St Mirren 1-1 Dumbarton

Rory Loy's penalty was saved as St Mirren were held in Paisley

St Mirren moved off the bottom of the Scottish Championship, despite only drawing with Dumbarton.

Kyle Magennis fired low past goalkeeper Alan Martin to put the Buddies ahead early on.

Lewis Vaughan struck to bring Dumbarton level and though St Mirren won a penalty when Stephen McGinn was fouled, Martin denied Rory Loy from 12 yards.

The hosts had a man sent off in stoppage time, Adam Eckersley receiving a second booking.

Ayr United's defeat by Queen of the South means Ian McCall's side slip to the foot of the table while Jack Ross's St Mirren move up to ninth on goal difference.

And the Paisley side could open up a points gap on Ayr and even leapfrog Raith Rovers in midweek away to Renfrewshire rivals Greenock Morton.

Dumbarton have won three and drawn five of their last 10 games

St Mirren's opener was a fine goal that hinted their recent winning form would carry on unabated.

They were playing without the talented Lewis Morgan because of injury and moved Stelios Demetriou to the left side of midfield.

It was the Cypriot who played in Cammy Smith to feed Magennis, who in turn delivered his third goal of the season.

Dumbarton equalised with a right-foot shot by the on-loan Vaughan, whose goals this season may yet prove costly for parent club Raith with the Sons now two points above the Kirkcaldy side.

McGinn was wrestled in the box by Darren Barr after first having his jersey pulled.

It looked as if Stevie Mallan would take the resulting spot-kick but Loy won the debate and then hit a soft effort that allowed for a straightforward save from Martin.

St Mirren had been a shadow of the side that had won their last three league games, including a 6-2 defeat of Ayr last week.

They did not improve after the break and their poor performance was compounded by the late ordering off of Eckersley.

The draw delighted much more the 268 Dumbarton fans in a crowd of 3,906. The battle at the bottom goes on.