he attempted to sweep the ball back to Gallacher, allowing Mallan to run clear and coolly end the match as a contest. The relief around the stadium, and in the dugout, was palpable.

“The most important thing I took from the game was the home win and the three points,” Rae conceded.

“We need to be a bit more resilient in these games at home, eight months without a win here is unacceptable. I’m pleased that that’s put to bed now though and we can concentrate on getting more wins here now. If we can do that then the fans’ backing can make the difference.

“I think everyone is pleased that it’s gone now, because if it went to 9 months or 10 months then it does start to become a serious problem.

“If you’re going to do anything going forward then you have to sort out your home form, and hopefully we can do that now.”

For Alloa manager Jack Ross, there were positives to be drawn from a spirited performance from his side, even if he felt the result was harsh on his men.

“The second goal is the most disappointing one where a wee individual mistake has cost us, but you can pick the bones out of any goal,” he said.

“The most important thing is that we were really competitive again against a full-time team who were in the Premiership last season.

“Sometimes you have to take that step back and think about it that way. In the last 10-15 minutes we were chasing the game, so there’s no point in coming away with our heads down.

“There’s no point in accepting a 2-1 loss, I’d rather go for it and try to get something out of it. Today it went against us but it could have easily went the other way and we could have nicked a point.”