St Mirren's bid to haul themselves from the bottom of the league took a blow as the Buddies lost 3-0 to Queen of the South at the Paisley 2021 Stadium.
Goals from Stephen Dobbie, Joe Thomson and an own goal from Gary MacKenzie consigned the Buddies to defeat which sees the gap at the bottom remain at seven points.
Saints started the game off in bright fashion with John Sutton proving to be a handful for the visitors. The Englishman robbed the ball in the Queens box right at the byline and cut it back to Kyle McAllister who took a touch to settle himself before firing a shot that was deflected behind for a corner. That corner was cleared but the Buddies won another soon after which almost lead to the opener. The striker was up the highest to nod goalward but a ruck of players on the line ensured it stayed out the Queen of the South net.
St Mirren kept the pressure up and MacKenzie could've added to his goal from last week when he headed wide. The defender was on the end of an excellent Mallan corner but couldn't get enough on the header to put it on target.
The visitors started to grow into the match and put the Saints under pressure with a series of corner kicks. They threw in some good balls with John Rankin going closest when he fired low and wide.
It was an even game with each side fashioning good opportunities. McAllister saw an effort from outside the box fizz just over the crossbar before Lewis Morgan smashed a shot just wide of the right hand post. Queens had their chances too with debutant Rankin putting the ball just over the bar.
Rankin was the architect for the opening goal as he slipped the ball into Dobbie's path to put the away side in front. Dobbie - who had scored in both previous St Mirren/Queen of the South matches this season - peeled away from the defence and lifted the ball beyond Gallacher right on the stroke of half time.
Half Time: St Mirren 0-1 Queen of the South
St Mirren were having the bulk of the possession with most of the match being played in the Queen of the South half after the break.
McAllister was unlucky not to have gotten Saints an equaliser when his attempt from outside the box cracked off the woodwork. The ball then fell to Naismith whose follow up went just wide of the far post.
Still Saints were coming forward and Naismith, bounding down the right, put across a terrific ball into the six yard box which was crying out for someone in the Black and White but there was to be nobody on the end of it.
Despite the vast majority of the second half being played in the visitors half they would soon find a killer second goal to give them their first league win since September. Loanee Thomson sealed the Doonhamers win when smashed home after the ball fell to him when Dobbie's shot cracked off the post.
With the game edging towards full time Queens added a third when Dykes' shot was turned into the net by MacKenzie to round off a frustrating afternoon in Paisley.
Full Time: St Mirren 0-3 Queen of the South
St Mirren: Gallacher, Naismith, MacKenzie, Webster (Shankland, 74), Irvine, Magennis (Clarkson, 59), Quinn, McAllister, Mallan, Morgan, Sutton
Subs Not Used: Langfield, Baird, Stewart, McLear, Gallagher
Queen of the South: Robinson, Hamill, Marshall, Dowie, Brownlie, Rankin, Jacobs, Thomson, Thomas (Murray, 89), Carmichael (Dykes, 72), Dobbie (Lyle, 84)
Subs Not Used: Atkinson, Higgins, Moxon, Fergusson
Referee: Mat Northcroft
Assistant Referee: Anthony Cooper
Assistant Referee: Garry Farmer
Attendance: 3,105
Match report and gallery pictures by Allan Picken – © Allan Picken Photography
