Oran Kearney has heaped praise on his St Mirren side after they came back from a goal down to beat Dundee .
The home side conceded the opener after just 24 seconds, leaving the Buddies boss to wonder if it would be a long afternoon.
However, Saints went on to win a crucial relegation six pointer in Paisley - courtesy of an equaliser from Danny Mullen and a winner from Brad Lyons.
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The result sees Saints leapfrog the visitors in the Premiership with Jim McIntyre's side now two points adrift at the bottom of the table.
Kearney said: “To get a huge what if after 24 seconds is one thing but the way the players responded and learned from Wednesday night - to keep themselves in the game - was the second thing.
"It was nice to get the goal but it was the minutes before that where we settled ourselves and stayed in the game."
Dundee got off to the best possible start when on-loan Sunderland midfielder Ethan Robson put them ahead inside a minute.
But Danny Mullen, whose three league goals this season have been against the Dee, equalised after 13 minutes.
And all three points were secured by Lyons as he netted a header just before the hour.
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St Mirren defender Gary MacKenzie made his first top team stand in over a year and was crucial in securing the victory.
Kearney added: "Gary's a top pro and he's extremely hard to get himself back, its been a long year.
"I've done those injuries myself in my career, when you come to that point where you are itching to play again.
"Our form has been as good as its been in the last six weeks and there hasn't been the opportunity to put in.
"He hasn't chapped my door once, he hasn't asked questions, he's just kept his head down and waited for his chance. With Ethan out, we rearranged it a bit today and I thought it was the right time to let Gary loose again.
"I thought his overall performance was outstanding, probably typified by the block he made in time added on where he throws everything at it to get his body in the way.”
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