David Turnbull made his long-awaited comeback from injury tonight as Motherwell were stunned by St Mirren for the second week running.
It was Turnbull's first outing since his £3.25m move to Celtic fell through eight months ago when a medical flagged up the need for preventative knee surgery, but he couldn't help his side to victory as St Mirren came from a goal down to shock the Steelmen.
The defeat comes exactly a week after the Buddies knocked Motherwell out of the Scottish Cup on penalties, following an enthralling 4-4 draw after extra-time.
A stunning Ilkay Durmus volley three minutes from time and a Jonathan Obika strike five minutes into the second half cancelled out Liam Donnelly's opener from the penalty spot.
All the talk before the clash was about Turnbull's return as he was named on the bench.
Fir Park gaffer Stephen Robinson threw on his star man 19 minutes from time when he replaced Allan Campbell, but the Steelemen were caught by Durmus' sucker punch, keeping them just a point clear of Aberdeen in third spot.
The Steelmen took the lead inside 12 minutes when Donnelly netted from the spot after Rolando Aarons was brought down by in the box by Akin Famewo.
Saints keeper Hladky produced a fantastic double save to deny Declan Gallagher's header and Tony Watt's follow-up strike six minutes later.
The Steelemen, who were without Chris Long after his red card in Saturday's Lanarkshire Derby, were dominant and Liam Polworth's deflected strike from distance whistled past the post and Watt had a shot saved by Hladkyy.
However, Motherwell were punished for falling add to their lead when Saints levelled five minutes into the second half.
Having knocked 'Well out of the Scottish Cup last week on penalties, the Saints looked like being a thorn in Motherwell's side once again when Obika pounced from close range to net his fourth goal in three games for the Buddies.
Saints almost took the lead moments later when Illkay Durmus saw his driven shot turned round the post by Mark Gillespie.
And three minutes from time they took all three points when Durmus fired home in the box.
The Steelmen are not in action this weekend due to the Scottish Cup quarter-finals. The must now wait until Wednesday, March 4 for their next outing, when Ross County visit on league business.
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