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St Mirren reignited their hopes of a top-six Scottish Premiership finish after Connor Ronan’s injury-time header earned them victory at Dundee and moved them within a point of fourth.

St Mirren had the best chances and had Richard Tait’s header disallowed before Ronan’s late winner gave them real hope of claiming a top-half finish with three games until the split.

“We got exactly what we deserved in the end,” said St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson, whose side had lost his first three matches. “We totally dominated, played a really nice style of football. We were patient, passed the ball around.

“The chances we created, it was getting to the stage where you think it’s just not going to go our way, but we got our just rewards for the effort and quality we put in over the 90 minutes.”

But for Dundee, without manager Mark McGhee after he tested positive for Covid, the threat of relegation grows, with the Dens Park side missing the chance to move above St Johnstone.

The opening throes made for a rather abject affair with no real opportunities to spark the game into life and no shots on target in the opening half hour.

St Mirren had the first half’s best chances and were bemused as to how they didn’t manage to score at least one of them.

Jordan Jones broke through one-on-one with Dundee goalkeeper Harrison Sharp, who was caught in no man’s land, but the winger failed to lift his dinked shot over the keeper from the edge of the area.

The next chance fell to Eamonn Brophy when the ball landed kindly for him in the box after Greg Kiltie cut-back. He lashed it goalward before it was blocked on the line by Zeno Ibsen Rossi, despite Dundee’s protests that the ball had gone out of play.

Both sides occupied the second and third-bottom spots in terms of goals scored coming into this clash and it was evident neither were going to buck this trend with only two shots on target registered in the first half.

The start of the second half brought with it Dundee’s best chance when Ryan Sweeney met a set-piece with his head but it was impressively cleared by Ronan.

Luke McGowan then took his turn to meet a cross and nodded it goalward before it was cleared by the visitors, while Niall McGinn also remained a nuisance as he whipped in an equally enticing ball that went abegging.

The game’s best chance fell to Jones after Brophy came alive in the box and had his shot saved. The stop sent the ball into the middle of the box and fell perfectly for Jones, but he sent it soaring high into the night sky.

The Paisley side continued to put in a spirited attacking effort and thought they’d won the points when Tait’s header bounced up and into the roof of the net. However, referee John Beaton ruled it out for a foul against the full-back.

But St Mirren’s persistence paid off after substitute Henderson’s floated cross found Ronan, who had darted into space between two Dundee defenders, and he guided the ball into the net with a composed header.

Man of the match – Niall McGinn

What did we learn?

St Mirren left it late but the momentum they might gain from winning in such dramatic fashion could be key to fulfilling their end-of-season aspirations.

Jones was a bright-spark throughout, despite lacking the required calmness and finesse in front of goal. If he adds that side to his game for the home stretch, St Mirren may well have their talisman to bring them home.

Teams often bank on the ‘new manager bounce’ but it has been non-existent for Dundee. They look more organised defensively, perhaps, but there is a concerning lack of attacking impetus.

Fighting for their life at the basement, they only managed to muster one shot on target throughout the whole encounter.

What they said

Dundee assistant manager Simon Rusk: “Conceding that late is a painful one for everyone. Preventable as well. But I don’t think, on the balance of the second half, We can’t have too many complaints about the result.

“I think the bottom line is that we weren’t at the level we needed to be.”

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson: “Our forward players have got a lot of pace, so the game opening up helped them. I thought Eamonn Brophy was outstanding.

“The most pleasing thing for me was the style of play. We will be patient – it suits the players we have at the club.”

What’s next?

Both sides are in Scottish Cup action as St Mirren host Hearts live on BBC Scotland on Saturday, 12 March (19:45 GMT) and Dundee host Rangers the next day (16:00).