St Johnstone2–3Dundee Utd

Alex Smith named an unchanged team from the side that defeated Dunfermline Athletic last weekend. A win for United in this fixture could all but mathematically secure safety for the Terrors, leaving St Mirren bottom of the league with a vastly inferior goal difference to that of United. Smith's men duly delivered in front of an overwhelming traveling United support, but made in keeping with the rest of the season, they made hard work of it for themselves!

In five minutes a shot by Hartley was blocked by Jason de Vos before Saints' David McClune did the needful and picked up the loose ball on the right. In composed fashion, he brilliantly curled a shot into the corner, out of the reach of Paul Gallacher to put his one goal up. It was the worst possible start for United. Three minutes before the half there was pandemonium amongst the travelling Arabs as Darren Dods tripped the onrushing Charlie Miller and the referee pointed to the spot. Seemingly confident as ever despite the pressure situation, Miller’s right foot effort was weak on this occasion and the ball was directed well wide of Main's right-hand post - the midfielder second penalty miss in a row. It all looked to be going wrong for the men in tangerine as five minutes from half-time they conceded a second goal when John Paul McBride put Momo Sylla through on goal. The forward nipped past David Partridge, and nudged the ball into the path of Paul Hartley who, from the corner of the box, slotted the ball past the advancing Gallacher.

United emerged for the second half with a mammoth task on their hands. In the forty-eighth minute, Hartley, who had been one of the game’s prominent figures so far, paid dearly for his early post-goal antics when he was shown a second yellow card for a two-footed lunge on Charlie Miller, reducing the leaders to ten men. In the 65th minute a poor ball from Easton was chased typically by Lilley, and from the move came a terrible blunder former United ‘keeper Main, who allowed a cross from the ex-Morton man to slip from his grasp and an unmarked Charlie Miller was on hand to head home at the far post, making amends for his early penalty miss.

In the 81st minute it was all-square when a Miller cross was headed powerfully home by Craig Easton to set up a final nine minutes of the match, during which United chased the elusive winner, while the support hoped for an equaliser from Aberdeen in the bottom half's other game. With just two minutes left on the clock, Derek Lilley finally got his reward when he stabbed the ball over the line in a crowded penalty area. There was immediate bedlam in the stands. The final whistle blew moments later and the pitch was invaded by United supporters who had just endured the ultimate 'game of two halves'. United were safe.