ST JOHNSTONE produced a dramatic equaliser with the final kick of the game after it looked as though St Mirren had claimed the victory over their ten-man opponents.
The Perth outfit gained an early lead against Stephen Robinson’s men through Graham Carey’s first-half penalty before Greg Kiltie restored parity on the brink of half-time. Alex Mitchell was then sent off with half an hour left to play, O’Hara nudged the home side back in front before Nicky Clark scored an audacious overhead kick in the 96th minute.
The wet conditions in Paisley didn’t exactly lend themselves to a free-flowing contest and the game became increasingly stop-start as both sides struggled to settle into a rhythm and exert some control. Then, with a little over half an hour played, the breakthrough arrived for the Perth Saints.
A cross inside the hosts’ box ricocheted off of Scott Tanser, prompting howls for a penalty from the travelling support, and referee Euan Anderson allowed play to continue. The official paused proceedings at the next break in play and, after a lengthy delay, awarded St Johnstone a penalty. Up stepped Carey, who dispatched it with ease.
Callum Davidson would have been hoping his side could hold on to their advantage until the interval but some instinctive play from Kiltie ensured the two teams went in level. St Mirren had cranked up the pressure in response to falling behind and although a cross into the visitors’ box was initially repelled, Kiltie was in the right place at the right time to lash the ball home first time from 15 yards.
The rain got heavier during the break and it became apparent within minutes of the restart that clear-cut chances would be few and far between. It was a battling, physical contest where there was plenty of industry on show but little in the way of guile.
A header from Clark early in the second half served as a reminder of the threat St Johnstone carried going forward but it was relatively straightforward for Carson to deal with, while another glanced effort from the same player looped over the bar on the hour-mark. Saints were getting closer but that all-important goal still eluded them.
Their task was made all the more difficult a few minutes later when Mitchell was eventually given his marching orders for a late, crunching tackle. Anderson initially awarded the centre-half a yellow card for the offence but after consulting the pitchside monitor, the booking was upgraded to a dismissal.
The Buddies pushed hard to find another goal and when it arrived it was well worth the wait. The ball fell invitingly to O’Hara on the edge of the box with 10 minutes to go, and the former Motherwell man required no second invitation as he leathered the ball past Remi Matthews and high into the net.
It looked for all the world that the hosts would hold on to claim the three points until one final attacking foray from St Johnstone ensured a share of the spoils. A delivery from deep wasn’t adequately dealt with by the St Mirren defence and Clark capitalised in style with an overhead kick that settled into the side netting.
