St Mirren held off a late rally from promoted Falkirk as Stephen Robinson's side grabbed their first Scottish Premiership win of the season on his 400th game as a manager.

Declan John's deflected free kick broke the deadlock on 64 minutes after a competitive first hour, a cruel touch off Brad Spencer deceiving helpless Falkirk goalkeeper Scott Bain.

St Mirren pressed the accelerator and Mikael Madron crashed home a header following John's wonderful cross with nine minutes left, but Falkirk responded.

Substitue Brian Graham powered in a superb header of his own to set up a frantic finish, but St Mirren proved too shrewd in defence to let Falkirk snatch a draw.

After opening with three draws from a tough opening four games, St Mirren catapult themselves up to third in an extremely congested league with an important win.

Falkirk have made a solid start on their first top-flight season in 15 years, but were just short in key areas.

St Mirren had the toughest start to the season of any club, with games against last season's top three and an improved Motherwell to contend with.

They emerged with credit from that run, only losing away at Celtic, but this was a key chance for them to get a first win.

What they got was a performance typical of Robinson's strength as a manager on his 400th game.

The base level he gets from his team is higher than many others in the league - with organisation, intensity, and pressure guarantees every match.

So while they struggled for fluency in a disjointed first half, they got the basics spot on, making it difficult for Falkirk to score.

John was their biggest threat down the left-hand side, and while the deflection for his goal was lucky, there was nothing fortunate about his delivery for Mandron's decisive near-post header.

The Welshman also set up Mark O'Hara in the first half, creating four chances in total in a fantastic individual display.

While conceding at the end will frustrate Robinson, his team are up and running and you would bet on them improving from here.

The win at Pittodrie before the international break was massive for Falkirk, but McGlynn said sides like St Mirren are the template for them as they aim to be a stable top-flight club after too long down the leagues.

In a way they were taught a lesson about what it is to be a good side in the Premiership.

Not in the sense they were outclassed, because they were very competitive. But how crucial it is to be robust from crosses, physical in midfield, and clinical up top.

Graham's header from a perfect McCann cross was a good example of being ruthless, but Lewis Neilson's effort over the bar in the first was not when the game was goalless.

In a game they managed just two shots on target in, moments like that are crucial. Likewise the way they switched off at a throw-in to allow John time and space to cross for Mandron was slack.

It remains to be seen whether Falkirk have enough to damage top-flight teams every week.

But with injured players and new signings to come in, it is still early days and four points is a solid start.

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson: "The game was sticky at the start, both teams after the international break and days off, looked rusty.

"But we came out really well in the second half and dominated the game. But for the goalkeeper, Scott Bain, who has made two terrific saves from Killian Phillips and Richard King, it could and should have been more."

Falkirk manager John McGlynn: "Mixed emotions really. We competed and played very well. We've lost two cheap goals, but unfortunate with the deflection from the free kick.

"We switch off at the throw in, which has cost us. Throughout the game we matched St Mirren who are a very good side and very good at what they do."

St Mirren travel to Kilmarnock on Friday for an intriquing League Cup quarter-final tie (19:45 BST), while Falkirk have 10 days before they play Hibernian in the Premiership on Tuesday 23 September (19:45).