Scottish Cup: St Mirren 1 - 1 Ross County: Saints preserved by penalty miss

THIS cup tie had its drama all right, but in an economical sort of way. That there was plenty of endeavour was a given, but all the talking points came in two short sharp bursts at the end of either half.

The first came in a bizarre three-minute spell just before half time when Ross County nudged ahead thanks to a Richard Brittain penalty only to see themselves clawed back immediately by a Steven Thompson header. The second talking point arrived with virtually the last kick of the game when Brittain had the chance to win the tie with another spot kick but, somewhat astonishingly considering the aplomb with which he put away the first, he missed with something to spare.

Despite the chance of victory agonisingly slipping from their grasp, the Highlanders deserved all the plaudits. They matched their SPL opponents physically, tactically and mentally and, if this tie was a chance for them to answer questions as to whether they could hold their own should they proceed to win the First Division promotion race, they can rightfully claim pass marks.

“We played really well”, insisted County manager Derek Adams. “I thought we deserved to win.” He brushed off suggestions, however, that his side had proved their SPL credentials. “We’re a First Division team with First Division players and wages who were taking on an SPL side today,” he said.

As his counterpart Danny Lennon was quick to point out, though, St Mirren looked anything like an SPL outfit on this occasion. Indeed, he repeatedly suggested that it just wasn’t St Mirren at all that were on out on the field for this tie, so short did they fall of his own high expectations. “I’d like to say sorry to our supporters for that – the only thing we can take from it is that we’re still in the cup. Having said that, I don’t think either team deserved to win.”

The replay is scheduled for Valentine’s Day, which might not necessarily lead to a reconciliation of the two managers’ views on this game, but will surely lead to interesting discussions in some Paisley households over the respective merits of a romantic dinner for two or a long trip up the A9 to Dingwall on a Tuesday night.

In a slow-burner of an opening 45 minutes, County had more of the possession but didn’t bring an awful lot of pressure to bear on St Mirren’s goal. However, with the hosts taking considerable pride in their new- found reputation as a passing team, it must have been a bit galling to see the First Division side knock the ball around with such assured purpose.

A rare headed effort by Gary Teale which squeezed past the post was about as much as the Saints had to offer but, on the cusp of half-time, the game unexpectedly fizzed in to life. Out of nothing a rash challenge by Craig Samson on Stuart Kettlewell led to an inevitable penalty award and a yellow card for the Saints keeper. Brittain calmy dispatched the spot kick into the bottom corner of the net.

Within three minutes, though, St Mirren were level with that most elementary of combinations doing the trick – a cross from the right from David Van Zanten picking out Thompson who did exactly what big centre forwards are supposed to do by heading home.

While Lennon might have been relieved to have been back on level terms by the interval, beaming he most certainly wasn’t. Gary Teale and Aaron Mooy found themselves making way for Nigel Hasselbaink and Steven Thomson as a more assertive approach was clearly required from his men. But, while Hasselbaink caught the eye with his customary energetic application, any shift in the balance of play was marginal at best.

County might have found themselves pinned back for longer spells but they adapted rather well. Suffice to say the majority of the hearts-in-mouth moments were reserved for the home fans. It took a meticulously timed intervention by Jeroen Tesselaar to deny Colin McMenamin from taking aim at the exposed Samson. Iain Vigurs also saw a looping header just slip wide of the post.

For all their increased effort Saints lacked the craft and composure to swing the tie their way. The more they tried to build up a head of steam, the more they left themselves exposed and thus the dramatic finale unfolded, with former Love Street hero Mark Corcoran setting off on a meandering run that was curtailed in the St Mirren box by the outstretched leg of Lee Mair. Up stepped Brittain to repeat the trick and send County into the quarter-finals – or so we thought. Instead all he did was send the ball into the heavens.