Plan comes together as Saints reign in the rain
- Published
Michael Schumacher lapping the field at the Circuit de Catalunya in 1996, Prince smashing out a song about rain in a torrential half-time downpour at Super Bowl XLI, Hugh Grant standing in front of Andie MacDowell and asking for a winch.
Move over, there's a new finest performance in the rain to gush over and its name is St Mirren 2, Dundee 1.
On a Saturday afternoon that seemed more likely to bring a trampoline rolling through your front garden than a successfully floated diagonal to feet, Craig McLeish's Saints played both the conditions and their own game to halt a run of league defeats.
Yes, at times there were big splashes and it felt a bit silly, but for the most part, both sides played football and the Buddies were more than deserving of the spoils.
Eseosa Sule calmly fed an onrushing Calvin Ramsay for a deserved opener, then put his own head on an inch-perfect Killian Phillips cross to double the advantage.
Dundee did get a goal of their own and then strip the paint off the crossbar in the dying seconds, but these are mere details I'm sure can be covered elsewhere.
For the first time in more than a few weeks, the Saints combined the neat, dynamic passing and movement of their offensive efforts with an assuredness at the back that limited most of Dundee's own endeavours.
The switch to a back three might be mostly in name only, as midfielders dropped deep and full-backs frequently rotated in to frankly devastating forward impact, but there is no denying the company of both a returning Marcus Fraser and standout Henry Fieldson brought something like prime Alex Gogic back into focus.
If there is a better photo taken in Scottish football this year than the imposing Cypriot staring down six angry opponents in dark blue post-match, I'll eat my St Mirren bonnet.
This was a much-needed win, of course, but the performance was vital too. Evidence provided, if needed, that this is a squad and manager are capable of delivering a plan that is right for the moment.
Now the challenge is in maintaining that level as two further fixtures arrive in the space of half a week.
