St Mirren suffered defeat as Kilmarnock came from behind to take the points and move above Saints in the cinch Premiership.
Goals from Charles Dunne and Mikael Mandron had St Mirren 2-0 to the good at the half-time interval. But four goals in 12 second-half minutes saw Kilmarnock turn the game on its head before David Watson added a fifth with just over 10 minutes remaining to ensure the points remained at Rugby Park.
There were four changes from the side that defeated Aberdeen in our last outing with Elvis Bwomono and James Bolton missing out due to injury and illness. Hyeokkyu Kwon and Lewis Jamieson also dropped to the bench while Charles Dunne, Ryan Flynn, Mark O'Hara and Conor McMenamin came in.
The Buddies started brightly in front of a 2,500 strong travelling support who were making their voices heard. The first chance fell Saints' way when Mandron met a Caolan Boyd-Munce free-kick. But the striker couldn't get the connection that he would have wanted as he headed wide.
The good start was rewarded on 20 minutes when Dunne scored his first goal for the club. The defender reacted quickest to meet a loose ball from a corner and slammed into the net.
Charles Dunne scores his first St Mirren goal (Image: Jeff Holmes)
Zach Hemming made a brilliant save with 10 minutes of the first-half remaining when, at full stretch, he touched Marley Watkins' header over. Still it was Saints on top and a handball appeal saw a VAR check for a St Mirren penalty heading into the final few minutes of the half. Nothing was given but from the corner that had resulted, Mandron swept home his 10th goal of the season to make it 2-0 to the delirium of the travelling support.
The Buddies had a big opportunity to extend that lead early in the second-half when a cross found Mandron in the box but he dragged the effort wide and even though the offside flag was raised, replays appeared to show the striker was onside.
Kilmarnock pulled a goal back just after the hour mark through their captain Kyle Vassell. His first effort was blocked but he managed to get a second bite at it and squeezed the ball under Hemming to reduce the deficit.
The hosts then managed to draw themselves level four minutes later when Flynn was penalised for a challenge on Watkins in the box. The referee showed no hesitation in pointing to the spot and the VAR agreed with Danny Armstrong slotting low into the left-hand corner beyond Hemming who has dived the right way but just couldn't keep it out.
That frustration turned to shock for Saints when Kilmarnock completed their comeback to go ahead on 68 minutes when Watkins headed into the far corner of the net to make it 3-2.
Vassell added his second and Kilmarnock's fourth five minutes later when he met a long ball from Watkins and fired into the net. And with a little over 10 minutes remaining Watson rounded off the scoring with a solo effort after waltzing through the Saints defence and sliding the ball into the net.
Full-Time: Kilmarnock 5-2 St Mirren
St Mirren: Hemming, Fraser, Gogic, Dunne, Flynn (Jamieson 70), O'Hara (c), Boyd-Munce, Tanser (Brown 72), Kiltie (Ayunga 71), Mandron, McMenamin (Olusanya 66)
Subs Not Used: Urminsky, Taylor, Baccus, Kwon, Scott
Kilmarnock: Dennis, Watson, Wright, Findlay, Deas (Ndaba 90), Armstrong (Stewart 82), Donnelly, Kennedy (McKenzie 82), Watkins (Van Veen 82), Vassell (Cameron 82)
Subs Not Used: O'Hara, Murray, Balagizi, Mackay-Steven
Attendance: 8,460 (2,481 St Mirren supporters)
