It was stalemate at The SMiSA Stadium as St Mirren were held to a goalless draw by Ross County in the William Hill Premiership.
Manager Stephen Robinson was forced into one change from the side that defeated St Johnstone on Wednesday night with Richard Taylor coming in for the injured Charles Dunne.
Saints made a positive start as early pressure saw James Scott send an effort wide in the sixth minute. Both teams seemed cautious in a first half which offered little in the way of clear-cut chances.
The biggest talking point came in the 34th minute when Don Robertson was called to the VAR monitor to review a shirt pull on Marcus Fraser by Elijah Campbell. Following the short stoppage, a penalty was awarded, and the County defender found himself the first name in the book.
Greg Kiltie stepped up to take the spot kick, but the attempt was saved by the feet of a diving Ross Laidlaw and sent out for a throw in, which ended with another wasted chance sent well wide of the post.
As the half reached its end, it was the Dingwall side who came closest to threatening. The ball was worked well into the box before Jordan White’s effort was sent high over the cross bar.
Moving into the second 45, it was St Mirren who were setting the tempo. An early chance saw the substitutes Conor McMenamin and Jonah Ayunga winning corners for the home side, as Ross Laidlaw was forced into a low save, with the effort tipped onto the post.
A deep throw for the Dingwall outfit resulted in a low cross which flew through the box, missing everyone. This spurred a fast counterattack in which Ayunga smartly set up Olusanya whose final play of the game was unfortunately sending the ball wide of the post before the linesman called the play offside. He was replaced by Mikael Mandron while Kiltie also made way for Roland Idowu.
There was almost an instant impact from Idowu, as the substitute saw his first effort flash wide as Saints continued to pour on the pressure. However, similarly to the first half, Ross County begun to play their way into the match as the game crossed the hour mark.
With the teams still tied, the visitors grew in confidence as they sent more bodies forward in search of a late winner. An awkward bounce from a looping pass took Taylor out of the play, falling nicely for County, but the resulting shot from Ronan Hale was sent wide by Ellery Balcombe.
Entering the final stages, the last 10 minutes of the game were end to end but with neither side having the quality to score the opener. A forward pass by Idowu attempted to open play for Ayunga, but Laidlaw was quick off the mark before sending the ball back long again, asking questions of the Saints defenders who were forced to concede a corner.
The corner resulted in a deep throw, as County continued to make a late push to take three points up the A9. A good clearance from Taylor was eventually sent long by Tanser, with intelligent play finding Mandron alone in the box, but he couldn’t control his shot which was sent over the bar.
As the seconds continued to tick away, Ross County won an injury-time corner that offered a real chance for the visitors, when Balcombe couldn't claim the ball. Thankfully, Taylor was on hand to head an effort off the line before Balcombe claimed the follow up attempt.
Injury-time was drawing to a close and County were afforded a huge opportunity. Taylor was booked for his challenge on the edge of the area. The wall, and the goalkeeper, were up to the task as the initial free kick was well blocked before Balcombe hoovered up the away side's final shot.
Full-Time: St Mirren 0-0 Ross County
St Mirren: Balcombe, Fraser, Gogic, Taylor, Bwomono (McMenamin 46), Phillips (Boyd-Munce 77), O'Hara (c), Tanser, Scott (Ayunga 46), Olusanya (Mandron 59), Kiltie (Idowu 59)
Subs Not Used: Urminsky, Penman, Smyth, Adeniran
Ross County: Laidlaw, Wright, Lopata, Campbell, Brown, Randall (Allardice 75), Nisbet, Reid (Efete 75), Chilvers (Hale 46), White, Grieves (Denholm 46)
Subs Not Used: Hamilton, Lamie, Loturi, Samuel, Brophy
Referee: Don Robertson
Assistant Referee: Alastair Mather
Assistant Referee: Alastair Taylor
Fourth Official: Steven Kirkland
VAR: John Beaton
Attendance: 6,142
