St.Mirren U 21's - v - Dundee U 21's - SPL Under 21 League: Date 20/11/00

The hardy souls who came to watch this match really should be given some sort of medal, or at least a free pair of gloves before the match. This match was what reserve team football used to all about with most fans probably only remembering how cold they were and very little of thw match itself.

The first thing that the fans would have noticed would have been John Coughlin in the dugout. John took charge of the team for the night and his posturing in the technical area was almost worth the admission fee all by itself.

The first half saw very few chances for either team, though Dundee managed to take whatever chances they had and went in three goals up at half time. Two goals from Steven Milne, a familiar face to any St.Mirren supporting Championship Manager enthusiast, and a dubious penalty by Mair were enough to give Dundee the aforementioned lead. Both of Milne's goals came as a result of rather lax marking in the box, his first a shot from around 6 yards and the second with an unchallenged header. The Dundee penalty, as I've already stated was dubious, occured as Renfrum pulled down a Dundee player who looked to all the world outside the box. The fact that Renfrum slid directly along the line made it more dubious. Saints best chance was a snap shot from outside the box, although Mikael Renfrum did show fine close control in the box before driving the ball across the 6 yard line.

With hands freezing and feet turning to blocks of ice, it wasn't without reason that fans dreaded the second half. Possession wise Dundee just about edged it during this half, but it was Saints who had just about every decent chance worth mentioning. Tom Brown saw two great chances saved by Dundee's keeper and Jens Paeslack showee something more like his true ability as he came very close and scored Saints consolation. Jens' goal came in the 87th minute and was scored after Jens was played free through the middle, rounded the keeper and finished expertly. It may only have been a consolation, but the fact it was scored by Jens...a player we all fell in love with last season...and the much appreciated warmth given by the clapping of our hands, made the goal all the more welcome.

The best part of the second half was the return of Chris Kerr to the Love St turf. Chris showed all of his old touches and seems to be well on the way to his old self.

Overall it was a match which Saints and Dundee never actually dominated and defensive errors and slack marking made Dundee look better than they perhaps are. Saints could take a lot from this match and, compared to recent performances at home, the fans at least saw some good play.

Man Of The Match: Tom Brown gets my vote on this occasion, non stop running and impressive midfield play makes him the obvious choice.