Oran Kearney blasted St Mirren penalty sinner Simeon Jackson for his "crazy" decision to dink a penalty at St Johnstone backfired.
The Canadian was left with egg on his face as his seventh minute 'Panenka' style spot kick was easily saved by Zander Clark.
Worse was to follow as St Johnstone scored the only goal of the match just six minutes later to leave the Buddies rock bottom of the Premiership with just eight games to play.
Kearney said: "With the magnitude and pressure of the game you have to make good decisions and the right decisions in managing all aspects of the game.
"We started really well and get a penalty. I've said to Simeon in there and he is a big enough boy to take it but if we're 3-0 up in the first game of the season and he tries something like that then you can accept it.
"But with the magnitude of where we are at right now and the importance of the start it could have given us it's crazy.
"It kills us at one end of the pitch and then the other thing we spoke about - taking risks - we have a chance to put the ball in the stand and reset. But we don't do that and in the space of 10 minutes we have inflicted on ourselves a horrible start.
"We then feel sorry for ourselves for 20 minutes where we struggle to get to grips with it.
"Second half you can't ask for anything more in endeavour and everything else. But too many near misses and missing that bit of quality to get us a goal.
St Johnstone 1 St Mirren 0 as Chris Kane punishes Buddies after Simeon Jackson's horror penalty miss
"I haven't asked Simeon (why he decided to take the penalty that way). For me it looks as if he possibly thinks about chipping it but then maybe changes his mind or doesn't carry it out the way he wants to.
"As I say why take the risk at this time of the season? Okay if he bangs it wide then a missed penalty is a missed penalty but to miss it in that manner makes it all the tougher."
