St Mirren 1-1 Motherwell: Ross Tierney cancels out Alex Gogic's debut goal
- Published
Watch all of Tuesday's Scottish Premiership goals
Motherwell's stoppage-time leveller at St Mirren prevented "daylight robbery", admitted Jim Goodwin, after his side were denied a third successive Scottish Premiership win.
Hibernian loanee Alex Gogic's late header on his debut looked to have earned St Mirren the three points.
But in time added-on, Richard Tait was caught in possession, and Ross Tierney found the net to equalise.
"It feels like a defeat because we conceded so late on," Goodwin said.
"But, to be honest, had we taken all three points, it would have been daylight robbery. Both teams were poor."
On a night when only St Johnstone won in the Premiership, it means St Mirren missed the chance to boost their hopes of finishing in the top six, while Motherwell are now four league games now without a win.
And the tension of the night was exemplified when the late leveller sparked fans from both sides to spill on to the pitch.
After just one defeat in six, St Mirren were a side with their tails up. Jamie McGrath departed on transfer deadline day but in came Jordan Jones and Gogic to bolster their top six push.
Yet, you wouldn't have known it in a game that was devoid of any real quality for long spells.
Gogic, brought on for an early debut after 19 minutes when Eamonn Brophy limped off, spurned a chance in the box. But that was it from the hosts as an attacking force in the first 45 minutes.
Motherwell hadn't won in the league since December and although they looked the more threatening of the two, Sean Goss' stinging shot into the hands of goalkeeper Jak Alnwick was the best they mustered in an equally disappointing first half.
The second half saw improvement from both. St Mirren's Charles Dunne almost sneaked the ball in at the near post against his old club from a corner kick, while Richard Tait forced a save with a diving header.
At the other end Tierney had two chances blocked by Alnwick and Joe Shaughnessy, while Kevin Van Veen's powerful shot from the right-hand side also tested the goalkeeper.
But the game appeared to be heading for a goalless draw, only for both sides to put their foot on the pedal in the final 10 minutes.
Ryan Flynn cracked a shot from distance towards the roof of the net, which Liam Kelly did brilliantly to tip over the bar. But from the corner, Gogic headed off the post and in to cap what looked set to be a dream debut.
But inexplicably, with time ticking away, Tait tried to hold onto the ball in the corner, lost possession yards from his own box, and Tierney was left unmarked to fire in a leveller.
Man of the match - Alex Gogic
St Mirren's Alex Gogic had a fine debut from the bench, and thought he had won it for the hosts
What did we learn?
For the second home game in a row, St Mirren were far from thrilling to watch. But, like they did against Aberdeen, they were solid and took their chance when it came along.
They will be kicking themselves that a defensive lapse cost them another three points, which would have put them to within a point of the top six.
Motherwell are still clinging onto fourth place with no-one below them able to put together a run of form to topple them from a European Conference League place.
However, adding the extra-time Scottish Cup win over Greenock Morton, it is five games in a row where they have failed to win in 90 minutes, with just two goals in four league games, ahead of a home game against Celtic.
What did they say?
St Mirren manager Jim Goodwin: "There wasn't a great deal of football played. We did try on occasion, but we were far too sloppy in possession. Didn't handle the pressure that Motherwell put us under early on and just had very cheap turnovers.
"It's disappointing when you look at the table and what those extra two points could have done. We would be right on the coattails of Dundee United and Aberdeen."
Motherwell manager Graham Alexander: "We were devastated that we were 1-0 down because it was from nothing.
"We dominated - double the attempts on goal and attempts on target, played most of the game in their half - and they couldn't get out at times. The players are really frustrated we dropped two points because by far we were the better team."
What's next?
St Mirren travel to Hibernian on Saturday in the Scottish Premiership (15:00 GMT), while Motherwell are at home to Celtic on Sunday (13:30).