St Mirren 2-1 Dundee: Two first-half goals put St Mirren top
- Published
The Sportscene team debate St Mirren's 'non goal' against Dundee
St Mirren made it two wins from two to go top of the Scottish Premiership after narrowly beating Dundee in Paisley.
An early own-goal from former Buddies captain Joe Shaughnessy gave the hosts the lead, before Zach Robinson missed a penalty that would have drawn the visitors level.
Mikael Mandron, the man who conceded the penalty, made amends when he glanced in from a corner on the stroke of half-time to give Stephen Robinson's side a well-deserved cushion.
The introduction of Scott Tiffoney almost turned the game around, but he could only set up one solitary goal - crossing for Josh Mulligan to bundle in.
With Celtic, Hearts and Kilmarnock not playing until tomorrow, St Mirren will spend at least one night at the summit of Scotland's top flight.
Dundee looked fluid and dangerous in the opening day draw with Motherwell, but they struggled in far better conditions in Renfrewshire.
St Mirren dominated almost the entirety of the first-half, taking the lead after only seven minutes when Shaughnessy deflected past his own keeper - Trevor Carson, another man returning to his former employer.
Conor McMenamin was proving a handful on the right, and crashed a header off the crossbar when he connected to a Scott Tanser cross.
Dundee were gifted a penalty when Mandron hauled at Lee Ashcroft's jersey from an innocuous throw in, but Robinson could only drill his penalty at the feet of Zach Hemming.
Mandron's header was apt reward for a fantastic first-half showing, but Dundee came back strongly after the break - mainly when Tiffoney was introduced.
It wasn't enough though, and St Mirren very nearly had a third when Shaughnessy cleared off the line to deny Alex Greive. Did it cross the line? Colin Steven and VAR Nick Walsh didn't think so.
Player of the Match - Conor McMenamain (St Mirren)
A lively winger who St Mirren considered a coup when they signed him this summer. It's easy to see why.
Exciting St Mirren build on last season - analysis
Sophomore albums are always tricky, but Stephen Robinson is showing his side's top six-finish might not have been a one-hit wonder.
He was able to get the best out of Curtis Main last season, relying on the striker's physical attributes to create chances for his side. He's trying to do the same with Mandron - but now he has McMenamin to provide service to his target man.
They could do with a little more stability at the back. When Dundee threatened, the hosts looked liable to crumbling.
That might say more about the visitors' attacking strengths. Tiffoney, McCowan and Cameron are a good stable of wingers.
What they said
St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson tells BBC Scotland: "I don't want it to be too exciting - I want it to be calmer than that! We dug in and won the game. We've been 2-0 up in both games. We're learning lessons all the time, we have to be more composed.
"I thought Zach Hemming was outstanding, dominated his box. We actually expected him to save the penalty because he's hard to beat in training. But we have to be more composed, we became a little nervous and panicky. It's a young side.
Dundee boss Tony Docherty: "There has to be a realisation that as a newly promoted team, this is a punishing league. When opportunities present themselves, you need to take them. We had golden opportunities to take a point from the game, possibly go on and win it. We never did that today.
"We need to realise we're good enough to play in this league. It's taking us too long to settle into these games. Once we go toe-to-toe, we show we're the better team. I was confident we'd go on to win that game at one point."
What's on?
St Mirren host Motherwell next Saturday in League Cup action, while Dundee won't play until August 26 when they face Hearts at Dens Park in the league (both 15:00 BST).