IT WAS billed as a relegation crunch match, though despite the Falkirk Tannoy man's rather-too excited yelp of "win this and we're safe", somehow the message failed to make it through to the home dressing-room. Rarely can a team with so much to play for have shown such listlessness.
Neil McCann paid for his languid demeanour as he made his way from the park at half-time, and did not appear for the second half. He incurred the wrath of manager John Hughes, whose efforts at shaking his team from their torpor failed dismally.
Th
e 11 who did make it out after the interval posted a performance that was remarkable for being almost as bad as that which was served up in the opening half, although Falkirk at least managed to draw one save from Mark Howard.
Steve Lovell should have done better when through one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but had he scored and made it 1-1 it remains hard to credit how Falkirk would have held on.
Indeed, St Mirren made it 2-0 soon after, while Falkirk retreated to their own half and did not trouble Howard again.
The home side could not live with St Mirren's lively front pairing of Billy Mehmet and Andy Dorman, with the latter thriving on balls dinked through to him from midfield.
Mehmet pounced after 37 minutes, following a headed through-ball from Hugh Murray. And Dorman tied up the points with just under 20 minutes to go after a clever cutback from Mehmet.
But St Mirren might have been five up at half-time following as one-sided a first period as has been witnessed in the Premier League this season. When even a right-back such as Jack Ross had reason to lament not having scored a double by half-time, you know the narrative of the game is likely to involve a team that has been overwhelmed.
The Falkirk fans were left baffled that a match of arguably greater significance than the Scottish Cup final in which their team will appear later this month could unravel in such weak fashion.
Everything about the day seemed off-key as far as they were concerned. The pre-match music was set at ear-splitting level, thereby hampering the efforts of the home supporters to drum up their own atmosphere. The right tone had finally appeared to have been located with the playing of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's portentous Two Tribes, but the moment was then ruined somewhat when the piano-led introduction was interrupted by a safety message.
Later, when the same voice informed those lingering on at the end that the stadium was out of "event mode", someone quipped that it was no longer in SPL mode either.
Indeed, unless Falkirk win at Inverness next week, they will be the fourth successive First Division club to appear in a Scottish Cup final, if one counts Gretna, freshly promoted from the Second Division, as of that parish in 2006. A combination of results can still see St Mirren relegated, but, 22 years to the day after lifting the Scottish Cup with a 1-0 victory over Dundee United, the Paisley side rose to the occasion in this other "cup final".
"A few of the boys, including me, commented on how they felt physically sick on the morning of the game, it was so important," revealed former Falkirk player Jack Ross afterwards. "It's a fine line between feeling pumped up and still going out and performing, but we managed to get that spot on today."
Perhaps the one sour note struck by St Mirren all day was assistant manager Andy Millen hinting afterwards that some over-confident messages had emanated from the Falkirk direction during the week, presumably relayed via former players such as Ross and Steven Thomson. Whether or not this had been the case the mild rumpus only resulted in obscuring what had been a terrific performance from St Mirren.
"They looked like they wanted it more," admitted Hughes afterwards. "We looked a bit leggy, and were not at the races. It was our biggest game of the season: win and we stay in the Premier League. You can't get a bigger carrot than that."
Given he needs to rely on them over the next fortnight, Hughes was careful not to singe his players' ears with excessive public criticism.
"A couple of months ago we were down and out," he pointed out. "I am quite sure we will regroup and get ourselves up for next week."
He is also confident that Steven Pressley will be available for selection for this weekend's must-win clash against Inverness despite a red card at the end of the game for an ugly challenge which left Mehmet sporting a gash on his cheek.
Hughes' support for Pressley was plain to see when he shook the player's hand as he exited. The club will lodge an appeal today. "I went to see the referee and he said it was an elbow," said Hughes. "But television evidence shows it was a clash of heads. He has to rescind the card."
MAN OF THE MATCH
Andy Dorman (St Mirren)Falkirk could not cope with the speed of Dorman, whose impressive recent form continued here. He thrived in a role which saw him tucked in behind Billy Mehmet, and scored the decisive goal. Warranted his ovation from the away fans when replaced.
