HERE was one in the eye for the cynics and the doubters.
You did not have to be of a particularly pessimistic persuasion to look at St Mirren and Ross County's recent poor records, combined with a filthy, rain-splattered day in Paisley, to come up with the pre-match opinion that this was unlikely to be a classic.
Instead, what unfolded was a more than acceptable game, the teams sharing four goals to earn a point apiece that does little to ease their long-term predicament but which at least offers both a crumb of comfort in difficult times.
County still do not have an away league win on their record this season and may feel slightly aggrieved they did not put that right here. The majority of their chances came either on the counter-attack or from set-plays, but having led twice in the game they maybe should have found a way to close it out. When Graham Carey twanged the crossbar with a free kick in the final minute it was apparent their wait for a win on the road was going to go on.
There were a smattering of boos from the St Mirren fans at full-time, but at least their team managed to stop the rot. Having lost their five previous home league games, a point - and two goals - can be considered a marginal improvement.
The result keeps them out of immediate danger in 10th place but a home match against the side bottom of the table is perhaps one they should have been looking to win if they are to gradually navigate their way up the table.
"The point doesn't do a great deal for us," admitted manager Tommy Craig. "Ross County might be a bit happier with that than I am, but three points was what both teams needed."
A first County start for Paul Quinn yielded a debut goal after just 11 minutes. It was one St Mirren will re-examine given the space they afforded the former Motherwell man who was able to guide Carey's corner past Marion Kello.
The visitors thought they had doubled their advantage when Michael Gardyne stuck the ball through Kello's legs only for a late, late flag to curtail his celebration. When County studied the footage after the game they discovered it was the wrong decision.
"That would have put us 2-0 up so that was a big moment in the match," sighed manager Jim McIntyre. "It was onside and it wasn't marginal. It was crystal clear."
St Mirren took advantage by drawing level a minute before the interval. Jeroen Tesselaar's throw-in was touched on by Callum Ball and Adam Drury, the diminutive Manchester City loanee, headed in at the back post.
Both goals in the second half came in a rush. County again nosed in front with a well-worked move. Yoann Arquin won possession from Jim Goodwin and swept a pass across to substitute Martin Woods who in turn found Carey. The former St Mirren player applied an adroit finish beyond Kello.
Within two minutes, however, the home team were again level. Tesselaar was the unlikely scorer, thumping in a right-foot shot after being picked out by Drury.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article