Finishing best of the rest certainly won’t be easy
St Mirren boss Jim Goodwin made it abundantly clear that finishing in seventh position was the club’s new target after narrowly missing out on their initial top six goal.
Unfortunately for the Saints that target took an early dent as Dundee United moved above the Paisley side following Saturday’s action.
The Terrors always looked like the most likely challengers for the spot, and now Micky Mellon’s side find themselves in pole position after their win over Hamilton - with the Buddies now part of a chasing pack which includes Motherwell after their narrow win over St Mirren at Fir Park.
While Goodwin’s men have avoided a relegation battle this season, the prospect of finishing ninth in the Premiership table would be something of a deflating finale at the end of a campaign that promised so much more.
Yes the Scottish Cup is still well and truly on the club’s radar, with a difficult but win-able home tie with Inverness coming up this Friday night, but the Buddies boss has always stated that the league is the primary focus of the club.
With away trips to Dingwall and Rugby Park yet to come, St Mirren have to prepare themselves for a dogfight as Ross County and Kilmarnock are both scrapping for their Premiership survival.
On current form, it very much looks like the visit of Dundee United to Paisley on the final day of the season could end up being a nail-biting decider.
McGrath penalty miss highlights lack of goal threat
All good things must come to an end.
And so it was on Saturday afternoon as Jamie McGrath’s incredible streak of goals from the penalty spot finally came to a close.
Motherwell keeper Liam Kelly got his own back on the Irishman after the midfielder had beaten him from 12 yards earlier this season, standing up well before diving low to his left to save the Saints man’s effort.
Kelly revealed he’d sussed out McGrath’s key tactic after the game, believing the midfielder waits for the goalkeeper to move before releasing his shot.
By standing up and not moving for as long as possible, Kelly was able to outfox McGrath and crucially keep the scores level in the first half.
Fingers crossed McGrath can start a new run regardless, as his penalty prowess has been crucial to the Buddies strong season so far.
Unfortunately once again Jim Goodwin’s side’s lack of prowess in front of goal cost them a big three points in North Lanarkshire.
With McGrath unable to put his side in front from the penalty spot, Devante Cole’s close-range second half effort was enough to separate the two teams who are now both battling to make it into seventh spot.
At the end of the day, a Premiership club with aspirations of regularly featuring in the top six shouldn’t be relying on a midfielder to enjoy a 100 per cent success rate from the penalty spot. That simply isn’t sustainable.
The Saints must find a more productive front line, with a lot currently resting on Eamonn Brophy hitting the ground running when he returns from injury after the summer.
Alongside Kristian Dennis, the pair could already have the answer to the question of who will get St Mirren’s goals next season.
Flynn may have played last game after injury blow
One of the toughest parts of Saturday afternoon’s clash was watching Ryan Flynn’s reaction to pulling up with a hamstring injury.
After spending so long on the touchlines this season, through injury and through Jim Goodwin’s decision to prioritise the youthful talents of Ethan Erhahon, Jake Doyle-Hayes and Cammy MacPherson, Flynn finally had an opportunity to shine from the start after Jon Obika missed out through a niggling groin strain.
After putting in a confident first half performance, with the whistle looming Flynn suddenly started hobbling after chasing a 50-50 ball.
It was clear the fan favourite wouldn’t be returning for the second half, and now there is a serious question mark over whether that will be his last ever involvement on the pitch with the Buddies.
If he’s out of action for two to three weeks as expected, and depending on whether St Mirren progress deeper into the Scottish Cup, that could see him only fit to return for the final two league games of the season - against Kilmarnock on May 12 and Dundee United on May 16.
With Goodwin having previously turned to other players in crucial games this campaign, Flynn may find himself on the bench even if he could physically return to action.
And that might signal the end of Flynn’s three-and-a-half year stint with the Saints.
The club do have an option to extend the 32-year-old’s contract, but given his lack of game time this season it’s unclear whether the club - or the player himself - wants to see that year added on.
It would certainly be a shame if the sight of him hobbling off the Fir Park pitch was to be the last the Buddies see of the talented midfielder.
