{"id":16428,"title":"Forget it, Shaun. It\u2019s Cinchtown.","description":"By Andrew Christie","content":"

By Andrew Christie<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Since returning from the Winter break, we have seen a very pleasing upturn in both performance and results at St Mirren. The (Tell Me Something) Good times continued on Saturday with an impressive 1-0 win away to Hibs at Easter Road.<\/p>

Now, it is pertinent to note that all of the following comes despite Shaun Maloney's assertion that his side should have won \u201c3, 4 or 5 nil\". And \u2013 while I believe the Hibs boss has the attributes to eventually come good \u2013 the manager we saw in the home dugout on Saturday looked every inch a man realising the breadth of the task he has on his hands in the capital.<\/p>

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<\/p>

That is not to say that St Mirren were gifted a win by any means. Saints\u2019 fourth win in five in 2022 was a well-fought and much deserved victory from a squad actively finding its feet in front of our eyes.<\/p>

We are St Mirren though, and we\u2019ve still managed to muster smatterings of doom and gloom this week. Injury to Eamonn Brophy in the 1-1 home draw with Motherwell has left us looking somewhat light up top.<\/p>

With opinion still divided on Curtis Main and Lee Erwin\u2019s efficacy as the striker in a 4231 (and the less said about the genuinely troubling links to a Leigh Griffiths transfer the better), January signing Alex Greive was tasked with leading the line at Easter Road. In his first professional start, the 22-year-old performed well; his awareness, movement and positional sense proving a real asset for Saints on the day.<\/p>

While still acclimatising to Scottish football, Greive was a constant nuisance to the Hibs\u2019 defence as the first point of contact of what has, in recent weeks, become an intense and effective press.<\/p>

The presence of Alan Power in midfield allowed Connor Ronan to push forward (looking at St Mirren\u2019s average positions, Ronan occupied a similar position to Kiltie in the number 10 role), and join a front four of Greive, Kiltie, Jordan Jones and Jay Henderson. The hosts were<\/p>

barely afforded a second to breathe at the back by our imperious pressing and would lose possession 13 times in their own half, with 10 leading to a turnover of possession.<\/p>

Ronan, in particular, was brilliant, putting in a Man of the Match performance that included:<\/p>

- 11 recoveries
- 7 duels won
- 2 interceptions
- 2 tackles<\/p>

In addition to:<\/p>

- 33 accurate passes in Hibs\u2019 half
- 3 key passes
- 3 dribbles attempted (with a success rate of 100%)
- 3 shots<\/p>

And a goal that came from snatching possession from former saint Jake Doyle-Hayes at the edge of Hibs\u2019 box and rifling a composed, driven finish past the out of position Kevin D\u0105browski on 62 minutes.<\/p>

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Despite Maloney\u2019s post-match assertions otherwise, once Saints went ahead the result was never truly in doubt \u2013 despite a second half light on attacking intent from the Paisley side.<\/p>

Hibs would go on to have brighter spells in the second period, due in part to the addition of Euan Henderson at the break, but Saints \u2013 well-drilled and organised in defence \u2013 showed a doggedness and defiance that would have had the onlooking Jim Goodwin beaming.<\/p>

Maloney is a man with an ideology, and getting a team to take to his style will require time and resources rarely afforded to managers in this league. There was a feeling on Saturday that Goodwin and his St Mirren side had Hibs\u2019 number - with the hosts coming up short in almost every area of the park.<\/p>

Without the personnel to play Maloney\u2019s patient, possession-based game, Hibs would find themselves resorting to aimless crosses (attempting 38 over the course of the 90 to no avail) with the likes of Joe Shaughnessy, Charles Dunne and (the immense) Richard Tait more than happy to mop up what came their way.<\/p>

On the occasions Saints\u2019 defence was breached, goalkeeper Jak Alnwick was a brick wall, making three big second-half saves to keep the score at 1-0 come full-time.<\/p>

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<\/p>

To put it simply, Shaun Maloney might have might have wandered in with his briefcase full of \"progressive actions\" that he learned in \"Belgium\", but this is the cinch, Shauny. Sometimes football is big Richard Tait throwing his Vitruvian body in the mud to stop an opponent.<\/p>

The game was the third time in four league games we have comfortably bested teams above us in the league. Undefeated in 2022 and just one defeat in eight (which was at Ibrox), St Mirren now sit in ninth place in the league with a game in hand, eleven points off the bottom of the table and just four points off Motherwell in fourth.<\/p>

On Wednesday night we host Callum Davidson\u2019s faltering St Johnstone. With this comes a different challenge, and one we have struggled with at times this season: facing a low block. With Jordan Jones looking more his old self with every kick of the ball, and St Mirren finally on the cusp of clicking tactically, Wednesday could allow us to put to bed the procession of turgid games between ourselves and the Perth outfit and make some real moves towards a top six we more than deserve to be a part of.<\/p>

It's a \u201cYass\u201d from me<\/p>","urlTitle":"forget-it-shaun-its-cinchtown","url":"\/blog\/forget-it-shaun-its-cinchtown\/","editListUrl":"\/my-blogs","editUrl":"\/my-blogs\/edit\/forget-it-shaun-its-cinchtown\/","fullUrl":"https:\/\/miseryhunters.co.uk\/blog\/forget-it-shaun-its-cinchtown\/","featured":false,"published":true,"showOnSitemap":true,"hidden":false,"visibility":null,"createdAt":1644331378,"updatedAt":1644331871,"publishedAt":1644331871,"lastReadAt":null,"division":{"id":106606,"name":"Misery Hunters"},"tags":[],"metaImage":{"original":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/mtmw8k2by3jytphwnuc0vgylzfjhlemma4zer6guzrmmmtcg.jpeg","thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/mtmw8k2by3jytphwnuc0vgylzfjhlemma4zer6guzrmmmtcg.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/mtmw8k2by3jytphwnuc0vgylzfjhlemma4zer6guzrmmmtcg.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"metaTitle":"","metaDescription":"","keyPhraseCampaignId":null,"series":[],"similarReads":[{"id":38391,"title":"The Back Five #12","url":"\/blog\/the-back-five-12\/","urlTitle":"the-back-five-12","division":106606,"description":"A look at how St Mirren achieved historic consecutive top six finishes, with Misery Hunters writer Andrew Christie.","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/zdfsw7km75ark1h0mr6adltzspky1retc2wggddmyvdlniei.png.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/zdfsw7km75ark1h0mr6adltzspky1retc2wggddmyvdlniei.png.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0},{"id":17802,"title":"Dun-Deal","url":"\/blog\/dun-deal\/","urlTitle":"dun-deal","division":106606,"description":"A couple of games into Stephen Robinson's tenure at St Mirren it became clear the job was to salvage what he could from a physically and mentally spent squad, play to its strengths and get us across the line to league survival. With a healthy league position, and a decent run of results preceding Robinson\u2019s appointment - from the outside looking in anyway \u2013 this recalibration of expectations was a hard one for many fans to take. As Saints embarked on a run of just one win in nine games, frustrations rapidly grew, with the majority of noise being directed towards Robinson himself, despite the Northern Irishman\u2019s (admirable, in this humble writer\u2019s humble opinion) transparency about his own frustrations with the state of the squad left to him by his predecessor","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/atqyua45nlphzqg3mbeerqzx6nqrxd2xjd3ou2opw5h0wzxb.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/atqyua45nlphzqg3mbeerqzx6nqrxd2xjd3ou2opw5h0wzxb.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0},{"id":35824,"title":"The Back Five #1","url":"\/blog\/the-back-five-1\/","urlTitle":"the-back-five-1","division":106606,"description":"In the first of a new weekly feature for Misery Hunters, our resident \u201cnoticer of things\u201d Andrew Christie takes us through five things that caught his eye in the last week of St Mirren FC.","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/wlhqxrmqinkq6hps4hleoyhtuq6hjjukmoailnpenequmgvs.png.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/wlhqxrmqinkq6hps4hleoyhtuq6hjjukmoailnpenequmgvs.png.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0}],"labels":[]}