Baffled Stephen Robinson insists he still doesn’t know where the killer extra time that led to St Johnstone’s dramatic equaliser at the death came from.
The Buddies looked set to plunder another three points at home against the 10-man Perthshire side before penalty-box predator Nicky Clark’s acrobatic effort pinched the visitors a point.
The effort came just as the game ticked into the 96th minute, with referee Euan Anderson having already confused Robinson by awarding five minutes in the first place.
Gutted Robinson told Renfrewshire Live Sport: “I don’t know where that came from. I asked Euan and he explained it to me.
“He said it was stop-start and he needed to put that extra time on. But there were only two minutes added on in the first half when there was a VAR decision.
“It doesn’t really make sense to me. What can you do.
“Six minutes added time is when there’s a real serious injury and people are getting medical treatment. I didn’t see that.”
Like most people inside the SMiSA Stadium on Wednesday night, Robinson thought Mark O’Hara’s wonderful volley from distance had settled the hard-fought encounter.
The St Mirren boss paid tribute to Clark for his own impressive strike while urging the club’s supporters not to forget how well his side have started this Premiership campaign.
Robinson said: “It’s tough to take. I thought the boys were terrific in horrible conditions. I thought we played very well considering.
“They went down to 10 men and were very difficult to break down. What a goal it was to break them down and then we’re five seconds from sitting in fourth place at the end.
“But we’ve got the same points as fifth. I’ve been told it’s the best start for 30-odd years for St Mirren after this amount of games.
“So we have to have realism and remember what we are and how far we’ve come. I’m just gutted for the boys as they put so much effort into it.
“Nicky Clark, what a terrific finish. But ultimately we didn’t see it out. Mark’s goal was a class strike, but so was theirs.”
There’s no time to sit and sulk for the Buddies, with Rangers visiting Paisley tomorrow looking to give under-fire boss Gio van Bronckhorst another reprieve after they beat Hearts on Wednesday night to keep their slim title hopes alive.
Robinson is still fully confident his side can ensure they are the club going into the World Cup break on the back of a morale-boosting win.
The Saints manager added: “I’m frustrated but proud of the boys. We pick them up.
“They’re absolutely gutted so we’re going to need the fans to get behind them again for a big game on Saturday.
“We’ve got the best points tally up to this point in this format of the Premiership, so I’m still very confident heading into the Rangers game.”
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