St Mirren made to wait by Dundee United

Posted Wednesday, April 11, 2018 by PA

St Mirren’s wait to secure the Ladbrokes Championship goes on after they were edged out 1-0 by Dundee United.

The Buddies headed to Tannadice needing just one point to secure the Championship title and a return to the Premiership but were denied by an early Billy King goal.

John Sutton missed a golden chance late on to seal the title but Deniz Mehmet’s save means their wait will go on at least until Saturday, when they host nearest challengers Livingston.

The visitors were given no time to settle into the game as United raced out of the blocks and into an early lead.

It was a fine piece of individual play from Paul McMullan down the left that opened things up as he jinked clear before sending in a low ball that made its way to King at the back post, and the forward did well to squeeze the ball in at the near corner to put the pressure back on Saints.

They hit back strongly however, with Adam Eckersley flashing a left-footed drive against the near post before Danny Mullan got on the end of a fine Liam Smith cross only to see his flick come crashing off the bar.

The Buddies had two penalty appeals turned down but again struggled to create clear-cut chances, with the Tangerines a threat on the counter.

Thomas Mikkelsen tested Craig Samson down low before the keeper beat away an effort from Samuel Stanton after the ball broke to him inside the area.

St Mirren tried to ramp up the pressure late on and could have grabbed the vital equaliser only for Mehmet to block from Sutton from point-blank range to make the wait for the league title go on a bit longer.