Kilmarnock overcame St Mirren with a late rally to win the Premiership and seize the lead above Saints.
At the half, St Mirren led 2-0 thanks to goals from Mikael Mandron and Charles Dunne. However, Kilmarnock turned the tide of the match with four goals in the final 12 minutes of the second half, and David Watson added a fifth goal with just over ten minutes to go to guarantee the points stayed at Rugby Park.
Elvis Bwomono and James Bolton were rested due to illness and injuries, making four changes from the team that beat Aberdeen in our previous match. In addition, Hyeokkyu Kwon and Lewis Jamieson were benched in favour of Conor McMenamin, Mark O’Hara, Ryan Flynn, and Charles Dunne.
In front of 2,500 travelling supporters who were raising their voices, the Buddies got off to a good start. Mandron connected with a free-kick from Caolan Boyd-Munce to give Saints the opening opportunity. However, the striker headed wide after failing to make the connection he would have liked.
Dunne’s first goal for the team came on minutes 20, capping off a strong start for the team. When a ball came loose from a corner, the defender was first to respond and crashed into the net.
With ten minutes remaining in the first half, Zach Hemming produced a fantastic stop by fully stretching to tip over a header from Marley Watkins. Even so, Saints were ahead, and as the last few minutes of the half approached, a handball appeal resulted in a VAR review for a penalty against St. Mirren. To the ecstasy of the travelling supporters, Mandron scored his 10th goal of the season from the ensuing corner. Nothing was awarded.
Early in the second half, a cross found Mandron in the box, giving the Buddies a great chance to increase their advantage. However, he pulled the effort wide, and although the offside flag was raised, replays seemed to indicate the striker was onside.
Kilmarnock’s skipper Kyle Vassell gave them a goal back just after the hour. After his initial attempt was blocked, he was able to try again and squeezed the ball under Hemming to cut the lead.
Four minutes later, the hosts equalised as Flynn was shown a red card for a challenge on Watkins inside the area. Danny Armstrong slotted low into the left-hand corner past Hemming, who had dived the right way but was unable to keep it out, and the referee pointed to the spot without hesitation. The VAR confirmed.
After 68 minutes, Watkins’ header into the far corner of the net gave Kilmarnock the advantage, turning Saints’ irritation into shock. The score was now 3-2.
Five minutes later, Vassell scored his second goal and Kilmarnock’s fourth when he connected with a long pass from Watkins. Watson completed the scoring with a solo effort with just over ten minutes left, waltzing through the Saints defence and slipping the ball into the goal.
