It’s certainly not a bad thing to have a centre back that pops up with important goals at crucial moments.
And St Mirren skipper Joe Shaughnessy added yet another brilliant example of that with his dramatic late leveller against Hibs last Saturday.
The surprisingly clinical finish was the latest in the towering Irishman’s collection, which also includes a last-gasp equaliser in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals against Kilmarnock last season and an equally stirring late effort against Hibs at Easter Road in September.
Earlier this week, Jamie McGrath told the Express how much of a boost it is to see the defender galloping up the pitch late in games, because he knows his compatriot has a great knack of popping up in the right place at the right time to make a goalscoring impact.
The issue with that is the centre back looks more of a threat in the box than the rest of the Buddies strikers.
Eamonn Brophy’s injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Paisley club.
Having bagged five Premiership goals so far this season, the former Killie man was threatening to be the answer to St Mirren’s goalscoring problems over the last couple of seasons.
Thankfully, he won’t be out for too much longer with the hamstring strain he picked up at Pittodrie, but the stats make for grim reading of those looking to step into his boots.
Curtis Main has found the back of the net once in 17 Premiership appearances so far, although was unlucky not to bag a goal at Celtic Park that was wrongly ruled offside.
Kristian Dennis has scored just once in 14 appearances in all competitions, with that strike coming against League Two side Stenhousemuir in the League Cup.
Lee Erwin also scored in that clash at Ochilview, but again hasn’t netted since having fallen so far down the pecking order he’s only made two substitute Premiership appearances by mid-December.
The 27-year-old will almost certainly be moving on from Paisley come January, but it’s clear that manager Jim Goodwin has some serious work to do when the transfer window opens up in two weeks’ time.
The over-reliance on Brophy is clear for all to see, especially with the Scotland cap now sidelined.
It’s imperative that the Buddies add some serious competition up front, with the decision to let Danny Mullen leave the club looking increasingly suspect given he’s bagged three in his last six Premiership games for struggling Dundee.
Clinical strikers are tough to find, but the Saints can’t get to the end of the season with hopes for finishing in the top six and have Shaughnessy still sitting as their second top goalscorer.
Yes McGrath and Connor Ronan, who have both scored three so far this season, could contribute a few more, but they are creative players and the onus is always on your strikers in the box to be making the most of the chances presented to them.
At the end of the day, Shaughnessy’s late leveller on Saturday only papered over the cracks of yet another disappointing St Mirren performance.
With just one win in ten games, it’s concerning to see the Paisley side slip to ninth in the Premiership table with both St Johnstone and Ross County below them still having a game in hand on Goodwin’s side.
The Celtic clash on Wednesday night does thankfully pose a better chance of getting back to winning ways than a meeting with the Hoops usually would, with Ange Postecoglou’s injury-ravaged side having only just scraped a late 2-1 win at Dingwall on Thursday night, with Anthony Ralston doing his best Shaughnessy impression.
They’ve also got a physically and mentally draining Premier Sports Cup final against Hibs to contend with on Sunday afternoon.
If one of St Mirren’s strikers can step up to the plate, perhaps they can deliver an early Christmas present to the club’s increasingly concerned supporters.
