{"id":14180,"title":"Livi? Laugh, Love","description":"As far as all of your dads and I are concerned, the writing was on the wall for Saturday\u2019s tie with Livingston when both sides emerged onto the SMISA Stadium pitch in their away kits. We wondered aloud what\u2019s this all about, then? We reckoned it wouldn\u2019t have happened in our day. We searched the recesses of our addled brains for our Pie and Bovril passwords to share our thoughts on this with everyone we know","content":"

By Andrew Christie<\/em>

\"\"
As far as all of your dads and I are concerned, the writing was on the wall for Saturday\u2019s tie with Livingston when both sides emerged onto the SMISA Stadium pitch in their away kits. We wondered aloud what\u2019s this all about, then? We reckoned it wouldn\u2019t have happened in our day. We searched the recesses of our addled brains for our Pie and Bovril passwords to share our thoughts on this with everyone we know.<\/p>

David Martindale lined up his eleven synonyms for \u201cattritional\u201d looking to put some fresh air between themselves and the relegation zone, as St Mirren sought to continue an advance on the top half of the table. What followed was a drab, disappointing afternoon, with birthday boy Jim Goodwin failing to mark his 40th with a win \u2013 his side limping to a disappointing 1-1 draw.<\/p>

There were no real incidents of note in the opening hour of proceedings as Martindale\u2019s side stifled and frustrated the host side well; the Saints attacking line of Jamie McGrath, Connor Ronan and Eamonn Brophy finding little room for manoeuvre amongst a congested and well-organised Livingston back five. Saints grafted for long stretches, with wing-backs Scott Tanser and Richard Tait constantly looking to stretch the defence, trying to create any modicum of space for their attackers. Brophy, in particular, had a torrid time of things \u2013 his work rate and his of the ball running as admirable as it was unavailing.<\/p>

As Goodwin searched to navigate a way through the West Lothian side, a second striker in the form of Kristian Dennis was brought on for Connor Ronan. The Irishman\u2019s performance until that point was commendable, and he could have counted himself somewhat unfortunate to find himself the one hooked, with partner Jamie McGrath having one of his quieter games in a St Mirren shirt. However, with McGrath\u2019s ability to pull something from nothing, it is more often than not worth keeping him on the pitch.<\/p>

No sooner had I formed this thought in my head, the Irish international proved me to be An Absolute Mug; sparking the game into life by sailing a sumptuous long-range shot over Livi keeper Mac Stryjek\u2019s head.\"\"The goal seemed to wake the visitors up slightly, with Martindale introducing Jackson Longridge, James Forrest and Harry Panayiotou and a switch to 433. Where they were previously happy to sit back and defend, they went for pace - targeting the wide areas of our defence.<\/p>

With two minutes left of the 90, some neat play on Livi\u2019s left by Odin Bailey (one of the game\u2019s few performers) exposed a phase of woefully slack St Mirren defending, eventually allowing Nicky Devlin to fire home through a throng of bodies past Jak Alnwick, ensuring that the points would be shared and rounding off what was another hugely disappointing afternoon for the Paisley side.<\/p>

The draw finds us sitting (at the time of writing) in sixth place in the league on 16 points. Not a terrible position to be in, by any means \u2013 however, questions have been raised by recent performances in terms of game management.<\/p>

One other rather worrying talking point from the game was the 34th-minute injury to Conor McCarthy, who was replaced by Charles Dunne after landing awkwardly on his ankle, with early indications not looking great for the 23-year-old.<\/p>

His absence \u2013 for me \u2013 raises an interesting discussion.<\/p>

As much as McCarthy has impressed both on and off the pitch during his time in Paisley, there have been signs in recent weeks of the Irishman struggling with his role in St Mirren\u2019s back three system, and we have repeatedly looked vulnerable against sides who look to exploit the areas in between the CB, wide CB, and the holding CM. With Dunne on the left of the three, captain Joe Shaughnessy and Marcus Fraser will be freed up to play their more natural positions of CB and RCB respectively, mitigating any potential weaknesses in our backline.<\/p>

Luckily, Saturday brings with it the perfect opportunity to test this, as we travel to Tynecastle to take on newly-promoted Hearts \u2013 with the league\u2019s best home record going up against its\u2019 third best away record.<\/p>

\"\"
Robbie Neilson\u2019s Gorgie Menace have so far enjoyed their return to the top flight, losing only twice in their opening fourteen league game. However, Hearts have won only once in their previous six league games \u2013 a stat also shared by St Mirren.<\/p>

While Hearts at home are an entirely different prospect to the team that fell to a disappointing 2-0 away defeat to Motherwell last weekend, St Mirren head into the game hoping to claim three points at a stadium we have not done so since October 2013.<\/p>

At the same time, Hearts will be looking at our recent performances hopeful of a win themselves (the Edinburgh side are still unbeaten at home), so Jim Goodwin and his team will have to use every strength available to them in order to get a result.<\/p>

In terms of how I\u2019d like to see us line up, I\u2019d expect to see Charles Dunne continue in place of the injured Conor McCarthy in a back three. Fitness allowing, I\u2019d also hope to see Ethan Erhahon return to the midfield. I\u2019ve said previously that Erhahon and Alan Power in their wee bastard\/big bastard double-pivot are the perfect foil for one another, whereas Power and Ryan Flynn have too often found themselves in recent weeks trying to perform the same task in the same way.<\/p>

With Scott Tanser and Richard Tait (or Matt Millar\u2026 here, where\u2019d Matt Millar go?) on either wing, we should look to stretch and put pressure on the Hearts defence, creating space for McGrath, Ronan and Brophy.<\/p>

For their numerous good points this season, Hearts have shown themselves to be vulnerable to the pressing game. In their recent game, Motherwell\u2019s aggressive energetic off the ball approach denied Hearts any chance of finding their rhythm with 43% of the game\u2019s action taking place in Heart\u2019s final third. Of goalkeeper Craig Gordon\u2019s 36 attempted passes on Saturday, only nine went outside his own penalty box \u2013 the home side will look to build from the back, and this is something that the likes of Brophy, Ronan and McGrath should look to exploit.<\/p>

We frequently talk about St Mirren being on the edge of something special, and I genuinely believe we are. By the same token, however, if you spend enough time at the edge of something it just becomes, like, where you are. Know what I mean? Saturday\u2019s trip to the capital represents the perfect opportunity to throw away the \u201cnearly men\u201d tag and make a real statement of intent for what we want the rest of the season to look like.<\/p>","urlTitle":"livi","url":"\/blog\/livi\/","editListUrl":"\/my-blogs","editUrl":"\/my-blogs\/edit\/livi\/","fullUrl":"https:\/\/miseryhunters.co.uk\/blog\/livi\/","featured":false,"published":true,"showOnSitemap":true,"hidden":false,"visibility":null,"createdAt":1637743111,"updatedAt":1637745181,"publishedAt":1637745181,"lastReadAt":null,"division":{"id":106606,"name":"Misery Hunters"},"tags":[],"metaImage":{"original":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/3etkr7fl57piobdbinwqe62aonyz8xefuumvhfdfuraxgohu.jpeg","thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/3etkr7fl57piobdbinwqe62aonyz8xefuumvhfdfuraxgohu.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/3etkr7fl57piobdbinwqe62aonyz8xefuumvhfdfuraxgohu.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"metaTitle":"","metaDescription":"","keyPhraseCampaignId":null,"series":[],"similarReads":[{"id":15930,"title":"Walking on Broken Glass","url":"\/blog\/walking-on-broken-glass\/","urlTitle":"walking-on-broken-glass","division":106606,"description":"By Andrew Christie","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/3f1ytelvulzf9ddlq5dqnhmqd3duw5pz411aoaccx7vli28a.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/3f1ytelvulzf9ddlq5dqnhmqd3duw5pz411aoaccx7vli28a.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0},{"id":37185,"title":"The Back Five #7","url":"\/blog\/the-back-five-7\/","urlTitle":"the-back-five-7","division":106606,"description":"Welcome to The Back Five. A weekly rundown of the best St Mirren FC has to offer, with Misery Hunters' writer Andrew Christie","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/ftb5lhrarxyjnd0bvwi2nuhpfwrovbw9gx85yvbmbe2h8anb.png.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/ftb5lhrarxyjnd0bvwi2nuhpfwrovbw9gx85yvbmbe2h8anb.png.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0},{"id":36724,"title":"The Back Five #5","url":"\/blog\/the-back-five-5\/","urlTitle":"the-back-five-5","division":106606,"description":"Join Andrew Christie of Misery Hunters for a sideways look at the past seven days of St Mirren FC.","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/8nlkjos6l0intujjitpwtgsvmy894kuiqdcpr68a8ey6ubti.png.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/8nlkjos6l0intujjitpwtgsvmy894kuiqdcpr68a8ey6ubti.png.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0}],"labels":[]}