Walking on Broken Glass

Following last week’s away win over Dundee Utd and a comfortable (and proper proper fun) 2-0 cup win in Ayr, feelings were high going into Tuesday night’s SPFL Premiership game with Aberdeen. St Mirren have looked much stronger since returning from the winter break and seem set to leave early season woes behind them.

The new year high continued as a floodlit SMISA Stadium played host to a hard-fought 1-0 win over Stephen Glass’ men; a brilliant second half strike from Connor Ronan sending Saints ten points clear of the foot of the table and, more pertinently, three points from sixth place.

Picking up where they left off at Tannadice last week, Saints pressed Aberdeen with an intensity and desire that would have impressed the onlooking Jim Goodwin on the sideline. The manager had put himself somewhat in the spotlight pre-game, with his decision to bring Jamie McGrath back into the starting lineup. McGrath sat out Saints’ first two games of the year amid increasing uncertainty regarding his future at the club.

The decision was one that – in my eternal quest to prove I know nothing about the football – I was critical of at the time, but you have to say the Irishman impressed. His application, work rate and desire was far from that of someone who has downed tools.

In order to facilitate McGrath’s return, Connor Ronan would move into a deeper midfield role (Ethan Erhahon dropping to the bench) with McGrath occupying a wider left attacking midfield position, similar to that which he has played for the Republic or Ireland national team.

The worry many had upon seeing the starting eleven was that the inclusion of McGrath would negate the efficacy of in-form Greg Kiltie (as we saw when the two played together at the start of the season), but the decision to play McGrath proved to be a sound one.

Knowing that Aberdeen would look to control possession (Stephen Glass’ Real Quiz Army had 68% of the ball on the night) Goodwin identified his front line as being key in winning the tactical battle on the night.

As it was at Tanandice, Saints’ press was a joy to watch, with the front line of Kiltie, McGrath and Eamonn Brophy working tirelessly to stifle and pressure Aberdeen at every opportunity. The three recorded a combined 10 tackles, 2 interceptions, 3 blocks and 18 recoveries. With Connor Ronan and Jay Henderson also featuring in midfield, it was a very attack-minded lineup – yet St Mirren retained their defensive shape well throughout. Organised and hard-working – Saints kept Aberdeen at arm’s length, with Joe Shaughnessy, Charles Dunne and goalkeeper Jak Alnwick having one of the most comfortable 90 minutes they’ve had in the black and white.

While Saints were found slightly lacking in clear cut chances (as was the entire game, tbqh) the signs were there. One such “It’s Probably Going to Be Fine, Lads” sign was Connor Ronan’s 61st minute wonder goal.

It was a thing of beauty.

Chasing a Greg Kiltie cutback (Kiltie’s assist his 4th goal involvement in 3 games), Ronan curls a stunning edge-of-the-box shot past a helpless Joe Lewis – sending the onlooking Paisley crowd wild.
The Irish U21 international’s 4th goal of the season (3 of which have come against Aberdeen) ultimately proved the difference on the night, with Dons boss Glass left lamenting his side’s inability to lay a glove on the hosts.

While there are still improvements to come under the new formation (with the attacking options we had on the pitch – Saints 27 successful long balls from 82 attempts continues to be a bugbear for many), overall Tuesday was a consummate performance from a side desperate to leave their early season troubles behind them.

Continuously hard to beat (only the top three of Rangers, Celtic and Hearts have lost fewer games) and with 8 points from ties against Hibs, Celtic, Rangers, Dundee Utd and Aberdeen, a more ruthless attacking game could see us become a real force in this league.

This Saturday sees us head to Dundee to take on James McPake’s travelling circus of Bad Vibes, themselves eager to turn in perform after a 0-0 draw with bottom placed St Johnstone in Perth.

The foundations are there for a very fun second half of the season.

Tangerine Dream

This week saw the return of Premiership football after a long, dark, cinchless and ultimately joyless Christmas period. The break couldn’t have come at a better time for St Mirren, allowing Jim Goodwin and his team the chance to hit the reset button on a run of form that saw us register 12 league games without a win.
Kicking off the new year was a trip to Tannadice to face off against Thomas Tam Courts’ Dundee Utd – themselves looking to rectify a faltering end to 2021.

The resulting 2-1 Saints win was among the most impressive, satisfying displays we’ve seen from the side in months.

So let’s get into the main talking points of the night.

Winning Formation?

While I have, for the most part, been a card-carrying member of the “Our 352 is good, actually” club, there has been a sense in recent weeks that St Mirren have been a bit sussed out tactically.

It was important for Jim Goodwin to use the winter break to show the tactical flexibility to switch things up without compromising on his footballing vision; tweaking the existing system to play more effectively to the squad’s (many of whom were brought to Paisley specifically with this system in mind) strengths, rather than making any wholesale changes.

Saints lined up on Tuesday with a back four that switched to a back three when in possession. The best illustration of this was the positioning of Scott Tanser and Conor Ronan on Saints’ left wing.
From the above heatmaps (Ronan fig.1, Tanser fig. 2) we can see the two occupying similar positions throughout the game. This system plays to both players’ strengths; Tanser’s crossing and Ronan’s creative energy proving a real outlet on the left flank (43% of Saints’ attacking play coming down that channel). From Ronan’s graphic, we can see where he comes deep, allowing him to drive with the ball or break the lines, with Charles Dunne able to provide additional defensive cover from his position on the left of the back three.

We can also see this formation working well on the other wing, as illustrated by the below heatmaps of Jay Henderson (fig.1) and Marcus Fraser (fig. 2)

Since his St Mirren debut in April of last year, Henderson has emerged as a real prospect. Using him in a right-wing-back role asks a lot of him defensively, however. The presence of Fraser (playing much deeper than his counterpart on the left-wing Tanser) behind Henderson allows the 19-year-old the freedom to focus his attention on his attacking game; something he did to great effect on Tuesday, giving Scott McMann a torrid time on the left of Utd’s defence.

Henderson was rewarded 15 minutes into a game when a neat link-up with Greg Kiltie (the kind of one-two that would make your u12s coach turn to your Dad like that “yass”) on the edge of the box saw the youngster rifle a superb 20-yard strike past Benjamin Siegrist. A much deserved first professional goal from one of the night’s standout players.

The Feegie Bash Bros

As Jim Goodwin’s sides often do, the system we played on Tuesday will live and die in the middle of the park. Key to the performance at Tannadice was the central midfield partnership of Alan Power and Ethan Erhahon; the duo’s combined 4 interceptions, 19 recoveries and 14 duels won kept Saints ticking.

In the first half, when St Mirren controlled long stretches of the game, Power and Erhahon dictated play both in and out of possession.

Despite going 2-0 up through Eamonn Brophy on 60 minutes, the second half became a bit of an exercise in containing the hosts. With 73 minutes on the clock, Saints were made to pay for some slack defending, as Erhahon and Dunne (potentially hampered by the identity crisis brought on by the perma-rattled DUTV commentary team’s baffling inability to tell them apart) found themselves caught in a bit of a mix-up, leading to Alan Power turning a driven Kieran Freeman cross into his own net.

The odd lapse in concentration aside, it was an assured performance from the two central midfielders. Should this system be one that is to continue, Power and Erhahon will be vital to its success.

Kiltie’s Time to Shine

Perhaps the most pleasing part of the night was the performance from Greg Kiltie. Much of the recent media surrounding St Mirren has focused on the future of Jamie McGrath. The Irishman (who is out of contract in the summer) has been subject to multiple transfer bids and was left out of the matchday squad on Tuesday night, with Kiltie starting in his place. The former Killie man was rampant; his 2 assists, 17 successful passes (13 in the opposition half) and 13 touches in the final third (3 recoveries) – not to mention his very-not-offside-offside-goal – resulting in a clear MOTM performance in my view.

The 25-year-old’s running off the ball was also excellent, with his constant desire to stifle the Utd backline key to the Saints press.

It was this pressing that led to Saints’ second goal, as Charlie Mulgrew found himself unable to clear his lines under pressure from Henderson and Brophy. A neat link-up between Erhahon, Power and Fraser played in Kiltie, who was able to put the ball on a plate for Brophy (in the latest instalment of his Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? style feud with fellow on-the-cusp Scotland striker and new Dundee Utd signing Tony Watt) to turn home from two yards out.
Overall, this was the most balanced and effective we have seen Saints’ forward line look in a long time. Losing a player of Jamie McGrath’s quality would hurt any team, but in Greg Kiltie we have the ideal successor.

Tuesday’s victory was a pleasing return to action for St Mirren. There is just over a week left to go until the January transfer window closes, and we can likely expect some business to be done to fine-tune the squad before that happens (whether this will take the form of departures or signings remains to be seen). What Tuesday night showed, however, was the strength of the current squad, when deployed smartly. There is a feeling of optimism following Tuesday’s game, with a trip to Ayr on Saturday offering the opportunity to mount a Scottish Cup run before attentions turn back to the matter of climbing that Premiership table.

Should Auld (Firm) Acquaintance Be Forgot

Like spending time with your family over the festive period, St Mirren faced off against Celtic and Rangers either side of Christmas out of anger-soaked obligation rather than desire.

A covid ravaged camp (and the SPF’s decision to reject the club’s postponement request) meant that Jim Goodwin was without the majority of his squad for Wednesday’s Celtic clash, calling on the Youth Academy to fill the void of the eleven isolating first team players. With Dylan Reid (2005) Jay Henderson (2002) and Kieran Offord (2004) starting, and a further six academy players making up the bench, many fans were anticipating a long night for the home side.

The subsequent 0-0 draw, however, was one of the most disciplined, organised and downright impressive performances we’ve seen from St Mirren in seasons.

The stats (via Fotmob) may conjure notions of “anti-football”, tweets decrying “hammer-throwers” and buses being parked. Frankly though, you use the tools available to you, even if some of Jim Goodwin’s tools on Wednesday night weren’t born for three out of the four Matrix films.

In the freezing Paisley rain, St Mirren’s defence (marshalled expertly by captain Joe Shaughnessy) did a monumental job of nullifying Celtic’s threat. Operating in two defensive banks, Saints frustrated both Celtic and the onlooking Ange Postecoglou. The visitor’s 30 attempted shots versus their xG of 1.64 paints a picture of a side severely lacking in creativity without the absent Kyogo Furuhashi, Jota and David Turnbull. Despite not having trained in a week – and with some of the squad meeting for the first time before kick-off – St Mirren showed incredible mental fortitude and concentration to limit Celtic’s space to operate. By dropping RWB Matt Millar and LWB Scott Tanser deeper than usual and effectively turning the back three into a back five, central trio Shaughnessy, Charles Dunne and Marcus Fraser were able to tighten up into a more compact unit (as illustrated by the below heatmap of the JG, CD and MF, courtesy of whoscored.com) to deny Celtic the opening they so sorely craved.

Whether attempting to unlock Saints through the middle, or out wide through Mikey Johnstone and Josip Juranović (Celtic averaged nearly 2 attempted crosses per minute across the game) Saints were able to deal with everything Celtic threw at them. On the occasions the ball did find its way through the sea of red shirts, stand-in goalkeeper Dean Lyness was more than a match, winning one of the most hard-fought clean sheets of his Saints career. Under the circumstances, the point gained can be viewed alongside any victory this season.

An endlessly pleasing night for club and fans alike – rounded off fittingly by Dylan Reid’s mother having to accept the not-yet-legally-allowed-to-drink midfielder’s MOTM champagne on his behalf.

Brilliant.

However, with the quick-fire nature of the December fixtures allowing no time to dwell, minds quickly turned towards the club’s Boxing Day tie with Rangers.

Despite being able to name an almost full-strength team, Saints had been able to train only once in the lead up to the game, and with the majority of players only just having returned from isolation, squad preparation was virtually non-existent. The result was a rather perfunctory 2-0 win for the home side.

Saints once again lined up ultra-defensively – however, where Celtic failed to deal with the low block Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men found reward.

Note the similarity in the average positions of the Rangers side we faced on Boxing Day when compared to the Celtic side from Wednesday evening, in particular the high positioning of the centre backs (Rangers #3 and #6, Celtic #20 and #57 in the graphics).

Rangers’ pairing of Connor Goldson and Calvin Bassey were able to more effectively maintain pressure on the opposition, circulate possession and build moves from the back. With Ryan Kent and Scott Wright constantly looking to collect and run at Saints’ defence, and wing backs Borna Barišić and James Tavernier’s crossing ability a constant threat, Goodwin’s men were up against it from the word go. Wright in particular impressed on the right of Rangers’ front three – his endeavour and eagerness to get to the byline and stretch our defence a real feature of his side’s game on the day. It was the former Aberdeen man who opened the scoring on thirteen minutes, nodding home after taking advantage of some slack set piece defending by Saints (oh, hiya old friend). Just twelve minutes later, the game was ended as a contest when Alfredo Morelos lashed home his own rebounded effort into an empty net.

The major difference between the two games, in my mind, was the drop in concentration levels. The tactical organisation on show against Celtic on Wednesday simply was not there at Ibrox. Obviously, the performance should be accompanied by a rather sizeable Lateral Flow Test-shaped asterisk, but the manner in which we conceded to Rangers on Sunday was once again frustrating to watch.

There were a couple of bright sparks in the game – Alan Power once again impressing and young Jay Henderson exhibiting the type of fearlessness and drive that has had many shouting for a more regular starting position for the 20-year-old.

Ultimately, it was a game to chalk up to “covid… Ibrox… shrug…” and look towards the now rescheduled January break.

So, there we have it: we end 2021 ninth in the table, five points above bottom placed St Johnstone, and winless in eleven league games. It is not hyperbole to say that January will be a massive month for us. With Goodwin previously outlining his desire to trim the squad, I’d wager we can expect a fair amount of business being done in the coming weeks.

With a more detailed look at what that business may look like being written AS YOU READ THIS, WOW, there is nothing else left to now but to wish each and every one of you a very Happy New Year, and to say a sincere, heartfelt and not-at-all-uncomfortable thank you for reading my words here.

See you in 2022!

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like F— This

The wet and windy SMISA Stadium was the setting for the weekend’s Can’t-Buy-A-Win Derby, as St Mirren faced off against recently managerless Hibs. Following Jack Ross’ midweek departure, interim boss David Gray brought his side to town hoping to claim just their second victory in nine league games. Conversely, Jim Goodwin’s Saints side were looking to arrest a period of poor form that has seen us without a win since October 16th– also nine games ago.

What followed was a game that, well… felt exactly like two 1 in 9 records lumbering into one another on a shite Saturday in mid-December Paisley.

So let’s talk about it, shall we?

Sigh…

Not that much of note happened in the first half, mind. Jak Alnwick was the marginally busier of the two goalkeepers as the sides traded half chances and unavailing periods of possession. As the whistle blew on a goalless first half, we were treated to a chorus of boos from the (to be fair, never exactly slow to Lose The Absolute Heid) home supporters.

One feature of the first half that continued after the break was Saints’ inability to deal with Hibs on the counter. Well documented issues with the back three led to Goodwin’s side being susceptible to Hibs pressure inside the wing backs. The space between Scott Tanser at LWB and Marcus Fraser at LCB was an area that the visitors found frequent joy in.

It was through this channel that the Edinburgh side broke the deadlock on the 51^st minute. Frustratingly, the goal comes from a Hibs counter after Matt Macey catches a Tanser cross, quickly releasing Jamie Murphy down Hibs’ left hand side.

As Murphy advances, Fraser is drawn to the run of Kevin Nisbet, unaware of the space he is creating for Martin Boyle behind him. RCB Joe Shaughnessy is then forced to step out of the defensive line to pressure the ball, leaving CB Charles Dunne caught in two minds as to who his man is and what his role should be in this situation.

Alan Power (a standout on the day, despite being on a booking from the 7^th minute) does his best to drop back in an attempt to let the centre backs widen and plug the gaps, but overall Saints were too slow to react, allowing Murphy to find Boyle in acres of space. As Boyle’s deflected shot is turned home by Josh Campbell the home fans were left lamenting what is starting to feel like a familiar goal to concede.

The fact that we have persisted with the back three in this form for the last half a dozen games shows that Goodwin clearly sees some tactical merit in it. As a layman (see also: Stupid idiot) watching from the stands, however, it’s hard to see any aspect of it that works.

Too often we invite pressure with short balls around our defence, with very few passes of quality out to the wide men. This leads to moves breaking down far too quickly, with the ball frequently played back to Alnwick, only to be shelled via satellite towards an ill-equipped front line (of the GKs 37 attempted passes on Saturday, 32 were long). Bringing in Ryan Flynn as a dual number six alongside Power was a move that should have – in theory – helped mitigate this pressure and allowed the side to more effectively move the ball through the lines; but it is not a gambit that has worked thus far, with many (including very much me, aye) calling for the reintroduction of Ethan Erhahon to the Saints midfield.

As cheap as it was to concede, Hibs’ goal – along with the introductions of Connor Ronan, Kyle McAllister and Kristian Dennis – served to shake Saints into life somewhat.

Ronan impressed, constantly looking to dictate play and involve Jamie McGrath on the ball. St Mirren controlled much of the second half (possession over the 90 minutes falling 56%-44% in the home side’s favour). Too often though, we found ourselves let down by a lack of creativity and flexibility in the final third, waiting until the 71^st minute to ask the first real question of Macey in the Hibs goal from a Curtis Main header. Predictability has crept into our game this season, and on Saturday we once again once again found ourselves far too reliant on crosses from the left wing (Tanser completing just 4 accurate crosses from an attempted 14).

Saints’ endeavour was eventually rewarded two minutes from time when a low Tanser cross found captain Shaughnessy – exhibiting the type of penalty box movement and finishing that makes the “stick him up front” tweets yer da posts go from “lol, yeah” to “here, actually…”, firing the ball past a helpless Macey.

The 1-1 final scoreline was probably reflective of the contest as a whole, but watching our centre back claim us a point at home put in stark focus one thing: we need a goalscorer.

It looked for a time like we had one in the form of Eamonn Brophy, but fitness/system/a cosmic desire for me to have zero wolf tattoos have hampered the 25-year-old’s time in Paisley.

For much of last season, the majority of our goalscoring and creative burden fell on the shoulders of Jamie McGrath. While his regression this season can certainly be described as symptomatic of the team as a whole, it is worrying to watch nonetheless. His 2 goals and 1 assist in the opening half of the season (an xG of 0.1 and xA of 0.14 per90) are a far cry from his return of 17 goals and 6 assists across all competitions last season.

Whether it comes from the transfer market or through changes in the current squad setup, adding creativity and goals to our game is a must this January.

The 1-1 draw could go down as an important point to pick up in the context of the season, but it was largely another disappointing day in Paisley. We now have nine draws this season, our last win coming two months ago. The defensive solidity we have built ourselves on in recent seasons seems to have fallen by the wayside (only Motherwell, on 170, have conceded more shots than our 155 this season), the tactical organisation has slipped, and at times we look flat out devoid of ideas.

The way the Premiership is this year, an entire campaign can turn around on the back of a few good results. However, the other side of that coin can see a side sleepwalking into a relegation battle. With Celtic playing in the League Cup final on Sunday, we do not have a league game until December 22^nd when we welcome Ange Postecoglou’s men to Paisley. With Rangers (A) lying the other side of Christmas, there is a temptation to spray paint “wE WoN’t GeT jUdGeD oN gAmEs LiKe ThIs” on my living room wall and run at it hard enough that I don’t wake up until our trip to Dundee Utd (A) on the 29^th.

While I weigh up the ramifications of that action, the weekend off will give Goodwin and his team a chance to reflect on his side’s recent performances, look forward to the January transfer window, and ultimately decide what kind of season he wants to have at St Mirren.

You’re A Mean One, Mr Cinch

St Mirren Football Club – whit we like?

In our most recent “not necessarily must-win but also kind of” game came in the form of a trip to rainy, blustery Pittodrie where Stephen Glass’ Aberdeen looked to put right their own stuttering Premiership campaign.

While the eventual 4-1 win for the home side may have looked a more one-sided affair than the game as a whole actually delivered – it was another frustrating low point in a season that has been far from short of them.

In what has become a bit of a recurring piece of commentary in recent times, Saints could have taken the lead but for a lack of clinical finishing in front of goal. With barely two minutes on the clock, Eamonn Brophy is played through by a superb, slotted pass by Joe Shaughnessy. Attempting to fire through the advancing Dons keeper when a dinked shot may have been the better option – Brophy saw his shot deflected past the post.

The game remained goalless for all of three more minutes before an Aberdeen free kick saw Marley Watkins afforded the freedom of the North East to try not one, but two unchallenged attempts on goal – finding the back of the net with his second.

Less than 180 seconds later, the lower-case trials turned to capital T Tribulations as Christian Ramirez slotted home from a deflected Jay Emmanuel-Thomas ball, with the entire St Mirren team waiting for an offside flag that would (rightfully) never come.

With the game now threatening to get away from Saints, it was now imperative to get a foothold back on proceedings. What followed was an impressive period of football from the visitors. After a hamstring injury forced Eamonn Brophy off after half an hour, his replacement Curtis Main led the line admirably. Saints harried and pressed Aberdeen well at times, with a total of 7 ball recoveries in Aberdeen’s final third across the 90 minutes.

One element of St Mirren’s game this season has been the high positioning of the wing backs. If we look at RWB Matt Millar and LWB Scott Tanser’s heat maps from Saturday (data from WhoScored), we can see that this is very much a trend that continued in Pittodrie.

While this style of football has been effective for us in the past, it requires a vast amount more discipline than we are currently showing, particularly in the defence (we’ll get back to yous guys later) and holding midfield areas. Goalkeeper Jak Alnwick’s distribution on the day (hampered by conditions) was poor, with only 10 of his attempted 25 long passes finding their man. This leads to our lines stretching, and without a proactive defensive unit, the opposition are – as Aberdeen frequently were – able to carve open the space vacated by pushing our wing-backs high.

However, in true “a broken clock is right twice a day, you idiot” style, it was Saints’ wing-backs who combined on 42 minutes to half the deficit; Scott Tanser neatly firing a Matt Millar cross past a helpless Joe Lewis in the Aberdeen goal.

With St Mirren now just a goal behind, the door was open for Goodwin’s men to try and fight their way back into the ga- aw naw wait it’s 3-1.

No sooner could you tweet “comeback’s on, baby” Aberdeen were once again two goals to the good thanks to Marley Watkins’ second of the afternoon. It was a goal that laid bare the deficiencies of the back three in the current system.

Following Aberdeen’s second goal, Joe Shaughnessy was moved to the left side of the three in an attempt to nullify the physical threat of Jay Emmanuel-Thomas. This decision was sound in theory, but Aberdeen’s third exposed the frailties in its practice. As Ryan Hedges advances, Shaughnessy is dragged into the middle, and Marcus Fraser caught in two minds as to who he should be covering. With Charles Dunne slow to react, and Alan Power unable to help his defence, Watkins is free to fire home his second of the afternoon.

At half time there was a feeling that the game had goals in it. One of those contests that we knew would either finish 4-1 or 5-5.

Haha, you’ll never guess which one happened?

With Aberdeen resolute in protecting their lead, the opening phases of the second period huffed and puffed somewhat – and as Christian Ramirez’ placed his second goal of the day into Saints’ empty net on 71 minutes, our fate was sealed. The game then became an exercise in damage limitation, as the afternoon drew to a disappointing close.

So here we sit – eighth in the league, six points off bottom placed Ross County (who along with everyone else below us, have at least a game in hand).

The question that now looms large: what next?

After the initial task of me somehow turning “I dunno man… I dunno” into a couple of hundred words, we welcome Hibs to the SMISA Stadium – with Jack Ross’ side currently sitting in seventh in the table on 19 points (with two games in hand – one of them being a trip to Livingston on Wednesday night).

The Hibees have won only three league games since the start of September, and both sides will look to Saturday as an opportunity to remedy recent malaise in form.

The Edinburgh outfit are actually fairly similar to us in a lot of ways, with phrases like “individual mistakes” “no service to strikers” “good performance but…” and “fuck off Jack Ross” ringing around the respective echo chambers.

We are similar in the way we set up too, with Hibs also favouring width and possession. In recent times they have focused much of their play down the right through attacking talisman Martin Boyle. This season has seen a downturn in this trend, with only 46% of their play being focused down that wing.

In Hibs’ last two games (a 1-0 loss to Rangers and a 1-1 draw with Motherwell) Ross has set his side up in a 3412 formation, with Boyle partnering Kevin Nisbet up top.

In both of these games, service to the Hibs frontman was an issue. In the draw with Motherwell, for example, Boyle notched a single shot (off target), and completed two of five attempted dribbles.

Without the strikers’ movement, Hibs’ midfield felt somewhat hobbled, and unable to really create for their front line. If our defence commit to placing Saturday’s performance at Pittodrie firmly in the rear-view and takes heed of this, we could effectively limit Hibs’ attacking threat.

One positive to take from Saints’ defeat in Pittodrie was the reintroduction of Ethan Erhahon off the bench. As far as I’m concerned, the 20-year-old is a must-start on Saturday. With the impressive Joe Newell, Scott Allan and recent starter Josh Campbell in the squad, Hibs are not without creative outlets. With Erhahon and Alan Power in Saints’ engine room, the team has what it takes to silence Hibs.

Hibs have had similar issues to us defensively too, a back three frequently let down by poor positioning and individual errors. At Easter Road on Saturday, Motherwell’s front line of Tony Watt, Dean Cornelius and Kevin van Veen gave them a torrid time; Hibs frequently unable to deal with their darting, fluid movement.

As Eamonn Brophy looks set to face a potentially lengthy layoff (Goodwin was quoted on Sunday as saying he could be without his striker until mid-late January) it gives us an opportunity to play around with the forward options (whether Curtis Main, Kristian Dennis, Lee Erwin or a combination thereof) in an attempt to take advantage of any defensive deficiencies in Hibs ranks.

Whichever way you look at it, eight games without a win is not good enough. Admittedly compounded by best-left-for-another-day off the field issues – the feeling around the club at the moment is one of frustration and exasperation, frequently threatening to boil over into anger. The next three fixtures see us face last year’s Premiership top three in Hibs, Celtic and Rangers. To claim anything from these three games would give Jim Goodwin a good foothold in his attempt to steady a season that is threatening to get away from us. The squad remains good enough to do so, of that there is little doubt. It is turning the potential into reality that will be the making of the team over the next few months.

Livi? Laugh, Love.

Livi? Laugh, Love

As far as all of your dads and I are concerned, the writing was on the wall for Saturday’s tie with Livingston when both sides emerged onto the SMISA Stadium pitch in their away kits. We wondered aloud what’s this all about, then? We reckoned it wouldn’t have happened in our day. We searched the recesses of our addled brains for our Pie and Bovril passwords to share our thoughts on this with everyone we know.

David Martindale lined up his eleven synonyms for “attritional” looking to put some fresh air between themselves and the relegation zone, as St Mirren sought to continue an advance on the top half of the table. What followed was a drab, disappointing afternoon, with birthday boy Jim Goodwin failing to mark his 40th with a win – his side limping to a disappointing 1-1 draw.

There were no real incidents of note in the opening hour of proceedings as Martindale’s side stifled and frustrated the host side well; the Saints attacking line of Jamie McGrath, Connor Ronan and Eamonn Brophy finding little room for manoeuvre amongst a congested and well-organised Livingston back five. Saints grafted for long stretches, with wing-backs Scott Tanser and Richard Tait constantly looking to stretch the defence, trying to create any modicum of space for their attackers. Brophy, in particular, had a torrid time of things – his work rate and his of the ball running as admirable as it was unavailing.

As Goodwin searched to navigate a way through the West Lothian side, a second striker in the form of Kristian Dennis was brought on for Connor Ronan. The Irishman’s performance until that point was commendable, and he could have counted himself somewhat unfortunate to find himself the one hooked, with partner Jamie McGrath having one of his quieter games in a St Mirren shirt. However, with McGrath’s ability to pull something from nothing, it is more often than not worth keeping him on the pitch.

No sooner had I formed this thought in my head, the Irish international proved me to be An Absolute Mug; sparking the game into life by sailing a sumptuous long-range shot over Livi keeper Mac Stryjek’s head.

The goal seemed to wake the visitors up slightly, with Martindale introducing Jackson Longridge, James Forrest and Harry Panayiotou and a switch to 433. Where they were previously happy to sit back and defend, they went for pace – targeting the wide areas of our defence.

With two minutes left of the 90, some neat play on Livi’s left by Odin Bailey (one of the game’s few performers) exposed a phase of woefully slack St Mirren defending, eventually allowing Nicky Devlin to fire home through a throng of bodies past Jak Alnwick, ensuring that the points would be shared and rounding off what was another hugely disappointing afternoon for the Paisley side.

The draw finds us sitting (at the time of writing) in sixth place in the league on 16 points. Not a terrible position to be in, by any means – however, questions have been raised by recent performances in terms of game management.

One other rather worrying talking point from the game was the 34th-minute injury to Conor McCarthy, who was replaced by Charles Dunne after landing awkwardly on his ankle, with early indications not looking great for the 23-year-old.

His absence – for me – raises an interesting discussion.

As much as McCarthy has impressed both on and off the pitch during his time in Paisley, there have been signs in recent weeks of the Irishman struggling with his role in St Mirren’s back three system, and we have repeatedly looked vulnerable against sides who look to exploit the areas in between the CB, wide CB, and the holding CM. With Dunne on the left of the three, captain Joe Shaughnessy and Marcus Fraser will be freed up to play their more natural positions of CB and RCB respectively, mitigating any potential weaknesses in our backline.

Luckily, Saturday brings with it the perfect opportunity to test this, as we travel to Tynecastle to take on newly-promoted Hearts – with the league’s best home record going up against its’ third best away record.

Robbie Neilson’s Gorgie Menace have so far enjoyed their return to the top flight, losing only twice in their opening fourteen league game. However, Hearts have won only once in their previous six league games – a stat also shared by St Mirren.

While Hearts at home are an entirely different prospect to the team that fell to a disappointing 2-0 away defeat to Motherwell last weekend, St Mirren go into the game hoping to claim three points at a stadium we have not done so since October 2013.

At the same time, Hearts will be looking at our recent performances hopeful of a win themselves (the Edinburgh side are still unbeaten at home), so Jim Goodwin and his team will have to use every strength available to them in order to get a result.

In terms of how I’d like to see us line up, I’d expect to see Charles Dunne continue in place of the injured Conor McCarthy in a back three. Fitness allowing, I’d also hope to see Ethan Erhahon return to the midfield. I’ve said previously that Erhahon and Alan Power in their wee bastard/big bastard double-pivot are the perfect foil for one another, whereas Power and Ryan Flynn have too often found themselves in recent weeks trying to perform the same task in the same way.

With Scott Tanser and Richard Tait (or Matt Millar… here, where’d Matt Millar go?) on either wing, we should look to stretch and put pressure on the Hearts defence, creating space for McGrath, Ronan and Brophy.

For their numerous good points this season, Hearts have shown themselves to be vulnerable to the pressing game. In their recent game, Motherwell’s aggressive energetic off-the-ball approach denied Hearts any chance of finding their rhythm with 43% of the game’s action taking place in Heart’s final third. Of goalkeeper Craig Gordon’s 36 attempted passes on Saturday, only nine went outside his own penalty box – the home side will look to build from the back, and this is something that the likes of Brophy, Ronan and McGrath should look to exploit.

We frequently talk about St Mirren being on the edge of something special, and I genuinely believe we are. By the same token, however, if you spend enough time at the edge of something it just becomes, like, where you are. Know what I mean? Saturday’s trip to the capital represents the perfect opportunity to throw away the “nearly men” tag and make a real statement of intent for what we want the rest of the season to look like.

Saints Row

So much of supporting St Mirren is playing an Operation-style game of trying to dig out positives without setting off the “aw here that’s actually not very good is it?” buzzer in the process. Our trip to face St Johnstone on Saturday was very much an example of this.

St Mirren (or as we’re officially known up McDiarmid Park after seven goalless years, “St Mirren nil”) lined up against Callum Davidson’s men off the back of a disappointing home defeat to Dundee last weekend. St Johnstone themselves have been experiencing a mixed bag of a season – with memories of last season’s double cup win seeming long in the rear-view for many in Perth as the side struggle to recapture the football that won them so many admirers in the tail end of last campaign.

The season’s second 0-0 between the two teams followed, with St Mirren playing the game’s better football – as much as “football” could be played on a pitch receding quicker than Chris Kane’s hairline – but ultimately coming back down the road frustrated at not making the most of an opportunity to build on their points tally.

The game’s first talking point came with the pre-match release of the team sheets, as Jim Goodwin announced the omission of Saints frontman Eamonn Brophy, starting on the bench after suffering midweek with a virus. Starting in his place: Curtis Main. Other team news included the welcome return of Jamie McGrath from injury, as Saints moved back to playing the 3421 formation that had served us so well before the ROI international’s injury.

Although conditions – the pitch, the wind, having to exist in the same postcode as that St Johnstone team – were not ideal, the switch in system saw St Mirren emerge a revitalised side to that which finished the game against Dundee last week. The creativity, vision and ball-carrying ability of McGrath and his number 10 partner Connor Ronan was a constant threat, with the two constantly looking to turn the screw and create. Flanked by Scott Tanser and Richard Tait on the left and right wings respectively, St Mirren generally looked a much more dangerous prospect.

That being said, St Mirren failed to create any real chances of note on the, with passages of the game devolving into SPFL “the floor is lava” (which, to be fair, would have provided a far more structurally sound playing surface).

One reason for this, as far as I see it, was the omission of Eamonn Brophy from the Saints front line.

Despite finding pockets of space on occasion and repeatedly looking to link up with the advanced midfielders, Curtis Main was not able to influence the game to anywhere near the level he’d have liked, cutting a frustrated figure as the lone man up top. Had Brophy been 100% fit, his movement in dropping off the opposition backline and running the channels would have likely had some luck against what was, on the day, a St Johnstone defence lacking. While there is certainly a place for Main in this Saints side, this was simply not a game that was ever going to get the best out of him.

Ultimately, for the second week in a row we failed to break down a side set up to frustrate and stifle us with the hosts “Cup Double Winning Media Darlings” tag slipping with every Murray “a YouTube video of a spider stuck in a bath” Davidson-inspired raked stud (striker Chris Kane would cap off a torrid day for his side by taking himself into a red card on 85 minutes) . Luckily when teams look to drag the game into the sewer, they’ll tend to find Alan Power, greased up and ready for A Row.

Man of the Match Power put in another composed, assured performance in the heart of the St Mirren midfield. Since his arrival in Paisley, the 33-year-old has shown a keen ability to adjust to the ebb and flow of a game’s intricacies. When a tie calls for it (as Saturday’s repeatedly did), he is able to meet the… “darker” side of an opponent’s style head-on. Conversely, when the game requires Power to get his foot on the ball, he stands up; as his 85 touches, 44 accurate passes, 1 interception and 18 recoveries in Perth show.

Defensively, Saturday was as comfortable an afternoon as we’ll see all season, with the home side’s xG of 0.28 making our 0.73 seem free-scoring by comparison. One positive to take from Saturday is our continued away form now stretching to five unbeaten on the road. The goal now is to learn to capitalise more on games like this and turn the impressive football we repeatedly show we are capable of playing into results.

On the other side of the international break lies a home tie against Livingston. The time off will give the squad time to reset somewhat, and work on training field in developing that cutting edge more as our injured players return to full fitness.

It really does feel like St Mirren are on the edge of becoming something special right now, but being on that edge can only get us by for so long. Looking forward to the Livi game, we know better than to name any game at this stage of the season a Must-Win, but at the same time: it’d be nice, wouldn’t it?

Take On Dee

Some things in life are a given: the sky is blue, if I don’t brush my beard 1877 times in the morning everyone I love will die, and when you confidently predict a St Mirren win, they will let you down.

James McPake brought his Dundee team to Paisley off the back of a 5-0 midweek humiliation at home to bottom-of-the-league Ross County and desperate to kickstart a stuttering season – and what would you know, they only beat us, didn’t they?

As Jamie McGrath and Ethan Erhahon once again missed out due to injury, Jim Goodwin named an unchanged side from the team that started midweek at Motherwell.

What followed was an afternoon of the most frustrating order, as awful to watch as it now is to write about. Despite dominating possession (61% over the 90 minutes), Saints fell to Max Anderson’s 11th-minute strike. I’m reticent to even say that Dundee “snatched” the win; for all the possession St Mirren had during the game, we did the sum total of ZERO THINGS with it.

For my money, this game raised a few interesting talking points:

352: Aye or Naw?

As we did midweek at Fir Park, Saints lined up on Saturday in a 352 formation, with Ryan Flynn, Kyle McAllister and Curtis Main keeping their place among the recent usual starters.

Although through necessity as much as design, the move from the 3421 to the flatter system we saw against Dundee is not one that really plays to the strengths of the squad.

As much as I am a fan of Curtis Main, the inclusion of a front two lessens the impact of both Eamonn Brophy and the midfield behind him. In previous weeks we have seen Brophy flourish playing in front of two number 10s (largely Connor Ronan and Jamie McGrath); the lone striker role allowing him the freedom to wander around the opposition back line, confounding defenders with his movement and creativity. The striker’s intelligence both on and off the ball brings the attacking midfielders behind him into play wonderfully. On Saturday, Main and Brophy repeatedly found themselves isolated and frustrated, with St Mirren failing to create any real chances or pose any threat to Dundee – too often resorting to ineffective long balls. Again, I want to stress how much of a fan I have become of Curtis Main, but on Saturday he was a victim of a system that did not fit his, or his team’s style.

In the middle of the park, there usually sits a double headed bastard pivot of Alan Power and Ethan Erhahon. Since Power’s arrival in Paisley, the pair have formed an effective midfield partnership, with each one’s strengths complimenting and even elevating the others’. Power and Flynn, however, seemed too often to be trying to perform the same role, often cancelling each other out with neither having the look of being 100% sure of their roles next to one another. This left a large hole in the middle of the park where Dundee captain Charlie Adam was more than happy to operate. Without being reductive, if you stop Adam – broadly – you stop Dundee, and we did not do this on Saturday. The midfielder played the number 6 role to a tee, his presence and calmness in and out of possession allowing fellow midfielders Paul McGowan and goalscorer Max Anderson to stretch and exasperate St Mirren with their running and endeavour.

Facing the Low Block

One of the most pleasing features of Jim Goodwin’s tenure as St Mirren manager has been the side’s move towards possession-based, attacking football. One thing this brings with it is visiting team’s tendency to employ a low block and look to frustrate the attacking team, as we saw on Saturday.

Dundee – setting up with a bank of four, a bank of five and Cillian Sheridan running the channels – operated as a tight, compact and largely effective unit, stifling St Mirren at every opportunity (Saints’ xG of 1.03 vs Dundee’s 0.86 telling a fairly accurate tale of the game).  

Despite controlling possession and having the majority of the game’s chances, St Mirren were unable to break down James McPake’s side. For all St Mirren’s dominance, we could have done with seeing a lot more risks being taken, rather than the somewhat unimaginative options of long balls from Jak Alnwick and balls down the left hand side (Scott Tanser’s 4/14 crosses into the box from that channel representing the quantity over quality approach that the home side showed for the game’s duration). Simply put, we could still be playing the game now and the score would still be 0.

Dundee remained resolute to hang on to their victory, claiming a valuable three points in the process.

By contrast St mirren looked leggy and without the tempo to open Dundee up, with large periods of the game feeling like the tactical equivalent of blowing into a flat pint of lager with a straw to try and bring it back to life.

Issues with Squad Depth?

Overall, I’d say we can fairly confidently put Saturday down to a Bad Day at the Office – not indicative of any wider issues, but also not one to be totally ignored.

One area the game has potentially exposed is a thinness of our squad. While it obviously should be tempered by the amount of game minutes the likes of Ryan Flynn and Kyle McAllister have played of late, the drop off between those missing from the side and those who came in to replace them is stark.

As well as the previously highlighted issues of the Power/Flynn midfield partnership, Kyle McAllister cut a frustrated figure on Saturday. Although showing real flashes of skill in the right wing-back role, he has shown repeatedly his suitability in a more central position – and even then, doubts remain over his ability to perform over an extended period of time.

One bright spark of the past week has been the return from injury of Greg Kiltie. The 24-year-old looked bright last Wednesday against Motherwell at a time in the tie when the game was threatening to get away from us. His ability to create space in the final third (as well as a keen footballing understanding with former Killie teammate Eamonn Brophy’s) will be an excellent avenue to explore in the coming weeks. Fitness allowing, I can see Kiltie slotting into the starting XI, and a move back to the 3421. With Kiltie and Connor Ronan playing behind Brophy, and with a Matt Millar nearing full match fitness on the right wing, there will be a balance in the side that was missing on Saturday, and I don’t anticipate the issues of that game being repeated.

Next Up: St Johnstone (A)

A trip to Perth awaits us on Saturday, as we face off against Callum Davidson’s St Johnstone. Last season’s double cup winners currently sit one place and one point behind eight placed St Mirren, and both managers will be looking to the tie as a chance to right some wrongs before the international break and push towards where they feel they should be in the table.

Similar to us, St Johnstone have struggled at times this season to break down opponents despite playing some impressive football. I can see St Mirren going toe-to-toe with the Perth side’s 352 and looking to take advantage of any after effects of an energy sapping week for the Saintees that included games against Celtic, Hearts and Dundee Utd (as will Callum Davidson off the back of our performance vs Dundee).

New RWB-extraordinaire Michael O’Halloran will constantly look to expose any space between our CB (likely Marcus Fraser on the left) and WB, and with Stevie May running the channels and Chris Kane a constant danger in the box, our back line will have to be sharp from the off.

Defensive stability has been something of an issue for St Johnstone this season. So far Callum Davidson has named ten different centre back trios in the league, and the “I’ll do what I want, wolf hands and that” game of Eamonn Brophy could be useful in exploiting any weaknesses in the home side’s back line.

From a St Mirren point of view, the defeat to Dundee must go down as a missed opportunity to start racking up points and climbing the table. While two home defeats on the bounce don’t look great, two defeats from the last nine games show that Saturday is nothing that we can’t come back from. One of the most satisfying developments under Jim Goodwin has been a strengthening of the squad’s mentality. With 5 of our 14 points so far this season coming from losing positions, there exists a resolve in St Mirren that we have not seen in recent years. This mentality will be key as Goodwin looks for a reaction from his side in Perth on Saturday.

Watch the Football! It’s Football!

St Mirren went into gameweek ten of the Premiership sat in seventh place in the league, looking to extend their six-game unbeaten run against Steven Gerrard’s Rangers.

Saints manager Jim Goodwin offered up an unchanged starting XI for the fourth game in a row – a testament to the consistency and stability the Irish coach has instilled around the SMISA Stadium. Once again this proved the correct decision, with the game bursting to life in the third minute via a Connor Ronan screamer from 30 yards.

The goal was an early vindication for the way in which St Mirren took the game to Rangers. Ronan allows a slack pass from James Tavernier to roll across his body, fooling John Lundstram and buying himself what seems like acres of space, before hitting an absolute wtfmate-er of a shot into the top corner of John McLaughlin’s goal. A goal of the season contender and a moment of magic from a player who increasingly looks to be full of them.

Spurred on by the strike, so began a period of St Mirren dominance (haha, genuinely), with fans treated to some of the best football we have seen all season. Saints’ slick passing and movement had the champions chasing shadows in a way we rarely see in games such as this. St Mirren were a joy to watch off the ball as well, with Rangers – harried and rattled by the intensity of our press – forced into playing long balls, which the home side were more than happy to deal with, dominating second ball after second ball.

However, St Mirren were unable to turn this period of dominance into a more substantial lead and, as Rangers switched from a 4-3-3 to a 4-2-2-2 in possession, the game began to open up. With Ianis Hagi the fulcrum of Ranger’s attacking intent, it was the home side’s turn to find themselves pinned back. Untidiness began to creep into St Mirren’s play, and it was the Romanian who eventually capitalised on this on 42 minutes; some nice close footwork on the edge of the box leading to a clumsy tackle from Alan Power. Kemar Roofe converted from the spot, and Saints were left rueing a lack of ruthlessness after taking the lead.

The misery was doubled just two minutes later when a whipped James Tavernier cross was met by the head of Alfredo Morelos, who netted his 100^th goal for the Glasgow club. While it was a nice finish from the Colombian, it was yet another frustrating goal to concede from a St Mirren point of view with Conor McCarthy caught in two minds about Morelos’ positioning, losing the flight of the ball and allowing the Rangers man to nod home.

A slightly plodding second half followed, with neither side offering much in the way of inspiration in front of the Sky Sports cameras. As Rangers saw out the 2-1 win, Saints were left imagining what might have been without the self-implosion of the closing period of the first half.

A disappointing game overall (made worse by injuries to Ethan Erhahon and Jamie McGrath), but the fact is we went into the game with the genuine feeling we were capable of getting something, and other than a disastrous few first-half minutes killing the contest, we very well may have.

As much as ties against the Old Firm are difficult to judge, they can be effective barometers of where a team is. The way we took the game to Rangers in the opening phases of the game is night and day from how we would have approached the tie just two or three seasons ago. When we get the ball down and play football there’s no one in this league we can’t compete with – and as a team with genuine top six aspirations this season, this is very exciting to see.

One likely contender for that top six is spot Graham Alexander’s Motherwell (rather annoyingly, to idiots/legends like me who predicted they’d struggle this season), who we faced on Wednesday night at Fir Park.

Injuries meant we saw a slightly changed starting XI and formation, with Curtis Main, Kyle McAllister and Ryan Flynn lining up as Saints’ returned to the conventional 352. 

St Mirren dominated large spells of the first half (62% possession over the course of the 90), without really doing much with it; a couple of half chances and dragged shots being the highlights.

For large periods in the first half, it felt like St Mirren were struggling to get to grips with this switch in formation. Still very much in the mindset of the 3421 (and exacerbated by the wet conditions), passes were going wayward where previously there would have been attacking overloads in the wide areas. Credit must go to Kyle McAllister, who stepped up admirably at RWB, providing flashes of real creativity and vision. While question marks still remain over the midfielder’s ability to perform over the course of a season – it was a strong performance from a player we have not seen enough of over his years in Paisley.

Starting the second half, Saints looked to build on the first half’s good play, knowing they had to be wary of repeating the mistakes of Sunday’s capitulation. The visitors went about this by *checks notes* immediately conceding two goals.

Come on, man…

With Jim Goodwin’s team talk still ringing in the players’ ears, Tony Watt’s 48th-minute header and 52nd-minute penalty had Motherwell sleepwalking to victory.

There was now only one man that could save the day.

Brophy man, what can you say? Saints fans were treated to a pure encapsulation of Eamonn Brophy the Player in four minutes of madness. His first goal: He takes the ball round the an advancing Liam Kelly and slots home from what felt like an impossible angle. His second: He shithouses his way to a penalty, slotting home after an absolute banter retake. It was the kind of performance that makes you google “where to get a wolf tattoo even though am no a goth”.

Simply put, Brophy scores goals previous St Mirren strikers haven’t. He attempts things previous St Mirren strikers wouldn’t. In St Mirren’s push for a top six finish, Brophy will be a major factor.

So here we are, eleven games in, having faced every team. It’s now time to look at the table and make a rash decision on how the season as a whole will pan out. The judgement is in, and it’s a definite “Yass” from me. St Mirren sit in 7th place on 14 points. Overall, the league is stronger than it has been in years – with the first third of the season as a foundation to build on, we look to be in a very healthy position. For context, after the same amount of games played last year we sat in 11th place on 8th points. As a football fan all you can ask for in incremental improvement, and St Mirren are showing that in spades, both in terms of results and performance.

We’re now back to where we started: a face-off against Dundee on Saturday.

Jame’s McPake’s men – very much the Monstars from Space Jam, if instead of stolen basketball talent they were injected with Pure Bad Vibes™ – currently sit eleventh in the league with 7 points, coming off the back of a 5-0 home defeat to bottom side Ross County. While the 2-2 opening day draw between Saints and Dundee may seem a long time ago for the Den’s Park outfit, both sides will see Saturday as an opportunity to pick up three important points.

While it would be a mistake to underestimate Dundee, Saturday has come at the perfect time for St Mirren. We have fared well against systems similar to Dundee’s 433 recently – Ross County, Motherwell and the first half of the Rangers game in particular. While the injured McGrath will undoubtedly leave a large hole in the side, the inclusion of new fan-favourite Connor Ronan is more than capable of picking up the creative mantle, and Greg Kiltie (McGrath’s likely replacement) looked sharp and hungry in his appearance off the bench at Motherwell. We have seen Dundee struggle against sides who look to exploit the space in behind the fullbacks, and with Scott Tanser and Matt Millar on the wings, Saints look more balanced than we have in a long time, and should look to take advantage of this on Saturday.

With the first round of Premiership fixtures done, the table is beginning to take shape, and so too is the St Mirren squad. Last year was our best season in 31 years; to improve on that this year would be a massive undertaking, but if recent performances have shown anything, we have what it takes to compete with anyone – assuming we leave that self-destruct button alone.

Tell Me Something Good

Checking social media on Saturday morning, you couldn’t move for (steaming) pictures of (steaming) St Mirren fans (steamingly) making their way up the A9 towards Dingwall as the Buddies looked to extend their five-game unbeaten run (including two wins in the past two games) against Malky Mackay’s struggling Ross County side.

Key to that run has been consistency, both of the football played and the personnel playing it. This continued into Saturday as Saints lined up with the same team that had started the previous two weeks’ wins over Aberdeen (H) and Livingston (A).  

Despite the now customary shaky opening ten minutes, St Mirren grew in confidence as Eamonn Brophy dragged a shot wide from the edge of the box on the 12 minute mark.

Typically undeterred and with two wolf fingers held up to the very concept of xG, Brophy tried the same shot from the same position three minutes later, this time firing into the top corrner past Ashley Maynard-Brewer in the County goals.

Brophy’s finish capped off a neat back-to-front move from St Mirren and shows what an asset the former Killie man is to the team’s attack. When Ethan Erhahon picks up the possession, Brophy immediately gestures where he wants the ball played and floors County defender Jack Baldwin with some excellent movement. Erhahon’s pass: exquisite. Brophy’s touch and finish: instinctive and explosive. A lovely goal, indicative of a player growing into his role in the team’s current set up, and one that should fill every Saints fan with optimism for the season to come.

Spurred on by the opening goal, a period of relative dominance followed for St Mirren. Prior to the game, Jim Goodwin and his coaching team had clearly identified Ross County’s full backs as being the area to exploit. The best passages of play from Saints in the first half came from isolating County’s full backs, creating three-man overloads between the wider centre back, wingback and central midfield (ie. Fraser, Millar and Ronan/McGrath on the right, Shaughnessy, Tanser and McGrath/Ronan on the left).

For the remainder of the half, the home side found themselves unable to deal with the Saints press, and the visitors were rewarded on 34 minutes as Marcus Fraser headed home from a corner against his former club after an Ashley Maynard-Brewer flap.

While you’d be hard pushed not to put the goal down to a goalkeeping error, the delivery from Scott Tanser is on point, and was the latest in a series of examples of St Mirren’s training ground work on attacking set pieces. One to be enthused about for sure, especially with Sunday’s visit of Rangers – often the type of game where you have to make set pieces count – on the horizon.

Despite a deflected Blair Spittal free kick halving Ross County’s arrears, Saints were back two goals to the good 4 minutes later when Scott Tanser was able to capitalise on County skipper Jack Baldwin’s momentary lapse of function, ducking out the way of a long Jak Alnwick free kick and allowing the former St Johnstone winger to coolly lift the ball over the advancing Maynard-Brewer to make it 3-1 going into half time.

A satisfying goal for the football hipsters amongst us who can tick “assist from a goalkeeper” off our 2021/22 bingo cards, leaving me now just a dog on the pitch away from winning my own guest column in The Athletic.

Saints’ dominance didn’t let up in the opening phases of the second half, as we were treated to wave after wave of attack. But for a lack of ruthlessness in front of goal, we could have – and probably should have – found ourselves extending our lead even more.

In an effort to turn the tide, Malkay Mackay elected to bring on Jordan White and Harry Paton, and switching to playing two strikers up front, with Spittal dropping back to a midfield role. The traditional 442 (very much the “Malkay Mackay’s views” of football formations) served in stifling St Mirren; the effectiveness of the first half press a distant memory as the visitors sat back far too deep, inviting the Dingwall side to play. Harry Clarke, in particular, caused St Mirren problems, hitting the post before eventually – and inevitably – crossing in for Alex Iacovitti to fire home a header on 65 minutes.

With a single goal in it, and with Ross County looking to be in the ascendency, Goodwin took evasive action, bringing on Ryan Flynn, Curtis Main and Richard Tait in an attempt to regain a hold of proceedings.

To the team’s credit, they succeeded in holding out for the remainder of the game, claiming a third consecutive league win in the process – a feat that has not been achieved since the heady Gus MacPherson days of 2008. While it was far closer than it should have been, Saturday was another example of the exact type of game we would have lost in previous years, so credit must go to the grit and guile that Jim Goodwin has instilled in his squad.

Man of the Match – Eamonn Brophy

Eamonn Brophy is slowly coming into his own in a St Mirren shirt. A constant source of irritation for opposition defenders – the striker’s movement and intelligence off the ball is only bettered by his imagination and confidence on it.

Brophy has really benefitted from the switch to the 3421 system we have deployed in recent weeks, with the inclusions of Connor Ronan and Jamie McGrath in advanced midfield roles serving to get the best out of the striker, as can be observed from the 6 shots he attempted in Dingwall.

His constant ability to create something from situations he has no right to will be a tremendous source of fun for Saints fans as the season transpires.

Up Next – Rangers (H)

This Sunday lunchtime kick off sees the visit of league leaders Rangers to the SMISA Stadium. So far this season Rangers (P9 W6 D2 L1) have somewhat flattered to deceive, quietly getting the job done without ever reaching the levels expected of a side off the back of their title-winning campaign.

Despite generally underperforming and a few individual players struggling, we saw the best of what Rangers can be for the first 45 minutes in their 1-1 draw with Hearts on Saturday.

Switching from their traditional 433 and an altered 4231, Steven Gerrard’s men showed how adept they are at breaking down a packed defensive unit using aggression tempo and intensity. With Scott Wright tucking in from a wide left position, Rangers’ attacking game was too much for Hearts to handle, and had Alfredo Morelos been on a better run of form, Rangers would have had the game finished by half time (xG over the game was 3.86 v 0.92 in Rangers’ favour). With a likely front three of Wright, Hagi and Morelos on Sunday, energy both on and off the ball is something St Mirren’s defence will have to contend with as the visitors look to create pockets of space in behind our wing backs.

I don’t predict much deviation from the formation or tactics we have seen in recent weeks. We have really started to find our feed in this 3421 formation of late, and – with formations often revealing the most in games where teams soend long periods of time off the ball – Sunday will be a very interesting test of where we are as a squad. Rangers are not without weakness, and St Mirren (unbeaten in 6, 3 wins on the bounce) are currently on our best league run in decades. We have recently seen what a win against Rangers in Paisley can do for the club, and with fans back for this tie, it would be all the sweeter.

🎼 https://t.co/GIiyl6F6D4 pic.twitter.com/qfcqQ9GcqR

— St Mirren FC (@saintmirrenfc) October 16, 2021