Neither side could be separated in the first leg of the William Hill Premiership Play-Off as Saints battled out a 1-1 draw with Partick Thistle.
Killian Phillips gave the Buddies a deserved first-half lead at Firhill, but Aidan Fitzpatrick ensured the tie would be finely poised heading into Monday's second leg with an equaliser just after the hour. Craig McLeish's side will host Thistle at The SMiSA Stadium on Monday as we aim to preserve our top flight status.
The interim boss made four changes to the side that drew with Dundee United in Paisley on Sunday. That saw Richard King, Jacob Devaney, Killian Phillips and Mikael Mandron come in from the start in place of Jayden Richardson, Roland Idowu, Luke Douglas and Jake Young.
The Buddies started brightly with Allan Campbell having the first opportunity of the game with just five minutes on the clock. The midfielder got himself on to the end of a nice through ball from Devaney before turning to get his shot away. The effort was well blocked by a Thistle defender.
The hosts had their turn to threaten an opener when Fitzpatrick fizzed a strike just wide of the right-hand post on eight minutes. Campbell had another chance for the Buddies when volleyed over from the edge of the area. He met a chest down from Phillips but sliced the attempt over Josh Clarke's bar.
Phillips looked to be Saints' biggest threat in the opening half. He received a low pass from King inside the box, though he scuffed the attempt and it deflected wide. He'd have a further opportunity on 27 minutes when he forced a strong save from Clarke. That chance, however, only came after a mighty scare for the Buddies. King undersold his header three minutes earlier and that allowed the lively Alex Samuel to pounce inside the area. Saints goalkeeper Ross Sinclair was alert to the danger and was quickly out to block. Tony Watt forced Sinclair into a good save on 33 minutes after driving through the middle of the park and getting a strike away from 18 yards.
St Mirren would break the deadlock as we headed into the final five minutes of the half. Mandron brilliantly skipped by Cale Loughrey on his way into the box and laid it off for Phillips. The Irishman took a touch before expertly sending it through the legs of Lee Ashcroft with a fine finish on the outside of his boot and beyond Clarke to draw first blood.
The Jags could have been level in the final minute of the half and it was captain Ashcroft who almost equalised. He beat his marker to get his head on a Fitzpatrick cross, but nodded just wide of the far post.
Saints passed up an early chance to double their advantage at the start of the second-half. Mandron robbed Clarke of the ball in the area and fed it to Campbell who attempted to chip the ball into the net for a difficult angle. The midfielder didn't catch it perfectly and sent off target. Mandron did brilliantly again just after the hour mark to reach the ball ahead of two Thistle defender. The striker raced on to the ball but struck low and hard into the hands of Clarke. And within a minute, Thistle would level the tie. Watt did all the work down the right-hand side and laid it on a plate for a completely unmarked Fitzpatrick who slammed home from eight yards to make it 1-1.
Neither side would go on to create a real clear cut opportunity to take an advantage into Monday night's match. Fitzpatrick flashed a dangerous ball across the face of the Saints goal with no takers, while substitutes Douglas and Idowu looked lively for the Buddies without forcing Clarke to work in the Thistle net. It leaves it all to play for on Monday night at The SMiSA Stadium.
Full-Time: Partick Thistle 1-1 St Mirren
St Mirren: Sinclair, Fraser, Gogic, Freckleton, King (Richardson 70), O'Hara (c) (Douglas 64), Devaney, Campbell, Tanser, Phillips (Idowu 77), Mandron
Subs: Tamosevicius, McMenamin, Falconer, Calvin, Nlundulu, Young
Partick Thistle: Clarke, McPherson (Logan 59), Reading, Ashcroft, McBeth (Turner 80), Loughrey, Crawford, Chalmers (Lets'osa 46), Fitzpatrick (Mackay-Steven 88), Samuel, Watt
Subs: Budinauckas, M.Falconer, Dolan
Referee: Ryan Lee
AR1: David McGeachie
AR2: Jonathan Bell
Fourth Official: Don Robertson
VAR: Andrew Dallas
Attendance: 8,323
