St.Mirren 1 Hibs 2

Saints were in severe need of the interval, and looked all the better for it with a spritely start to the second half. Paul McGowan went extremely close with a powerful half volley on the turn which sailed just wide of goal. Gary Teale and Jon Robertson were thrown at the start of the second 45 minutes in sacrifice of Graham Carey and Jim Goodwin, the latter of whom was sitting perilously on a yellow card. The now five-man midfield was improving Saints’ chances of restoring parity, with Teale and Imrie providing excellent width to improve attacking options. However it was from an Imrie cross when disaster struck. Darren McGregor was felled when attempting to connect with the cross. He remained on the deck holding his right knee, and with players gathered around the defender the stretcher was quickly called. We can only hope this isn’t a recurrence of the same cruciate ligament injury sustained last season, and wish him all the best in his recovery.

The Paisley men’s luck went quickly from bad to downright unbelievable. Eoin Doyle waltzed past three defenders and was able to lay the ball to Griffiths. Unchallenged on the edge of the six yard area he had unlimited space to swivel and fire the Leith side into a two goal lead. It was cautious defending at best, downright negligent at worst. And the hosts now had a mountain to climb.

Such a mountain was diminished slightly just two minutes later. A Gary Teale cross found Imrie in acres of space at the back post. The winger showed great maturity by not going for glory, and instead laying the ball across goal for Thompson to flick home, and gain his first goal of the season. The boost from the goal and the resultant noise from the crowd clearly lifted the team. Attack after attack after attack was cruelly left without reward. Imrie and Teale were the tormentors in chief, with McGowan causing Hibs bother in the centre. All too often Thompson and Parkin got in each others’ way, least of all when Thompson’s net bound shot was blocked by the legs of Parkin late on. The six minutes of added time wasn’t enough to save the game, and the final whistle blew to inflict St Mirren’s first defeat of the season.

Irritation and disappointment were the resounding feelings of the day. Apart from the Doyle header, Samson didn’t have a single save to make. Throw into the mix a missed penalty, an influential defender being stretchered off and numerous chances unconverted; the game certainly fell into the “It’s just not our day” category. It was a match that should’ve been drawn, however that man Griffiths was just far too clinical. He was man of the match without question, however the star Saint was Dougie Imrie who was a constant thorn in the side of the visitors with his nippy wing play, creativity and selflessness.