Dundee 1-3 St Mirren

Two-goal Kenny McLean shone as St Mirren defeated Dundee to move off the foot of Premiership.

McLean opened the scoring following a one-two with Jeroen Tesselaar and Stevie Mallan brilliantly doubled the Buddies' lead from after the break.

Paul McGinn was then sent off for a foul on McLean to concede a penalty.

McLean smashed in the spot-kick and St Mirren survived a late scare via Gary Irvine's 14-yard strike to record only their third league win of the season.

With in-form forward players like David Clarkson and Greg Stewart in the home line-up, St Mirren fans may not have been expecting to end a run of 10 games without a win.

The Dens Park strikers have shared 17 goals between this so far in a very respectable first-half of the campaign, while the Buddies' whole team had only notched 11 across the board until this meeting.

And when St Mirren goalkeeper Mark Ridgers had to pull off a wonderful save early on to tip Luka Tankulic's powerful shot over the crossbar, it seemed more of the same would follow.

However, in McLean, the visitors not only had a player capable of changing the course of the game, but one who was in the mood to do so.

The 22-year-old, playing as a striker in the absence of suspended Steven Thompson, had already shown excellent technique to send a scissor kick over Dundee keeper Kyle Letheren's goal before bettering that three minutes later.

McLean pounced on a poor Thomas Konrad clearance well outside the box and sprayed a perfect pass left to the marauding Tesselaar. The winger returned the ball to orchestrator McLean and he converted a measured first-time shot into the far corner from just inside the penalty area.

The visitors' post-Christmas joy was nearly short-lived, with Dundee's Irvine immediately shooting just wide before Paul McGinn's deflected effort needed to be dealt with by Ridgers.

St Mirren's Mallan then had a lucky escape as his headed clearance during a penalty box scramble hits the young midfielder's own post.

At the other end, only the face of Irvine prevented Jason Naismith's volley doubling the Buddies' lead from a fine Sean Kelly delivery.

St Mirren are now one point better off than Ross County in the relegation zone

That prompted something not often heard this season - Saints fans singing their team off at the break.

Dundee were furious when Isaac Osbourne escaped a second yellow card for a late challenge on Dark Blues midfielder Kevin Thomson, and the fans' ire increased when their side went two behind.

It was a first senior goal for 18-year-old Mallan after the midfielder picked the ball up in the middle of the park and evaded a couple of tackles before curling it superbly past Letheren.

Two became three when a swift counter attack had Paul McGinn impeding McLean 10 yards out, with referee Don Robertson pointing to the spot and flashing a red to McGinn - brother of St Mirren midfielder John.

McLean's spot-kick went high and hard into the roof of the net, and Irvine's consolation for Dundee with six minutes remaining failed to shake St Mirren's resolve.