TREVOR CARSON was the hero for St Mirren as the goalkeeper ensured his side remain in the hat for tomorrow's Scottish Cup fifth-round draw.
Neither Dundee nor their Premiership opponents could find the net after 90 minutes and extra-time, and Carson was his side's saviour as he saved all three of Dundee's penalties in the shoot-out.
Here are three things we learned from a cagey encounter in Paisley.
Buddies missing a cutting edge
Stephen Robinson stuck with his usual 3-5-2 formation this afternoon and the decision yielded something of a mixed bag. Midfielder Alex Gogic served as the shield that guarded the back three, making it virtually impossible for Dundee to break through the middle and providing an extra layer of defensive security, while Mark O’Hara dropped deep during build-up to help circulate the ball.
The problem, though, was that it left the Buddies’ strike partnership of Jonah Ayunga and Curtis Main too isolated. The hosts had more than a few excellent counter-attacking opportunities after winning the ball back in midfield but they never had enough bodies forward to make the most of them.
St Mirren mustered just three shots during a rather tepid first half – two were efforts from free-kicks, while the other was a pot-shot from distance – and none of them seriously troubled Adam Legzdins in goal for the visitors. They weren’t dangerous enough in the final third and Robinson may be tempted to turn to the transfer market to add a cutting edge to his side.
Alex Grieve and Ethan Erhahon were brought on at the interval for Ayunga and Declan Gallagher, with Gogic dropping into the back three. It signalled a change of intent from the Buddies, who looked a bit more threatening after the restart – certainly compared to the cautious approach of the first half - but still they found it difficult to truly test Legzdins.
Dundee show their Premiership credentials
For a club harbouring ambitions of returning to the top flight at the first time of asking, Dundee certainly looked the part at the SMiSA Stadium. Playing away to a Premiership side wasn’t going to be an easy task and it was one that got more difficult during the opening 45 minutes as Tyler French and Cammy Kerr went off injured.
That could have been enough to knock the stuffing out of Dundee but Gary Bowyer’s men are made of sterner stuff. They defended resolutely and barely allowed their opponents a sniff as they congested the pitch and left St Mirren with nowhere to go. By the time the uneventful first half concluded, the away side were in the ascendancy and the only reason they weren’t leading was due to a fantastic reaction stop from Trevor Carson to deny Lyall Cameron.
The promotion hopefuls found themselves under the cosh for spells of the contest but they handled the pressure admirably. They looked dangerous going forward on the counter-attack and gave St Mirren a few scares when they broke forward but struggled at times when play was slowed down. Their cup run may be over but they can take a lot of heart from the manner of their performance. They went toe-to-toe with a Premiership side and didn't look out of their depth for a second.
Not one for the purists
The match may have lasted for over 120 minutes but it felt even longer than that. There was no shortage of effort from either set of players on a chilly afternoon in Paisley but there was a conspicuous lack of guile on show.
Both teams seemed happy to surrender possession and looked more comfortable playing on the counter; the result was a goalless affair where clear-cut chances were hard to come by, which didn’t make for a great spectacle for the neutral.
