St Mirren suffered just a second defeat of the season as we fell to a 2-0 loss away to Kilmarnock in the William Hill Premiership.
First-half goals from David Watson and Marcus Dackers were enough to see Saints leave Rugby Park empty handed on a blustery Ayrshire day. The Buddies had plenty of the ball as they tried to find a way to take something back to Paisley, but failed to make Kilmarnock goalkeeper Max Stryjek work on a disappointing afternoon.
Manager Stephen Robinson named the same starting 11 as the side that defeated Dundee at The SMiSA Stadium last Saturday. That meant Alex Gogic one again skippered the side in the absence of the injured pair of Mark O'Hara and Marcus Fraser. Keanu Baccus shook off an injury to take a place on the bench, while Killian Phillips made his 50th appearance for the Saints.
Saints started the better of the two sides, seeing more of the ball and forcing a half chance on five minutes. Gogic got his head on a Declan John corner, but glanced wide of the far post. Jonah Ayunga was presented an opportunity when a Shamal George goal kick carried all the way to the Kenyan forward who managed to make his way into the box. He eventually got it under control before seeing his strike blocked by George Stanger.
The hosts took the lead from nowhere with Watson breaking the deadlock on 27 minutes. The home side hadn't looked much of a threat but won the ball in the midfield with Greg Kiltie lifting a ball over the top for Bruce Anderson. The striker raced away from Richard King before forcing a strong one-handed save from George. But Watson was quickest to react to the loose ball, slamming into the net.
Kilmarnock added a second nine minutes later when Dackers found himself unmarked in the area to bullet home a header from James Brown cross.
Saints' day would almost be summed up by a VAR check for a penalty coming to nothing just before the interval. King's header looked like it may have come off Robbie Deas' arm and the game was briefly halted for a check. No penalty was given.
The manager reacted to the first-half showing with a triple substitution at the interval with Baccus, Conor McMenamin and Dan Nlundulu replacing King, Roland Idowu and Mikael Mandron.
But it was Kilmarnock who threatened to extend their lead after the restart with Dackers forcing a good save from the feet of George. Anderson's follow up was blocked before Dackers eventually fired wide.
Saints would make another two changes with Malik Dijksteel and Evan Mooney being introduced in place of Liam Donnelly and Ayunga. The Buddies continued to have the bulk of possession, but failed to create anything that would give them a route into the match. Kilmarnock substitute Djenairo Daniels passed up a big opportunity to add a third heading into the final 10 minutes of the match when he was found in plenty of space inside the area, but he fired well over.
Full-Time: Kilmarnock 2-0 St Mirren
St Mirren: George, King (Baccus 46), Gogic (c), Freckleton, Richardson, Phillips, Donnelly (Dijksteel 64), Idowu (McMenamin 46), John, Ayunga (Mooney 64), Mandron (Nlundulu 46)
Subs: Mullen, Tanser, Taylor, Calvin
Kilmarnock: Stryjek, Brown (Brannan 90), Mayo, Stanger, Deas, Thompson, Polworth (Lyons 65), Watson (Magennis 90), Kiltie (McKenzie 81), Dackers, Anderson (Daniels 65)
Subs: Beach, Williams, Tiffoney, Schilte-Brown
Referee: Nick Walsh
AR1: Ross Macleod
AR2: Brian Christie
Fourth Official: Daniel graves
VAR: Andrew Dallas
Attendance: 5,399 (861 St Mirren supporters)
