Two former Buddies aptly combined to make St Mirren's top-six dream come true.
The Saints hosted Kilmarnock knowing a point would be enough to guarantee a first top-half finish since 1985.
But after a surprisingly flat display in front of a record 7,937 sell-out crowd, first half goals from Killie duo Liam Donnelly and Christian Doidge had the Paisley side relying on results elsewhere.
And ironically it was former St Mirren skipper and manager Jim Goodwin's Dundee United that saw Stephen Robinson's men creep over the line, with ex-Saints fan favourite Jamie McGrath netting the Terrors crucial first goal against Livingston to set them on the way to a decisive 2-0 win.
While it wasn't the way the Buddies wanted to secure their historic first ever top-six finish since the split was introduced in 2000, they can now refocus on a tilt at European football to make this significant campaign even more special.
There was an electric atmosphere of anticipation inside the packed out SMiSA Stadium ahead of kick-off, with the Buddies greeted by a brilliant display in the West Stand.
St Mirren boss Robinson was delighted to welcome back Keanu Baccus to his midfield trio after the Australia international missed the previous weekend's trip to Ibrox, while club captain Joe Shaughnessy continued to keep Declan Gallagher out of the back three.
The opening ten minutes of the game failed to match the intensity off the pitch, with Alec Gogic heading the first clear chance over from a Scott Tanser corner.
Kyle Vassell had Kilmarnock's first effort, blasting wide from a promising position just inside the box.
And the striker was the architect of the Ayrshire side's opening goal, playing a brilliant pass inside to send Liam Donnelly racing through on goal. The former Motherwell man kept his cool to slot past Trevor Carson and break the deadlock.
Curtis Main smashed a free-kick straight into the Killie wall as the Saints looked for an immediate reply.
Tony Watt squandered a great chance on the counter, with Lewis Mayo stopping the striker in his tracks after he'd latched on to Charles Dunne's clearance.
The Buddies were surprisingly nervy in the opening thirty minutes, with Vassell inches away from doubling Kilmarnock's lead with a glancing header on the half hour mark.
The home side didn't heed the warning signs as Christian Doidge glanced home a header from Danny Armstrong's pinpoint cross, with the effort skimming in off the inside of the post and past Carson.
Watt had a brilliant chance to halve the deficit before the break when Baccus' low drive deflected to him on the edge of the six yard box. The forward could only smash well over the bar, summing up the Saints' below-par first half performance.
Robinson turned to his bench at half time to try and spark his side into life, with Thierry Small and Greg Kiltie replacing Tanser and Baccus respectively.
Despite the changes it was Killie who threatened to put the result out of sight just two minutes into the second half.
The ball dropped to Rory McKenzie at the back post, who caught his volley sweetly but Carson pulled off a simply world class point-blank save to deny the visitors a third.
Former St Mirren midfielder Alan Power almost came back to haunt his old employers, sending a curling strike a yard wide of the post with Carson rooted to the spot.
The Buddies badly needed a lifeline, with Robinson throwing caution to the wind by throwing on striker Alex Greive for centre back Charles Dunne with half an hour still on the clock.
Substitute Small shot his own side in the foot by earning himself a needless early bath by picking up two yellow cards in the space of a minute.
The first was for berating the linesman for awarding Kilmarnock a throw-in, with the second for blatantly pulling back a player as he burst into the box.
Going down to ten men killed off St Mirren's hopes of working their way back into the game, with away keeper Sam Walker a virtual spectator for the entire second half.
Indeed the biggest celebration from the home supporters during the game came in the 85th minute when news rippled through that Dundee United had doubled their lead against Livingston.
That win was enough to see St Mirren secure the top-six finish they've been craving. Now Robinson's men can focus on climbing the table and trying to secure European football next season.
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