'Aberdeen's cup defeat intensifies St Mirren's fight for fifth'
While this past weekend was fixtureless for St Mirren, all eyes will have been on Aberdeen at Hampden on Saturday afternoon.
As fourth place looks to have drifted almost out of touch, the battle for fifth has only intensified and the European prize for that summit has now been confirmed.
Only an Aberdeen cup win could have prevented a fifth-place finish giving cause to get the passports out, and despite Joe Hart's best Chilavert efforts that eventuality has now been extinguished.
The battle lines are now drawn. Five fixtures, two-point lead over Dundee and five goals of a positive difference. It is not reductive to state that St Mirren's visit to Dens Park on 4 May carries all the pressure and pomp of a cup final, and may well prove to be the only difference by season's end.
If second-hand cup anxiety wasn't enough of a fix over the weekend, St Mirren also released this campaign's goal of the season contenders for public vote. All nine have their merits, but there are a couple of clear standouts for me.
Last season, as with most other Saints fans I'm sure, I would not have believed that Toyosi Olusanya would have a couple of top-flight goals to his name - far less they would be likely winners of such an award. But, here we are, and it's beautiful.
Most recently, his physical presence in winning the ball at halfway and leaving the Hearts defence in his wake was a joy to witness. At a point where a near-capacity crowd demanded someone stood up - he obliged and finished his own move with growing confidence.
However, there can be only one winner and I make absolutely no apologies for using this column to drone on about that comeback once again. In all honesty, I'll be finding ways to talk about it next season too and you'll just have to live with it.
Cometh the 97th minute, cometh the man. Starting an unlikely counter attack, mere seconds after the Saints had equalised in the 96th minute versus Aberdeen, Olusanya raced forward and ultimately found himself on the end of a pinpoint cross.
Cue the most chaotic they-think-it's-all-over-it-is-now minute or so of my life, and I have Toyosi to thank.
Vote for Toyosi. Change we can believe in.
