Stevie’s still seeing red over sending off

Nov 18 2009 by Andrew Newport, Paisley Daily Express

ST MIRREN midfielder Stevie Thomson cant wait to tackle Hibernian on Saturday because hes fizzing about the red card he picked up at Easter Road in the opening SPL game of the season.

The new league campaign was just 12 minutes old when Thomson was harshly dismissed by referee Alan Muir for a foul on Hibs star Patrick Clegg.

That dismissal meant he sat out the Buddies next league clash with Dundee United, while boss Gus MacPherson also omitted him from the Co-operative Insurance Cup tie with Ayr United four days later.

And, yesterday, Thommo insisted he should never have been sent off in the first place.

He told Express Sports: It was the first game of the season and was basically my first tackle. I got a straight red but I think a yellow would have been fair enough.

Ive just tried to get on with it since then. Referees are always out to make a name for themselves these days.

Saints take on Hibs on Saturday for the first time since that controversial day back in August and Thomson admits the 2-1 defeat at Easter Road still rankles.

Despite going down to 10 men, St Mirren took the lead when youngster Stephen McGinn fired home seven minutes before half-time.

But Hibs struck back within a minute through a David Wotherspoon goal and stole the win as Abdessalam Benjelloun headed home seven minutes from time.

Ive got a few painful memories from that trip through to Easter Road, said Thomson. It wasnt a good start but things have turned around and weve been going well since.

It will be good to play them again and see how we do this time round with 11 men.

Defeats to Hamilton and Rangers in the Paisley clubs last two SPL games took the shine off a promising start to the campaign.

But Saints have managed to record a league win at their new home in Greenhill Road this season and have also impressed on their run to the Co-operative Insurance Cup semi-finals.

Thomson said: I think the reason why weve done so well this season is that weve brought in a few players and training has been good too. Its more up-tempo.

That has been a big factor in what weve achieved this season. It has boosted our confidence and, after beating Hearts at home, we now go into games expecting to win. For example, we went to Ibrox in our last game and, although we lost 2-1 in the end, we played Rangers off the park for long spells.

Saints fans are now targeting a top six finish in the SPL but Thomson insists the players are taking things one game at a time.

He said: The longer you stay in this division, the more you feel established, but you dont want to get carried away because thats when youll fall flat on your face.