St Mirren 2-0 St Johnstone: Hosts inflict struggling Perth side's fourth straight loss

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St Mirren's Mikael Mandron scores to make it 2-0 during a cinch Premiership match between St Mirren and St Johnstone at the SMiSA Stadium, on February 24, 2024, in Paisley, Scotland.Image source, Rob Casey - SNS Group
Image caption,

Mikael Mandron nets to ensure a St Mirren victory

St Mirren "battled and scrapped" to Scottish Premiership victory over St Johnstone to continue their European push.

Mandron was involved in both goals, firing home a tidy volley after his earlier long-range strike smacked the woodwork then deflected in off Mitov's back for the opener.

St Johnstone remain 10th, two points above Ross County, while Stephen Robinson's side stay fourth and move six points ahead of fifth-place Dundee.

"I thought we were comfortable throughout," said Robinson. "Defensively, we limited them to very few chances except that one at the end.

"It's strange, football. We were absolutely brilliant last week - some of the football was superb - then this week we were just OK and we won 2-0. These are the games, if you want to be a top-six side, you need to grind out the results."

St Mirren midfielder Caolan Boyd-Munce impressed in the early stages, testing Mitov three times without finding a breakthrough.

But nine minutes before the interval, dominant St Mirren took the lead with an own goal from the unfortunate Mitov.

The home side kept on pushing for another, with Mitov forced into a fine double save after Mandron and Scott Fraser both tried to head in at the back post.

Mandron grabbed his sixth Premiership goal of the campaign with a well-taken volley after Andy Considine failed to clear a tricky, bobbling cross.

Kwon Hyeok-kyu thought he had added a third with a lovely solo finish, but the South Korean midfielder was adjudged to have fouled Tony Gallacher in the build-up.

Zach Hemming was finally tested late on, with Adama Sidibeh forcing a strong stop from the home goalkeeper before Matt Smith fired wide on the rebound.

There were worrying scenes at full-time when Sidibeh collapsed, with manager Craig Levein later saying: "He's stable. The doc said he had low blood pressure. He's had lots of tests, he's conscious and appears to be OK.

"He's going to the local hospital for further tests just in case we missed something."

Player of the match - Scott Tanser (St Mirren)

Image source, Rob Casey - SNS Group
Image caption,

A solid shift on the flank from Scott Tanser, who continually won the majority of his battles and always looked impressive going forward

Toothless St Johnstone fail to lay a finger on solid St Mirren - analysis

St Mirren produced a solid performance, but Robinson will be aware that further improvement will be needed in the weeks ahead if his side are to hold on to a European spot.

Alex Gogic, Scott Tanser and Caolan Boyd-Munce all impressed, as did Mandron who forced the opener and nabbed a rightful goal of his own in neat style.

While not at their best - not that they had to be - St Mirren set up correctly and carried out an effective game-plan with ease.

Perhaps unlucky to go behind in the manner they did, St Johnstone did nothing to fight back until the game was already lost - with their first real chance coming in the final minutes.

Manager Levein spoke of his excitement in seeing a fresh strike partnership in Paisley, but neither Sidibeh nor Nicky Clark showed any chemistry throughout and failed to inspire.

Though the blame does not fall entirely on the forward pair, the Perth side had a clear lack of attacking quality and rectifying that is the priority after Ross County narrowed the gap in the relegation scrap.

What they said

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson: "It's very difficult to play the football we want to on the pitch, we are playing better stuff away from home - when you have to, you play to the conditions and grind it out. We did that brilliantly today."

St Johnstone manager Craig Levein: "We did not play very well. We made some very poor decisions at critical moments and invited pressure.

"We just have to keep going, there is nothing else for it. We are working hard in training and doing our best to pass the ball - there were times today you wouldn't have known that."

What's next?

St Mirren travel to Ross County on Tuesday (20:00 GMT) and St Johnstone head to Aberdeen (19:45) on Wednesday.

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