Match Report - St Mirren (A)

Derek Adams' side suffered their first defeat in his third spell in charge of the club on Saturday as the Staggies lost 2-0 at the hands of St Mirren.

Ross Laidlaw was the stand out performer of the first-half as he stopped St Mirren racing into a first-half lead with brilliant saves from Ayunga and Nahmani whilst County's best chance of the half fell to Jordan White but his header was narrowly wide. As well as Nahmani's saved effort, the attacker also struck the bar in a first-half packed with chances but neither side could make the breakthrough.

The second-half saw an early change for the Staggies as Dylan Smith was forced off through injury, Kyle Turner replaced the Scotland U19s defender as County reverted to a back-4 rather than the back-3 that has been on display so far in Derek's tenure. Shortly after the change, the Saints took the lead, a corner was whipped towards the back post where the ball cannoned off the foot of Ryan Leak and after a VAR check was adjudged to have crossed the line.

On 54 minutes, Nahmani had a great chance to double Saints' lead but Jack Baldwin produced a brilliant block to deny the attacker. On 56 minutes however, the Paisley side did double their lead. Ayunga, who caused problems all afternoon, charged down the left wing and unleashed a powerful strike past Ross Laidlaw.

The Staggies didn't stop pushing to get back into the game but just couldn't get the ball in the net, the best chance of the half falling to Alex Samuel, with his brilliant header being well saved by Hemming. County will now look to bounce back with two home games in a row prior to Christmas with Dundee making the trip to the Highlands this Saturday.