Buddies boss Jim Goodwin admitted he was relieved to get the win over St Johnstone after six games without a league victory.
The 2-0 result saw St Mirren rise to ninth in the table and ease the early season pressure on the Paisley club.
He said: “I felt that when the second goal went in, it would be too much for St Johnstone with the way we were going about things.
"I felt a huge sense of satisfaction and relief.
“We looked comfortable after we went ahead. The first 10 to 15 minutes, we rode our luck a little bit.
“We changed the formation prior to the game.
“We went 4-3-3 and tried to be a bit more attack minded, but it wasn’t working and I felt we were getting done on the counter too many times.
“So we changed it and asked Sam Foley to come and sit a bit deeper alongside Stephen McGinn.
“From that moment on, we dominated the midfield.
“For the last 70 minutes of the game, we were in complete control.
“Great credit needs to go to the players for the way they managed the game in the second half.”
Goodwin added: “We’d have taken a 1-0 today, no doubt about it, but the pleasing thing is that we could have actually had three or four and I don’t think anyone could have argued that.”
