Drury delivers for his Buddies
Adam Drury scored a dramatic late winner for St Mirren as the Buddies picked up their second Scottish Premiership win of the season with a 2-1 victory over St Johnstone.
Paisley defender Jason Naismith sparked the encounter into life with a fantastic strike in the 28th minute before Michael O'Halloran missed a great chance to level moments later.
St Johnstone's new signing James McFadden replaced O'Halloran for the start of the second half but it was veteran Saints defender Steve Anderson who levelled with a header in the 67th minute.
But in the 85th minute Drury, on loan from Manchester City and who had replaced James Marwood, fired in a counter-attacking winner for the visitors.
It was a welcome win for the Buddies and builds on the hard-earned point they picked up in the 2-2 draw against Aberdeen at Pittodrie on Tuesday, while the home side were left to contemplate another defeat.
After three straight league defeats St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright made four changes as Simon Lappin, Brian Graham, Scott Brown and Gary Miller came in at the expense of Frazer Wright, Liam Caddis, Gary McDonald and Lee Croft, who joined former Motherwell forward McFadden among the substitutes.
Buddies boss Tommy Craig kept the same side which picked up a valuable point in the Granite City but they played their part in a dreadfully dull opening to the game in which Naismith's goal shone like a beacon.
St Mirren left-back Sean Kelly won possession down the left-hand side but his cross seemed to be over-hit as it departed the penalty area but Naismith thundered it from 25 yards past the flailing Perth keeper Alan Mannus.
A quite wonderful goal shook the Perth men out of their slumber.
Just over a minute later the home side should have levelled when O'Halloran was sent through by midfielder Scott Brown but with only keeper Marian Kello to beat he slashed the ball wildly high over the bar.
Five minutes from the break St Johnstone midfielder David Wotherspoon had the ball in the net but Graham was adjudged to have fouled Kello as they both went for Lappin's cross.
The home side finished the first 45 minutes the stronger and might have levelled had O'Halloran managed to pick out Murray Davidson after leaving St Mirren player-coach Jim Goodwin for dead in the box instead of finding a Paisley defender.
Much was expected from 31-year-old McFadden by the home supporters when he came on for the second half but no immediate impact was made by the former Everton player who recently insisted he was still hopeful of adding to his 48 Scotland caps.
Both teams swapped possession too often for either to dominate and to that end they both made changes.
Croft replaced Wotherspoon just after the hour mark with Drury coming on for Marwood moments later.
The home side's equaliser was straightforward enough, Brown's corner from the left headed in from almost on the line by Anderson, with Kello lost among the crowd.
Unsurprisingly, the momentum swung towards the home side and Graham appeared to put them ahead in the 74th minute when he clinically converted a cross from Lappin but the offside flag went up.
But with five minutes remaining, and the game stretched, another Saints substitute, Ross Caldwell, on for Thomas Reilly, sent Drury clear and he swept the ball past Mannus from inside the box.
Source: PA
