Saints ended their three game losing streak with a comfortable win over Ross County in a rainy Paisley.
The Buddies should have been in front at the break, Greg Kiltie hitting the bar before Jonah Ayunga was denied by Ross Laidlaw. When the Buddies did take the lead shortly after the interval, it was after a lengthy wait as VAR checked to ensure the ball had indeed crossed the line following some penalty box pinball.
That pause was nothing like as long as Ayunga had waited for the moment that came a few minutes later. The forward had spent 300 days out injured before returning to first team action last month and thumped home his first goal since his comeback just before the hour mark to ensure the points stayed at Greenhill Road.
Saints boss Stephen Robinson made three changes to the side that lost in Perth midweek. Thierry Small made his first start of the season in place of the injured Ryan Flynn, with Richard Taylor replacing Charles Dunne and Stav Nahmani taking over from Lewis Jamieson up front. The visitors had hit good form since Derek Adams returned to the dugout and had two familiar faces in their squad, with Jay Henderson and Eamonn Brophy both on the bench.
Ayunga went close to opening the scoring early on, bustling forward before unleashing a shot that stung the palms of Ross Laidlaw. At the other end, a dangerous looking ball across the Saints goal was knocked behind by Marcus Fraser for a corner, which Jordan White – who scored the winner when the two sides met last month - headed narrowly wide. With little more than a quarter of an hour on the clock Caolan Boyd-Munce's afternoon was ended by injury, Keanu Baccus replacing him in midfield.
Saints should have been in front midway through the half after some terrific football. Greg Kiltie played the ball out wide to Nahmani before charging into the box to meet the return cross, lifting the ball over Laidlaw only for it to hit the bar and be cleared. County looked set to take advantage of that let-off as Simon Murray raced onto White's flick-on but his shot was beyond both Zach Hemming and the far post.
The Buddies were looking the more likely to open the scoring, Nahmani getting behind the County defence before being denied by Laidlaw. The Israeli then sent Ayunga through on goal but his low, hard shot was kept out by the Staggies goalie, Baccus volleying well over after the resultant corner was knocked out to the edge of the box.
It was from another corner that Saints took the lead in bizarre circumstances early in the second half. The ball bounced about the six yard box before there were claims from both the players and fans behind the goal that it had crossed the line. Play raged on and County got the ball clear before ref Calum Scott stopped play for a VAR check. After what seemed like an eternity, it was eventually agreed that the ball had indeed crossed the line – although who helped it get there is anyone's guess, County's Ryan Leak 'credited' with the goal.
If that goal was shrouded in mystery, there was no doubt who scored moments later. Seconds after Nahmani's effort from Ayunga's pass was blocked, the latter charged down the left before thumping in a shot that got the better of Laidlaw and flew into the net to double Saints' lead. It was a huge milestone in Jonah's recovery from injury as it was his first goal since he found the net against Rangers in the final game before last year's World Cup.
Jonah Ayunga celebrates his first goal since returning from injury (Image: Allan Picken)
The Buddies looked rampant, penalty claims waved away when Nahmani appeared to have been barged over in the box, but the visitors weren't finished with Hemming having to stretch to gather Murray's header. Nahmani then tried his luck from the edge of the box, Laidlaw needing two attempts to hold it in the slippy conditions. Alex Gogic was close to finishing things off 15 minutes from the end, heading wide as he met Kiltie's corner at the front post.
Hemming had had a fairly quiet afternoon but produced a brilliant save to turn County sub Alex Samuel's header over the bar as the visitors looked for a way back into the match. Mark O'Hara then had an effort deflected behind off Mikael Mandron after some uncertain Staggies defending, the sub then heading wide from the skipper's fine cross. As the clock ticked down, Kyle Turner was allowed to run forward from midfield but his shot from the edge of the D was always trickling wide before Toyosi Olusanya sent an inviting ball across the face of goal with none of his team-mates able to add the final touch that really would have been the icing on the cake.
Full-Time: St Mirren 2-0 Ross County
St Mirren: Hemming, Fraser, Gogic, Taylor (Dunne 64), Small (Bolton 78), O'Hara (c), Boyd-Munce (Baccus 18), Tanser, Kiltie, Nahmani (Olusanya 77), Ayunga (Mandron 77)
Subs Not Used: Urminsky, McMenamin, Jamieson, Greive
Ross County: Laidlaw, Randall (Sims 71), Purrington, Brown, Baldwin, Allardice, Dhanda (Harmon 60), Murray, White (Samuel 71), Smith (Turner 50), Leak
Subs Not Used: Munro, Sheaf, Loturi, Henderson, Brophy
Referee: Calum Scott
Assistant Referee: Ross Macleod
Assistant Referee: Alastair Mather
Fourth Official: Steven McLean
VAR: John Beaton
Attendance: 5402
