Dumbarton 2 - 1 St Mirren: Dumbarton secure Championship status

Dumbarton ensured Championship football at the foot of the rock next season with a comeback victory against St Mirren for whom a massive summer clear-out has surely to be on the agenda.

St Mirren's Lawrence Shankland, right, controls the ball against Dumbarton. Picture: Gary Williamson/SNS

The Buddies were ahead inside ten-minutes, Calum Gallagher sweeping home a controlled volley from 18-yards following the home team’s inability to deal decisively with a long Lawrence Shankland throw-in.

At this stage it looked like the Paisley were in absolute control of proceedings with chance after very good chance. Jamie Ewings saved smartly from Shankland who then drove narrowly wide and Jason Naismith who powered a header over the bar. Dumbarton were so far out the equation they needed a massive piece of good fortune to turn the tide.

That luck arrived five minutes from the interval when Mark Docherty’s harmless cross was diverted into his own net by the sliding frame of Keith Watson.

It was a game-changing moment as suddenly from a stroll in the sunshine for Saints there was a Dumbarton team awoken and coming at them.

The second half certainly started in competitive fashion with Paul Heffernan screwing a shot off the inside of the post and Shankland also rattling the woodwork from 25-yards.

With the frames of both goals still shuddering, Dumbarton found what had seemed not so long previously a hugely unlikely winner to ensure their Championship survival.

Garry Fleming took aim and rifled a volley high past Jamie Langfield to create a little piece of history with a third win over Saints in a season for the first time.