St Mirren ended a run of four straight defeats as Scott Tanser’s stunning goal helped them come from behind to beat St Johnstone 3-1 at the SMISA Stadium.
The Perth side had taken an early lead as Benjamin Kimpioka’s flicked finish was given by VAR after being initially chalked off for offside.
But Tanser curled home an incredible long-range equaliser against his old club and St Mirren captain Mark O’Hara’s back-post header put the Buddies in front.
Three further goals were disallowed on an evening dominated by VAR, before substitute Jonah Ayunga put gloss on the win in stoppage time as St Mirren leapfrogged St Johnstone to move up to seventh place in the William Hill Premiership.
St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson had named an unchanged team from the side who lost narrowly against Rangers on Sunday, while St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari made just one alteration from their win against Dundee, with Kyle Cameron coming in for Andre Raymond.
It was the Perth side who got their noses in front in the eighth minute through in-form Kimpioka, who deftly flicked Jack Sanders’ towering header past Ellery Balcombe following a St Johnstone corner.
The offside flag initially came to the home side’s aid but a lengthy VAR check confirmed Kimpioka was, in fact, onside as the goal was given.
Kimpioka had the ball in the net again on 18 minutes but his left-footed finish was ruled out for offside again and VAR confirmed this decision was correct as the score remained 1-0.
St Mirren had started poorly but they began to exert themselves and they drew level on the half-hour mark in spectacular fashion.
The home fans were still appealing for a penalty as Matt Smith tangled with Toyosi Olusanya following a corner when the ball was cleared out to initial corner-taker Tanser, who curled an inch-perfect strike beyond Ross Sinclair and into the top corner from 25 yards.
It had been a wide open half and the Perth side thought they were going to go in a goal in front as Adama Sidibeh superbly chipped Balcombe but the play was brought back for what looked like a clear foul by Sidibeh on defender Charles Dunne.
In a topsy-turvy game, the home side started the second half brighter and were inches away from a second goal in the 50th minute as Killian Phillips’ deep cross came back off the angle of post and crossbar.
That second goal did come in the 57th minute as Marcus Fraser drove to the byline before crossing for O’Hara, whose header took a slight deflection as it evaded St Johnstone keeper Sinclair and trickled in off the post.
St Mirren appeared to have made the game safe in the 65th minute as Phillips drove forward and slotted through the legs of Balcombe after exchanging passes with Greg Kiltie.
But once again the celebrations were cut short by VAR, with referee Steven McLean disallowing the goal for a foul by Phillips on Kimpioka after being called to the pitchside monitor.
That decision would not matter though, as St Mirren wrapped up the win in added time, with Mikael Mandron releasing fellow substitute Ayunga whose composed finish settled an entertaining contest and gave the hosts a much-needed victory.
