St Mirren passed up a glorious chance to leap up to fourth in the Premiership table after being floored by Motherwell's rapid start at Fir Park.
The Steelmen raced into a two-goal lead thanks to some suspect Saints defending. First Kevin Van Veen capitalised on Richard Taylor's switch off to fire the hosts in front.
Then Max Johnston produced one of the few moments of quality on the night, beating Scott Tanser and chesting down a pass before sublimely finding the top corner from an acute angle.
The Buddies threatened a comeback when Ryan Strain knocked home at the back post to halve the deficit.
But the Paisley club were eventually punished for their slow start, with neither side able to trouble the scoreline again as an uneventful second half saw struggling Motherwell hang on to claim a vital three points in their bid to avoid the drop.
There was more than an air of familiarity about both starting line-ups. St Mirren had five former Motherwell players returning to face their old club, and another on the bench, while the home side's eleven featured former Saints fan favourite Jon Obika.
Tony Watt was handed his first start for the Buddies at a ground he made a habit of scoring at in his spell as a Steelman, leading the line alongside Curtis Main who was also hoping to haunt his old side.
It was Motherwell striker Van Veen that struck the first blow after just eight minutes. A clever through ball from Blair Spittal sent the Dutchman racing through on goal, with Taylor scampering back to try and muscle him off the ball.
Van Veen used all his experience to hold off the youngster before sliding the ball smartly past Trevor Carson to break the deadlock.
The visitors were struggling to hold onto possession, with Keanu Baccus uncharacteristically sloppy with the ball and Main and Watt unable to pull their side up the park.
The night quickly went from bad to worse for the Saints when Johnston spectacularly doubled the home side's lead on the 20 minute mark. A long ball over the top caught Tanser napping, with Johnston picking out the top corner from an extremely tight angle.
Stephen Robinson was screaming for a reaction from his struggling side and they duly delivered just five minutes later. Watt made a bursting run down the left wing to collect Main's header before cutting a cross back inside the box to Keanu Baccus.
While his initial effort was blocked, fellow Aussie Strain was on hand to fire home and drag the Saints back into the game.
There was an injury blow for the visitors when Scott Tanser hobbled off the park on the half hour mark clutching his hamstring. The full-back was replaced by Southampton loanee Thierry Small, who made just his fourth appearance for the club.
Goalscorer Strain slammed a tricky volley narrowly wide from the edge of the box as the Buddies hunted an equaliser before the break.
Obika was first into the referee's book after clattering into Declan Gallagher, much to the annoyance of the strong away support, with Baccus fortunate not to join him after a couple of niggly fouls.
Main fired over the bar from a tight angle as St Mirren came racing out of the traps at the start of the second half looking for a quick leveller.
Baccus looked to be back to his bustling best after the break. He turned his marker in midfield before sending a brilliant through pass to Strain on the right wing. Unfortunately for the visitors the defender took too long to get his cross in, eventually teeing up Watt instead who unleashed a strike which deflected over the bar to safety.
Robinson turned to Greg Kiltie to spark an equaliser, with the playmaker given the last half an hour to try and unlock the home defence.
Van Veen flashed a strike narrowly wide at the near post under pressure from Taylor as the game continued to swing from end to end.
Kiltie picked up a yellow card before he'd made his first pass of the night, having knocked Dan Casey to the ground while both challenged for a header.
Strain's long-range effort drew a comfortable save from Liam Kelly as Robinson's men continued to press for a second. Marcus Fraser picked out Main in the box shortly after but the striker couldn't get a shot away in time to test Kelly further.
Watt produced a classy touch to spark another attack, setting up O'Hara in the box who drew a routine save from Kelly with another shot that was just too close to Motherwell's number one.
Young forward Lewis Jamieson was given the chance to make a name for himself as a late sub, coming on for Watt.
It was Motherwell that quickly went close to troubling the scoreline though. Substitute Jack Aitchison found himself in the space in the box before blasting inches wide of the post with Carson beaten between the sticks.
St Mirren thought they had found a dramatic late leveller when Small bundled home from a Jamieson cross. A foul in the build-up saw the shot chalked off, with the Buddies returning home without a point to show for their efforts.
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