HOW apt it was that, with the wind swirling and the rain thumping, a player with the predictability of a tornado blew in and saved the day for St Mirren.
Cammy MacPherson salvaged a point for the Paisley side with a strike which flew off his left boot and into the back of Robby McCrorie’s net with so much oomph it must have caused a flicker on the Fujita Scale.
When the 22-year-old’s audacious, football without a handbrake works, it’s a joy. When it doesn’t, the ball can end up just about anywhere.
Thankfully for St Mirren, he got it right when it mattered and showed enough composure to cancel out Connor McCarthy’s comical own goal to keep the Buddies within touching distance of the Lions in the race for a top six spot.
“It's something we're always encouraging the midfielders and Cammy has that quality,” said Buddies boss Jm Goodwin. “The goal is really well worked with a good ball into Jon Obika, who then does well to flick it round to Cammy who then produces a fantastic finish on his weaker foot.
“We probably just didn't do that enough and that's where the frustration comes from. If we'd played a little bit better we could have won it.
“It was probably a fair point over the piece but it was a really frustrating afternoon. I’m disappointed with our overall performance to be honest.”
Despite the Biblical showers of the first-half, both sides made a game of it as St Mirren tried to rein in Livi and gain revenge for their League Cup semi-final defeat last month.
The hosts certainly started on top - Jon Obika’s running a particular worry for Jon Guthrie and Efe Ambrose - but it was the visitors who took an early lead in bizarre fashion when a Craig Sibbald free kick was headed by Richard Tait into the back of McCarthy and ended up in Jak Alnwick's net.
It could have been enough to stun some teams into submission. Yet, St Mirren are made of sterner stuff this season and both MacPherson and Marcus Fraser went close before the former picked the ball up, glided into space, and rifled home an equaliser shortly after the half hour mark.
For two teams who have given so much in recent weeks, it was understandable that the game lost some of its momentum after the break, even if Ilkay Durmus and Tait were left to rue missed opportunities to snatch the win for the Saints. But, a point apiece was a result no one could have too many complaints about.
"The conditions were difficult and it was so hard to get out of our half with the wind in the first half,” said Livi manager David Martindale, who revealed Scott Robinson will likely be fit for next Sunday’s League Cup final. “I think it is just a game to forget to be honest. It was not one for the purists.
“We just forget about it and move on though I thought the boys applied themselves well.
“However, the weather was just not conducive to good football.”
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