Struggling Saints make most of Dundee sinners
IT IS all too easy, too convenient, to package this up as a Scottish Cup fairy tale of several players returning to their former home to pull off an almighty shock.
There were three ex-Dundee men in St Mirren’s starting line-up. Five in the 18-man squad. One of them, John Sutton, even scored.
However, it is the failings of the Dens Park club’s Class of 2017 that played, arguably, a far greater part in this most unexpected of results.
They passed up a host of chances in the opening period, with Marcus Haber the chief offender, and then lost their way altogether against a visiting side rooted to the bottom of the Championship and having begun today without a win in five.
There was no imagination, no verve, no heart, really. The opposite of a St Mirren team that deserve real praise. Defensive slackness played a big part, too.
It led to Sutton’s opener against the run of play and was a contributory factor in the 48th minute as Jack Baird’s goal ensured it will be at least 108 years before the Scottish Cup returns to this particular corner of the footballing world.
‘That was unacceptable,’ said home manager Paul Hartley. ‘It is one we didn’t see coming because it is the same team that performed against St Johnstone before the break.
‘To go out at the first hurdle is not an acceptable result for us. The players were well off it and we were beaten by the better team.
‘The goals we lost were really sloppy. We were looking for a good cup and felt we could have won against a team that have not been performing well, but for our players to perform like that is not acceptable.’
Certainly, in the very early stages, it looked like they might just do enough to get over the line. Haber came close as early as the fifth minute, taking a ball from Tom Hateley and seeing his snapshot crack off the near post to safety.
An effort from Cammy Kerr forced the first of a number of decent saves from visiting keeper Billy O’Brien, making his debut after joining from Manchester City on loan, before Sutton pounced to put the Championship side in front.
Julen Etxabeguren lacked composure on the ball outside his own area and put his captain Paul McGowan in a difficult situation. His attempt to pass the ball forward cannoned off a red jersey and broke to Sutton, who slotted a nicely placed effort low into the corner.
O’Brien denied Craig Wighton before Haber missed a sitter from the resultant corner. He was picked out inside the six-yard area by a fine cross from Kevin Holt, got his head to the ball — and watched as it spun off his head and went wide.
Wighton then left Haber one-onone with a decent ball, but the Canadian’s effort was saved.
Such profligacy would be punished three minutes into the second period. A corner from Stevie Mallan made its way back to the in-demand midfielder and he hit the bye-line and cut back into a dangerous area.
Baird reacted quickest and swept the ball high into the net to spark exultant scenes from the Saints support behind the goal.
The away end chanted the name of Mallan. If this is to be his last Saints game before a move to Barnsley — or elsewhere, for that matter — what a lovely way to go.