Killian Phillips Guides St Mirren to Victory Over St Johnstone
Killian Phillips kept his nerve, his touch and St Mirren’s perfect start.
On a tense Paisley night, the midfielder’s second-half penalty was enough to edge out St Johnstone and keep Craig McLeish’s side sitting on top of the William Hill Premiership for a second successive Saturday.
Phillips delivers again
Seven days after his opening-day double at Falkirk, Phillips supplied the only goal here, rolling home from the spot with a stuttering, minimal run-up that sent Toby Steward the wrong way in the 73rd minute.
The penalty came from a moment of panic from the St Johnstone goalkeeper. Declan John’s forward pass looked routine, there to be collected. Steward stepped out, unaware of the darting run of Samuel Ramos. The midfielder nipped in, the keeper clattered into him, and referee Ross Hardie pointed straight to the spot.
Phillips did the rest. Two games, three goals, and a growing sense that he is becoming the heartbeat of this early St Mirren surge.
Chapman’s big moment
If Phillips decided it, Jacob Chapman kept it alive.
St Johnstone had their own chance from 12 yards just after the interval. VAR intervened when Alex Gogic challenged for a throw-in into the box and the ball struck his arm. After a check, the penalty stood and Jamie Gullan stepped up.
Chapman guessed left and got there, pushing away Gullan’s effort and lifting the noise levels inside the ground. It was the save that turned a tight, tactical contest in St Mirren’s favour.
Before that, the first half had been cagey. Both sides arrived with opening-day wins and both looked like teams determined not to give that early momentum away. Chances were scarce. The one clear opening fell to Ramos, who met Chris Mochrie’s cross with a firm header, only to direct it straight at Steward. The keeper could only push the ball up into the air, sparking a messy scramble that St Johnstone just about survived.
McLeish’s evening took an early knock when Marcus Fraser limped off, Liam Donnelly dropping in at centre-back to plug the gap. The reshuffle did little to alter the pattern: St Mirren probing, St Johnstone content to stay compact and wait for mistakes.
Missed chances and rising tension
After his penalty miss, Gullan tried to make amends. He slipped a clever pass into the path of Matty Foulds, the left-back racing on to it and dragging his shot just wide on the run. It was a warning that St Johnstone were not going away.
McLeish turned to his bench and almost found an instant reward. A double change injected fresh pace, Luke Thomas immediately sliding Jake Young in down the left. Young drove into the box and looked to be tugged by Cheick Diabate as he fired across goal and wide of the far post. Appeals went up, but Hardie was unmoved.
The pressure finally told down that same flank. St Mirren built another move on the left, forced St Johnstone back and, minutes later, forced the decisive error from Steward that allowed Phillips to strike.
The goal did not kill the contest. Far from it.
St Mirren nearly doubled their lead from a corner when Diabate, at the wrong end this time, rose highest and thundered a header off the post. The hosts then pinned St Johnstone back, firing in a series of efforts that were blocked by a packed penalty area as they hunted a second goal to settle the nerves.
Late drama, same outcome
The game opened up in the closing stages. St Mirren pushed, and St Johnstone suddenly found space to counter.
One break almost punished the league leaders. Ruari Paton surged forward and slipped in Gullan, perfectly placed to atone for his earlier miss and silence the home crowd. The striker hesitated, his finish lacking conviction, and a scrambling combination of Steward and Ryan Carr smothered the danger.
St Johnstone threw bodies forward in stoppage time, loading the box and asking questions with every ball slung in. Chapman and his defence stood firm.
Then, with the visitors committed, St Mirren broke again. Young burst clear and forced another save at the other end, a reminder that the hosts were just as likely to score a second as they were to concede an equaliser.
They needed neither. They simply saw it out, calmly playing the final seconds in St Johnstone territory.
Two games, two wins, and St Mirren still looking down on the rest. The question now is how long they can keep this early grip on the Premiership table.
