Mikael Mandron played a starring role as St Mirren defeated St Johnstone 2-0 at the SMISA Stadium.
The French striker fired against the post before the ball found the net off the back of visiting goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov to put the hosts ahead late in the first half.
After being unfortunate not to be credited with the opener, there was no doubt about the second goal as Mandron brilliantly dispatched a half-volley into the bottom corner.
St Mirren remain fifth in the table, two points behind Kilmarnock, while St Johnstone’s relegation worries have been heightened, with their advantage over Ross County in the play-off position cut to just two points.
St Mirren started brightly and Mitov did well to make a crucial interception with Mandron bearing down, before then comfortably gathering Caolan Boyd-Munce’s weak effort a few minutes later.
The visitors were showing glimpses of their threat on the counter-attack, though were finding a pivotal final pass hard to come by as they wasted several promising opportunities.
When the opening goal arrived with nine minutes remaining in the first half, it was a moment to forget for Mitov.
Mandron found space 20 yards from the St Johnstone goal and unleashed a low shot that took a deflection off Liam Gordon. Mitov appeared to have done enough to keep it out, but it somehow found the net after striking the post and then the back of the despairing Bulgarian.
The beginning of the second half was delayed by five minutes following technical issues with VAR, but when play resumed the hosts looked to carry on their momentum.
Shortly after the restart, Mitov made a smart double stop to deny Mandron and then Marcus Fraser, before Lewis Jamieson saw his cross land on the top of the St Johnstone goal.
It seemed like only a matter of time before the Buddies extended their lead as they continued to threaten.
Greg Kiltie lashed just wide of the target and Jamieson sent across a tantalising cross that had no takers inside the six yard box.
Their pressure eventually paid dividends with 64 minutes on the clock. The away defence failed to clear their lines and Mandron slammed home brilliantly on the half-volley from inside the box.
It looked as though Kwon Hyeok-kyu had put the game beyond reach when he burst clear and fired past Mitov, but he was denied his first goal for the club after a VAR check deemed he had committed a foul in the build-up.
The small band of travelling St Johnstone fans were witnessing an abject display from their team, and a disappointing afternoon was summed up when Adama Sidibeh was rightfully booked for a theatrical dive in what was a rare venture into the St Mirren box.
Matthew Smith sliced wide as the visitors looked to restore some hope late on, though it would be as close as they would come to a consolation.
Mitrovic clinches last-gasp success for Saudi Pro League champions Al-Hilal
Aleksandar Mitrovic produced a last-gasp winner for Al-Hilal as the Saudi Pro League champions signed off with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Al-Wedha on Monday.
Jorge Jesus' side finished the league campaign unbeaten across the 34-game season, though needed late heroics from top scorer Mitrovic to snatch all three points.
Mohamed Kanno opened the scoring for the visiting champions in the first half but Yahya Naji's second-half leveller pegged Al-Hilal back at King Abdulaziz Sports City Stadium.
Yet Mitrovic provided the decisive moment in the 92nd minute, converting a Mohammed Al Burayk assist for his 28th league goal of the season.
The Serbia international ranks only behind Cristiano Ronaldo in this campaign's scoring charts, after the Al-Nassr forward claimed a piece of Saudi League history in a 4-2 victory over Al-Ittihad.
Ronaldo moved past Abderrazak Hamdallah's 34-goal tally – in the 2018-19 season – after his deadly double took him to 35 strikes and broke the single-season scoring record in the competition.
Victory for Al-Nassr means they finish second behind the impressive Al-Hilal, while Al-Ahli had already secured third in the standings before their 1-0 victory over Al-Fayha.
Roberto Firmino scored the only goal of the game in that narrow triumph, finding the net after 85 minutes at Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium.
At the other end of the table, Abha Club – who had Marcel Tisserand sent off late on – suffered heartbreak on the final day after losing 2-1 to bottom-placed Al-Hazem to seal their relegation.
Ahmed Abdu opened the scoring to boost Abha's survival hopes but second-half goals from Muhammed Badamosi and Mohammed Al Thani proved their undoing.
Al-Akhoud beat the drop after overcoming Al-Tai, who went down with Abha and Al-Hazem, 2-0 thanks to goals from Saviour Godwin and Leandre Tawamba at Prince Abdul Aziz bin Musa'ed Stadium.
Al-Nassr 4-2 Al-Ittihad: Ronaldo breaks Saudi Pro League scoring record in final-day win
Cristiano Ronaldo claimed a piece of Saudi Pro League history after scoring twice in Al-Nassr's 4-2 final-day victory over 10-man Al-Ittihad on Monday.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner was on target in either half at Al Awal Park, moving to 35 goals across the 2023-24 league campaign in Saudi Arabia.
Ronaldo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time after receiving a long ball from Mohammed Al-Fatil, before doubling his tally – and Al-Nassr's lead – with a header from Marcelo Brozovic's corner.
That second finish after Suwailem Al Manhali was dismissed for the visitors saw Ronaldo eclipse Abderrazak Hamdallah's 34-goal tally – in the 2018-19 season – for the most strikes in a single campaign.
Abdulrahman Ghareeb then added another from the penalty spot before Meshari Al Nemer made sure of three points after late goals from Farhah Al Shamrani and Fabinho had pulled Al-Ittihad back into contention.
Having already been unable to stop Al-Hilal secure the title, Al-Nassr finish second in the table – ending on 82 points after 26 wins from the 34-match campaign.
Data Debrief: Al-Nassr dominance pays off
Much will be made of the record-breaking Ronaldo, who has scored 50 goals in as many games across all competitions this season.
Yet Al-Nassr were dominant from the off in this one, mustering nine shots on target to Al-Ittihad's three, while accumulating 2.73 expected goals (xG) – far superior to the visitors' 1.43 xG.
Perez and Magnussen play blame game after huge Monaco Grand Prix crash
Sergio Perez and Kevin Magnussen both blame each other for the huge crash that forced a restart in the Monaco Grand Prix.
The pair came together during the opening lap of the race as Magnussen attempted to squeeze through a tight gap on the inside of Perez on the exit of Turn One.
The Red Bull was destroyed during the incident, while the Dane’s Haas team-mate Nico Hulkenberg also got caught in the chaos.
All three drivers were unharmed, though were ultimately forced out of the race when it restarted.
Perez was adamant following the race that the blame should be placed firmly on Magnussen’s shoulders.
He said: "It was an immense crash, one I'm disappointed about. I think it was totally unnecessary at that point of the race and there was no need for that.
"At some point, you have two options: Lift or have a contact, and I think it was too unnecessary with the speeds we were doing, and it was a massive contact.
"It was important to take things a little bit calmer."
The incident compounded a disappointing weekend for both teams, in particularly Haas after both drivers were disqualified from qualifying and sent to the back of the grid due to a technical infringement.
However, Magnussen stood by his belief he had every right to go for the gap and was forced into the barrier by the Mexican.
"From my point of view, I had a good part of my front on Perez's rear and when he went to the wall I got pushed to the wall and made contact with him," Magnussen said.
"I trusted he was going to leave space for me since I was there. It's not a corner where you're braking into it, it's a bend on the straight, so you have to have a car otherwise you leave the other guy no option.
"From my point of view, I was there, and I got squeezed to the wall."
Ultimately, neither driver was punished for the incident as the stewards deemed it a racing incident which needed no further investigation.
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