Right, we need to be honest now. Last weekend’s trip to Easter Road could have gone a lot better, that much is abundantly obvious.
Having travelled through to Edinburgh level on points with Hibs, a draw would have been an excellent result heading into a home clash with Hearts this weekend. A win would have been sensational.
Unfortunately, two uncharacteristic defensive errors in the first 23 minutes gave the Saints a serious mountain to climb.
We don’t need to go over the goals in great detail. The players involved already know what they did wrong, and are likely more angry at themselves than the supporters were that were watching on – many through the cracks between their fingers.
That slow start ultimately cost Stephen Robinson’s men but there were plenty of positive signs to take from the second-half performance that proved the players aren’t about to throw in the towel any time soon.
The Buddies controlled large parts of the second half in Leith and threatened to recover fully when Alex Greive slotted (just) past David Marshall to bring the scoreline back to 2-1.
Unfortunately, the Paisley side couldn’t find an equaliser that would have ensured they stayed neck and neck with Hibs heading into the last four games after the split.
Nevertheless, Lee Johnson’s side are still just three points ahead of St Mirren in the race for fifth – or fourth – spot.
With Hibs facing a difficult away trip to Pittodrie this weekend, that gap could quickly be cut should the Buddies topple Hearts at the SMiSA Stadium tomorrow afternoon.
With the Jambos having also suffered defeat in their first post-split fixture against Celtic, a Saints win against Steven Naismith’s troops would cut the gap to the Gorgie club to just one point.
That would be a phenomenal position for St Mirren to be in with just three games left of the season for all three clubs.
So, while the Hibs defeat at Easter Road was a bitter pill to swallow, it has by no means ended the Buddies chances of making it into Europe.
It is fair to say that those hopes now do quite likely rest on picking up all three points this weekend.
While trips to Aberdeen and Celtic aren’t impossible tasks, as Robinson’s men proved back in February when they comfortably won 3-1 at Pittodrie, they will be much tougher and could leave St Mirren out of contention come the last game of the season.
With Hibs and Hearts facing off in their final game of the season, the Buddies would love to be in a position to be able to overtake either of the Edinburgh duo in their last fixture of the campaign – when Rangers come to Paisley on Saturday, May 27.
The Saints have been mightily impressive at home this season – barring their dismal performance against Kilmarnock last month – and home comforts may well play a big part if they are going to recover the gap and sneak into a European spot.
One other positive from the trip to Leith was the late introduction of young forward Lewis Jamieson.
With Tony Watt now unfortunately ruled out for the season, it will be interesting to see if the 21-year-old is given more minutes after his injection of pace and positivity in Edinburgh - especially after signing a new contract this morning.
With the pressure now ramping up, sometimes youngsters can play with a freedom that allows them to perform even when nerves start to jangle elsewhere.
While Curtis Main and Greive undoubtedly remain St Mirren’s most experienced strikers currently at their disposal, Robinson has shown in the past he’s happy to give young players a chance if they earn the right in training.
With fellow academy talent Keiran Offord also knocking on the door, it could be one of the club’s young guns that fires the starting gun on St Mirren’s race to a European place this weekend.
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