St Mirren will regret passing up so many chances in front of goal
St Mirren missed several big chances as they were held to a goalless draw by 10-man Valur in their first European tie in 37 years.
Strikers Toyosi Olusanya and Mikael Mandron terrorised the home backline but could not find a breakthrough in Reykjavik.
The Icelanders posed a threat too in a very open game and goalkeeper Ellery Balcombe impressed on his St Mirren debut.
With 10 minutes remaining, Valur lost Aron Johannsson to a red card for a last-man foul on Jonah Ayunga.
However, the visitors could not make their advantage count in a frantic finish.
St Mirren will be hoping to make better use of their chances in Paisley for the second leg of their Conference League second round qualifier next Thursday.
Balcombe was called into action in the opening minute, the Brentford loanee producing a fine stop at his near post.
The first half continued at a frantic pace. Valur's backline struggled to handle the threat of Olusanya and Mandron, but the pair passed up four big opportunities before the interval.
Gyfli Sigurdsson, Tryggvi Hararldsson and Jonatan Ingi Jonsson all came close for the hosts.
The second half started just as the first half finished as Balcombe had to produce another two big stops.
Olusanya and Mandron failed to convert a further three golden opportunities before eventually being replaced by James Scott and Jonah Ayunga.
Substitute Roland Idowu lifted Saints after his introduction and had a strong strike from distance superbly saved by Frederik Schram.
It looked like the breakthrough might come as Ayunga burst through, but he was brought crashing down by a clumsy challenge which led to the dismissal of Johannsson.
Player of the match - Ellery Balcombe
Balcombe produced some big saves on his St Mirren debut
A tale of two teams missing chances
St Mirren will be kicking themselves that they didn't score at least once.
Scottish teams in Europe often default to playing a lone striker but Stephen Robinson opted to stick with his trusted two up front. The Valur defence really struggled to deal with the pace, power and presence of Olusanya and Mandron.
Unfortunately for them, their finishing really let them down. Perhaps their evening was summed up best by a passage of play late in the first half.
Olusanya opted to dummy Brown’s low cross, presumably because he heard a shout from Mandron at the back post. Mandron then missed the ball as it ran behind for a goal kick.
They will know they need to be sharper in front of goal next week if they are to advance to the next round.
What the manager said
'Players did St Mirren proud' - Stephen Robinson
St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson: "It was our first game in Europe in a long, long time and the boys did the club proud.
"We wanted to be in the tie going back to Paisley and we are certainly right in it.
"It’s our first real game of the season and their chances came from our slack passing, just tired minds, while I thought our chances came from really good play.
"We should have scored, but we didn’t. The boys are getting into the right positions, so it’s hard to be critical.
"Overall, I’m pleased. You won’t see many more exciting 0-0 draws. If it was 7-3, I don’t think anyone could have complained."
