Killian Phillips Leads St Mirren to Victory Over St Johnstone

Killian Phillips kept his nerve, his touch and St Mirren’s perfect start.

On a tense Paisley night, the midfielder’s second-half penalty was enough to edge out St Johnstone and keep Craig McLeish’s side sitting on top of the William Hill Premiership for a second successive Saturday. Two games, two wins, three goals for Phillips. He is setting the early tone for this campaign.

Phillips delivers, Chapman stands tall

The game hinged on two penalties and two very different outcomes.

St Johnstone had the first crack from 12 yards. Early in the second half, VAR intervened when Alex Gogic was judged to have handled while competing for a throw-in hurled into the box. Referee Ross Hardie pointed to the spot, Jamie Gullan stepped up, and the away end braced for lift-off.

Jacob Chapman had other ideas. Diving low to his left, the St Mirren goalkeeper read Gullan’s effort and pushed it away, a strong hand turning a potential turning point into a statement save. It was the moment that ignited the home crowd and underlined why Chapman left the pitch as big a hero as the match-winner.

St Mirren had already suffered a setback by then, losing Marcus Fraser to injury and turning to Liam Donnelly at centre-back. The reshuffle might have unsettled them. Chapman’s stop did the opposite. It stiffened their resolve.

At the other end, Phillips waited for his chance.

When it arrived on 73 minutes, it came from a mistake that will haunt Toby Steward. Declan John slid a simple forward pass into space, and the St Johnstone goalkeeper moved out to collect, unaware of the run of Samuel Ramos. The midfielder nipped in, Steward collided with him, and the penalty was as clear as the groans from the Perth bench.

Phillips walked up with the shortest of run-ups, sent Steward the wrong way and rolled the ball in. No fuss, no flourish, just ruthless composure. The kind of finish of a player who already has an opening-day double at Falkirk in his back pocket and is playing like he expects to decide games.

Tight margins, rising tension

Until those spot-kicks, this had been a cagey, evenly balanced contest between two sides who both started the season with wins.

Chances were scarce in the first half. The best of them fell to Ramos, who met a Chris Mochrie cross with a firm header, only to direct it straight at Steward. The keeper could only palm the ball up into the air, sparking a frantic goalmouth scramble that St Johnstone just about survived.

Simo Valakari’s side offered threat without incision. Gullan, eager to make up for his penalty miss, slid a clever pass into the path of Matty Foulds, who burst forward from left-back and dragged his shot just wide on the run.

McLeish tried to tilt the game with a double substitution, and it almost worked instantly. Luke Thomas darted down the left and fed Jake Young, who drove into the box from the flank. As he pulled the trigger, Cheick Diabate appeared to have a grip of him, but Young’s shot drifted wide of the far post and any appeals were waved away. It felt like a warning that St Mirren were starting to find space down that side.

The pressure finally told with Phillips’ penalty, and for a spell after the goal, St Mirren looked ready to kill the game.

Late scares, leaders hold firm

Once in front, the hosts went hunting for a second. Attacks poured down the left again, shots were blocked in a packed box, and St Johnstone clung on.

They almost made St Mirren pay for not finishing it. From a corner, Diabate rose highest and powered a header off the post, the ball flashing across Chapman’s goal and out to safety. It was a jolt for a home support that had started to believe the points were already banked.

St Mirren’s desire to push on left them open to the counter and, suddenly, they were the ones scrambling. Ruari Paton broke clear and squared for Gullan, who had the chance to redeem his night. The former Hibernian striker hesitated, his finish lacked conviction, and a combination of Steward and Ryan Carr shut the door.

St Johnstone threw bodies forward in stoppage time, slinging crosses into the area and pinning St Mirren back. Yet every time the visitors committed, space opened up behind them. Young almost exploited it, racing away on the break and forcing a save that helped drag the game back into the Saints’ attacking half for the final moments.

From there, McLeish’s side managed it like a team that has already found an early-season steel. They kept the ball high up the pitch, squeezed the clock, and heard the whistle with the ball far from their own goal.

St Mirren stay top, Phillips keeps scoring, Chapman keeps saving. Two weeks in, and a club more used to looking over its shoulder is staring straight down at the rest of the league. How long can they keep this view?