Tommy Craig admitted his side had got the break they needed after a last-ditch Kenny McLean penalty brought his side their first points of the Premiership campaign, but the under pressure St Mirren boss was entitled to believe they had earned it with a spirited second half display.

"I don't really believe that you need to be given a break to turn things around, because you get what you deserve, but we got one tonight with the penalty. Some give them, others don't," he admitted afterwards.

He also thanked his team's supporters for the way they got behind the side when, as he acknowledged, the failure to accrue so much as a point in their previous five matches might well have produced a very different reaction.

For his part Craig's counterpart Alan Archibald reckoned there could be little real complaint about the decision, given as Abdul Osman appeared to charge the ball down but he did feel that the free kick that preceded it and effectively created the chance, had been a soft one. However, he also acknowledged that the opposition had seized the initiative in the second half.

McLean had, four minutes into stoppage time, struck the free kick which forced Scott Fox into one of several parries, in turning allowing the ball to be fired back toward goal and Osman's outstretched arms.

The midfielder then showed real coolness to ram the ball down the middle as Fox dived to his left completing a fightback that had begun when substitute Callum Ball had claimed their equaliser eight minutes into the second half.

It was a win that had looked far from likely during an opening period that was largely dominated by the home side who showed more pace and variety to their attacking play before and after deservedly taking the lead midway through it. Their forwards may have been under fire, but it was St Mirren's defending that let them down as Steven Lawless was allowed to skip clear down the left and pick out Kris Doolan as he peeled away from Ellis Plummer to nod the ball to Marian Kello's left.

That only seemed to further undermine their struggling visitors' belief further and, stretching the defence down both flanks Thistle quickly created a flurry of chances with Kallum Higginbotham and Lawless particularly lively.

The visitors did manage to regain some momentum before the interval, however, McLean having a shot deflected wide before making a rather optimistic claim for a penalty from the resultant corner after a minor collision on the edge of the area.

With the interval looming, McGinn produced their best effort of the half when he caught Stuart Bannigan in possession midway inside the

Thistle half, surged forward then let fly with a powerful shot which was directly at Fox; the goalkeeper opting to fist the ball away.

They then resumed, having had a reminder of what they needed to do and almost immediately forced Bannigan into desperate measures to break things up after Jim Goodwin had sent Gary Teale goalwards on the right with a perfectly weighted and angled ball.

The midfielder's tackle was agricultural and he was doubly punished with a yellow card and a knock that required lengthy treatment, while Fox again felt forced to use his fists to repel John McGinn's shot from the resultant free kick when he might have caught it.

Thistle's urgency was not that of the opening period and they were made to pay with one of those goals that owed at least as much to the assist as to the finish with Jeroen Tesselar seeing the chance to deliver the ball early from the left and finding the perfectchannel to sent it into to allow Callum Ball to slide in and guide it to Fox's left.

Now the team from Paisley drew upon having doubled their season's goal tally and Ball came close again as the home fans began to grow impatient.

They responded and a fine one-two with Lawless saw Higginbotham craft a decent chance for himself on the left, but as he attempted to put the ball across Kello he could not quite control his shot and it flew wide.

Still St Mirren were the livelier side, however and, even before the game's dramatic ending, they had just failed to taken an excellent chance after Aaron Muirhead barged his way through McGinn to get to the ball just outside the box and only slightly left of centre. Goodwin's low strike from the free-kick left Fox rooted, but was slightly misdirected, sliding wide of Fox's left post.