If you'd said at 3.06pm this afternoon that Saints would leave Dumfries with all three points, you'd have been accused of overindulging on the mulled wine and brandy butter. And yet, on an incredible afternoon at Palmerston, that's exactly what happened.
Queen of the South made a lightning fast start and were two up before anyone could draw breath. Stephen Dobbie scored the first after less than 30 seconds before teeing up Chris Kane to add the second.
But Saints fought back and halved the deficit after some confusion between Darren Brownlie and Alan Martin allowed Gavin Reilly to nip in to head home. Some more suspect defending from Brownlie allowed Reilly in to rattle in the equaliser 10 minutes before the break.
The second half wasn't anywhere near as exciting but all Saints fans will care about is that Gary MacKenzie bundled home Ian McShane's corner to complete a dramatic turnaround that sees the Buddies top of the tree at Christmas.
Dobbie went into the game looking for his 100th Queens goal and his search was over inside the first 20 seconds, the striker being given far too much space as he ran at the defence before firing past Craig Samson. Lewis Morgan shot over before things went from bad to worse for the Buddies as Gary MacKenzie failed to cut out Dobbie's tremendous through pass and Kane found the net with the help of the post. The loss of Adam Eckersley to injury completed a horrific opening as Stelios took his place.
Saints looked for a glimmer of hope to cling on to, Cammy Smith dragging a shot wide after Morgan and Stephen McGinn combined to create an opening. Andy Stirling had a shot deflected into the arms of Samson who promptly claimed a bizarre assist. The keeper thumped the ball forward and it looked as if opposite number Martin had things covered, only for defender Brownlie to head the ball over him. Reilly didn't need to be asked twice and charged in to nod the ball into the unguarded net. Game on.
Dobbie shot just wide after again being given too much room, Morgan unlucky to see a shot hacked off the line after he skinned Scott Mercer. Queens were then forced to make their own change due to injury as Callum Tapping replaced Kyle Jacobs, who had come off worse in a challenge with Stelios. There was a huge left-off for Saints when the new arrival's free-kick was knocked on for Jason Kerr whose shot thundered off MacKenzie, Brownlie then hammering the loose ball well over.
It was to prove costly as a few minutes later Saints were level. Brownlie made a mess of a through ball and Reilly was in, composing himself before slotting past Martin to square things up. The striker didn't celebrate against his old club but he must have been the only calm Buddie, the vocal travelling support going wild with delight.
Unbelievably, their side could have been in front moments later, Cammy Smith and Kyle Magennis both shooting wide, in between times Martin denying Jack Baird with a great save. The half ended with some controversy as Reilly tried to block Martin's kick-out and the ball flew wide. The keeper was incensed and ref Steven McLean gave a free-kick – although he appeared to have his back to the action at the time.
It took Dobbie a bit longer to get a sight of goal in the second half, Samson denying him twice in the first five minutes. Morgan charged at the Queens defence before unleashing a shot that went a yard or two over but the hosts were looking the more likely side to score, Dobbie and Kane continuing to cause problems for the Saints defence. Despite that, Reilly was given a chance to complete his hat-trick when Baird found him with a delightful pass, however the forward's first touch was poor and the ball bobbled wide.
Instead it was left to MacKenzie to put Saints in front. McShane's corner bounced through to the back post and the big defender forced it over the line, much to the delight of him and every Buddie else. Queens were forced to replace Jordan Marshall with Shaun Rooney due to injury before Reilly's hopes of a hat-trick were ended when he came off for Danny Mullen. The final roll of the home defence saw Stirling replaced by Derek Lyle as Queens got ready to throw the kitchen sink at the visiting defence, however the waves of attack never materialised and Martin was the busier keeper as he saved from Mullen.
At the other end, Samson was barely troubled as Saints comfortably saw the game out to ensure they'll go into next week's crucial clash with Dundee United top of the Championship.
Full Time: Queen of the South 2-3 St Mirren
St Mirren: Samson, L.Smith, Baird, MacKenzie, Eckersley (Stelios 9), McGinn, McShane, Morgan, C.Smith (MacPherson 85), Magennis, Reilly (Mullen 71)
Subs Not Used: Stewart, Buchanan, O'Keefe, Sutton
Queen of the South: Martin, Marshall (Rooney 68), Brownlie, Stirling (Lyle 75), Rankin, Kane, Dobbie, Jacobs (Tapping 29), Kerr, Mercer, Dykes
Subs Not Used: Leighfield, McFadden, Murray, Bell
Referee: Steven McLean
Assistant Referee: Michael Banks
Assistant Referee: Derek Crothers
Attendance: 2,019 (646 St Mirren fans)
