{"id":20638,"title":"Brutal Lee, Honest","description":"Looking at St Mirren's possession stats across their three previous wins \u2013 40% v Ross County, 30% v Dundee Utd and 31% v Hibs - you'd be forgiven for assuming the Paisley side have become something of a smash and grab specialist under Stephen Robinson. This could not be further from the truth, however, and Saturday\u2019s 1-0 home win against Lee Johnson\u2019s (brutal) Hibs was the latest impressive performance from a side who are looking every part an organised, disciplined, hard-working counter-attacking machine built in the image of its manager.","content":"

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Looking at St Mirren's possession stats across their three previous wins \u2013 40% v Ross County, 30% v Dundee Utd and 31% v Hibs - you'd be forgiven for assuming the Paisley side have become something of a smash and grab specialist under Stephen Robinson. This could not be further from the truth, however, and Saturday\u2019s 1-0 home win against Lee Johnson\u2019s (brutal<\/a>) Hibs was the latest impressive performance from a side who are looking every part an organised, disciplined, hard-working counter-attacking machine built in the image of its manager.<\/p>

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Let\u2019s take a look at where Saturday\u2019s contest was won.<\/p>

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The Aussie Connection<\/strong><\/p>

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The Australian market has become a prime hunting ground for Scottish teams of late. Ease of opportunity - such as the Governing Body Endorsement initiative and a comparatively lenient Exceptions Panel - has increased the desire of clubs to experiment with the A-League. This desire from clubs is colliding with the aspirations of developing talents looking to make a name for themselves outwith Australia. Where opportunity meets value like this, it is not hard to see why so many clubs in the Premiership are taking advantage. Including the returning Martin Boyle to Hibs, there have been 13 recent Aussie additions to the league.<\/p>

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Two such additions have been St Mirren\u2019s Keanu Baccus and Ryan Strain, who joined from Western Sydney Wanderers and Maccabi Haifa respectively. The pair look to be finding their feet well since arriving in Paisley, with Saturday a continuation of a series of impressive performances that have had all the right heads turning towards St Mirren Park.<\/p>

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Almost all of St Mirren\u2019s creativity on Saturday came through the duo, with Strain in particular shining in the right-wing-back role. The 25-year-old topped the St Mirren side for passes (33), overall touches (49), touches in the opposition half (29), attempted dribbles (4), interceptions (2), and passes into the final third (4).<\/p>

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The pair would share the headlines, however, with Strain assisting Baccus <\/a>in just the 6th<\/sup> minute to prove the difference on the day \u2013 the former showing great ability to flick the ball over Marijan \u010cabraja, finding acres of space to run into before delivering an inch-perfect cross towards the late run of the latter, who coolly slotted home from twelve yards.<\/p>

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St Mirren put on a real display of making what time they had on the ball count, opting to soak up pressure, setting up traps and triggers to create quality openings on the counter. For all Hibs\u2019 possession, their expected goals figure (xG) was 0.80 to St Mirren\u2019s 1.37. In fact, on another day the game may have been out of sight, with (an understandably tiring) Baccus missing a couple of huge chances late, and substitute Eamonn Brophy hitting the post.<\/p>

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Hibs off the Boyle<\/strong><\/p>

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St Mirren\u2019s system under Robinson so far this season has relied on ceding the middle third and prioritising blocking space and maintaining compactness off the ball, showing an opponent into areas where we want their possession to occur.<\/p>

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This was very much the case against Hibs who, despite dominating possession (and almost every other metric), were unable to convert their possession into anything meaningful; finding themselves toiling in the final third<\/p>

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Hibs\u2019 frustrations can be most noticeably outlined through both teams\u2019 average positions over the game.<\/p>

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\"1dzuvefjevcbsp8zfinaf43blk7vd9yqr6wvpsymaq01paee.png\"<\/p>

\"si1to0sbeodaxiyg4kz486wqxrse1fpp7m4wbqymbppumcsc.png\"<\/p>

In the above figure, consider the positions of the two St Mirren wing-backs. compared to his right-sided counterpart Ryan Strain (#23), Left-wing-back Richard Tait (#2) sits much deeper, almost forming a back four with Marcus Fraser, Declan Gallagher and Charles Dunne.<\/p>

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By doing this Tait was able to effectively able to mitigate the threat of Martin Boyle (#77 in the second graphic) down Hibs\u2019 right. By playing deeper and narrower, it forced Boyle to either go wide, presenting crossing opportunities towards the gleefully accepting duo of Gallagher and Dunne (thirteen combined clearances, of which 9 were headed), or try to move the ball centrally, where St Mirren\u2019s mid-block was ready to spring into action.<\/p>

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The Australian international was on the periphery all afternoon, failing to complete a single dribble and finding a teammate with just three of his nine crosses.<\/p>

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With the midfield of Josh Campbell, Joe Newell and Jake Doyle-Hayes unable to make their mark on the game at all, Hibs were reduced to inefficacious recycling of possession.<\/p>

Their front line was isolated. As well as the aforementioned Boyle, striker Christian Doidge was reduced to chasing shadows (managing just 19 touches in 87 minutes) and left winger \u00c9lie Youan (possibly frustrated after producing one of the misses of the season<\/a>) was hooked on 57 minutes after escaping a second yellow card by the skin of his teeth. In fact, not one Hibs forward managed to register more touches than the 39 of their goalkeeper David Marshall.<\/p>

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Strength in Depth<\/strong><\/p>

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One very pleasing aspect of Saturday was the depth on show, as we were able to name a bench that included Brophy, Kiltie, Henderson, Gogi\u0107, Greive and Shaughnessy. Greg Kiltie was able to come on and sit on Jake Doyle-Hayes when it looked like Hibs were on the ascendancy, cutting off any attacking phases at the base. Eamonn Brophy came on and gave Ryan Porteous and Paul Hanlon a torrid time with his work rate and endeavour and was himself unlucky not to score.<\/p>

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\"jhfchh6zybrwfj87hvwppsetz4evact4tsnex1de0gstuolv.png\"<\/p>

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The way Robinson sets St Mirren out to play will be demanding and will require (physically and mentally) sharp, versatile bodies to come off the bench and manage games. At the time of writing there are just over 24 hours until the close of the transfer window. While we could yet see some last minute movement both ways, the squad we have at the moment is among the deepest we have seen in some years and will be key to maintaining the types of performances we have turned out in recent weeks.<\/p>

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With momentum building, the Paisley Saints face off against Callum Davidson\u2019s St Johnstone, who have taken just three points from their opening five games. While McDiarmid Park has been a tough place for us to go in recent years, the confidence after three back-to-back wins and clean sheets is the highest it has been in Paisley for a long time. <\/p>

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In the past month, we have seen St Mirren\u2019s identity form before our eyes as each and every player buys into the philosophy of the manager. There is no reason why the good run can\u2019t continue this coming weekend.<\/p>","urlTitle":"brutal-lee-honest","url":"\/blog\/brutal-lee-honest\/","editListUrl":"\/my-blogs","editUrl":"\/my-blogs\/edit\/brutal-lee-honest\/","fullUrl":"https:\/\/miseryhunters.co.uk\/blog\/brutal-lee-honest\/","featured":false,"published":true,"showOnSitemap":true,"hidden":false,"visibility":null,"createdAt":1661983618,"updatedAt":1662018564,"publishedAt":1662018564,"lastReadAt":null,"division":{"id":106606,"name":"Misery Hunters"},"tags":[],"metaImage":{"original":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/hczddxy3riusqqfmedugw0bgf9pnzldlxyiolul9uk6jx0r5.png","thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/hczddxy3riusqqfmedugw0bgf9pnzldlxyiolul9uk6jx0r5.png.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/hczddxy3riusqqfmedugw0bgf9pnzldlxyiolul9uk6jx0r5.png.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"metaTitle":"","metaDescription":"","keyPhraseCampaignId":null,"series":[],"similarReads":[{"id":20420,"title":"Hands Jack Ross The Divide","url":"\/blog\/hands-jack-ross-the-divide\/","urlTitle":"hands-jack-ross-the-divide","division":106606,"description":"Like many, I had tipped Dundee Utd pre-season to have a bit of something about them this year. New manager Jack Ross was given considerable financial backing and immediately set about putting together what appeared at the time to be an impressive squad to build - and even improve - on the club\u2019s fourth-place position last season. St Mirren's 3-0 win at Tannadice on Saturday, however, was amongst the most comfortable and emphatic performances we have seen since Stephen Robinson\u2019s arrival","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/r4lfvokghnmpe80gu97ube6gtql2xb900fxo3uuqmuy1v5ma.png.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/r4lfvokghnmpe80gu97ube6gtql2xb900fxo3uuqmuy1v5ma.png.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0},{"id":19382,"title":"Ethan Erhahon: The Key to Unlocking Stephen Robinson\u2019s St Mirren","url":"\/blog\/ethan-erhahon-the-key-to-unlocking-stephen-robinsons-st-mirren\/","urlTitle":"ethan-erhahon-the-key-to-unlocking-stephen-robinsons-st-mirren","division":106606,"description":"After an underwhelming ninth-placed finish last season, St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson is in the midst of a huge overhaul in Paisley. With the League Cup (a tournament we kicked off with a disappointing 1-0 loss to Arbroath) essentially replacing pre-season there is no time to waste in laying the groundwork for potential improvement. One area of the summer rebuild is a midfield that has recently lost fan favourites Jamie McGrath, Alex Gogi\u0107 and Connor \u201cDon\u2019t Fall In Love With Loan Players\u201d Ronan","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/iofk9qpz4xditgrdrixsljaoqda8v65r2u6znvwj2ci1qpmd.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/iofk9qpz4xditgrdrixsljaoqda8v65r2u6znvwj2ci1qpmd.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0},{"id":17165,"title":"Humble Peh","url":"\/blog\/humble-peh\/","urlTitle":"humble-peh","division":106606,"description":"The scenes in the away end as Marc McNulty\u2019s bundled a 96th minute winner into the back of the net gave St Mirren fans an agonising taste of what might have been, rounding off a pretty torrid week for the Paisley side. The onlooking home support (including Tony Fitzpatrick in his last game as CEO before retirement) were left ruing yet another performance devoid of any of the characteristics we have previously prided ourselves on. While the 2-1 defeat to Dundee Utd hasn\u2019t mathematically killed off St Mirren\u2019s top six ambitions, it was the latest missed opportunity in a season that has felt full of them","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/yrdyfljilwlbgtjw87h6a7qxglhsggcnlwsln9t7sxzzvvtl.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/yrdyfljilwlbgtjw87h6a7qxglhsggcnlwsln9t7sxzzvvtl.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0}],"labels":[]}