Ten man St Mirren struck late on to earn a crucial 2-1 victory against Ross County, in a dramatic match at Victoria Park.
Former Ross County attacker Yoann Arquin was sent off on his Buddies debut, however, Saints netted the winner in the dying moments through Stephen Mallan after Liam Boyce had cancelled out Sean Kelly’s opener.
The result sees Saints go three points clear of the Staggies, leaving Jim McIntyre’s side adrift at the bottom of the Premiership.
McIntyre made three changes from the side that drew 1-1 against Dundee a fortnight ago, with Lewis Toshney, Martin Woods and Graham Carey in from the start, in place of Liam Boyce and the suspended Filip Kiss and Terry Dunfield.
Saints pitched new signing Arquin straight in from the start against his former club, with the attacker replacing Gregg Wylde from the side beaten 2-0 by Aberdeen last week, while Marc McAusland also came in for Lewis Mclear.
Saints took the lead after 15 minutes, when keeper Antonio Reguero saved well from Stephen Mallan, but the ball broke for Sean Kelly to bundle the ball between the legs of the Spaniard.
The Buddies came close to adding to their lead when Kenny McLean’s shot smacked off the bar. However the match took a twist on 37 minutes, with Arquin’s return to Victoria Park proving to be a miserable one, as he was dismissed by referee Brian Colvin for a stamp on Lewis Toshney.
County forward Craig Curran could have pulled his side level again on 53 minutes, after being put through by Jackson Irvine, however he struck straight at Mark Ridgers with the full goal to aim at.
The Staggies did get the equaliser though, with Jake Jervis setting up Liam Boyce to head into the bottom corner.
Just as County thought they had rescued a point however, ten-man Saints netted the winner, when Kelly’s cross from the left reached Stephen Mallan at point-blank range, and he headed past Ridgers to send the travelling Buddies support into raptures.