Penalties are a battle of wits at the best of times. That sentiment was only amplified as Zach Hemming watched Dundee captain inform Zach Robinson that he knew where he was going from 12 yards.
It was a message that had come from Trevor Carson - booed on his return to Paisley - as he passed the message that Buddies goalkeeping coach Jamie Langfield knew exactly where the spot-kick was going.
From Carson to Joe Shaughnessy and to Robinson, it was a game of Chinese whispers played out within the vision of Hemming who stood pointing to the corner of his goal.
He would then throw himself the opposite way and flick Robinson's tame penalty over the bar with his legs. It was a double bluff expertly executed.
“I’ll put that down to Langers," said Hemmings of his spot-kick stop. "He told me he knew he was going to the right. He always looks back and reviews everyone’s penalties. But one of the boys from Dundee had told him that Langers told me which way he was going!
“So I told him he was going to go that way and he ended up going the other.
“I always thought he was going to the right but as soon as someone told him and it puts pressure on his shoulders, so I knew he was going to change it. I dived that way and lucky it went over the bar.
“I never saw Trevor talking to him but I did see the Dundee captain running up and telling the taker I knew where he was going.”
Hemming was quickly swarmed by his ecstatic St Mirren team-mates with a serious togetherness evident both after the huge save and both goals for the hosts.
It's a feeling that Hemming is thrilled to have in the dressing room, but also as importantly off the pitch with partner Caitlin and children Riven, four, and Louie, one, moving to Glasgow this season.
“My family moved up this year so that was a big thing for me," said Hemming after spending time away while on loan at Kilmarnock. "Having the kids up here, my girlfriend, everything has come together. It’s nice having the family here and that gives you confidence too.
“Last year I had a newborn at the start of the season. So that was quite hard.
"I was travelling up and down all the time but now the kids are up here every day and it makes it easier for me to chill, go home and play with the kids to take my mind off football and then get back to it when I go into training.
“From day one here I’ve felt settled. Looking for a place in Glasgow is quite hard. But the club were brilliant, they got me a flat straight away and then the family could move up so I felt settled from day one.”
Meanwhile, Dundee midfielder Josh Mulligan has insisted his side will prove they belong in the top-flight and refused to use the step-up or managerial change in the summer as an excuse.
"The performance wasn't good enough, we deserved to lose," he said. "You're going to get punished in this league if you give other teams even a half-chance.
"We want to show the fans that we deserve to be in this league. I think we just need to believe in ourselves more."
Asked if being the Premiership new boys and having first-time manager Tony Docherty in the dugout are easy excuses if things go against them, Mulligan added: "I'd definitely say they are excuses, I think it is down to ourselves. We need to perform better.
"We know we can do better. It's not like we are so far off it, it is just wee things."
