Stephen Robinson heaped praise on his Buddies for not being floored by their first VAR setback.
St Mirren were dominant against Dundee United on Saturday but could have been blown off course after Jonah Ayunga’s strike to retake the lead in the second half was chalked off on review.
Instead of letting their heads drop, the determined Saints kept on battling to the final whistle and were rewarded when substitute Alex Greive netted a winner with time fast running out.
The Saints boss was delighted with the resilience his side showed to keep pushing on after an eventful first experience with Scotland’s new video referees.
Robinson told Renfrewshire Live Sport: “We got the result we deserved in the end. We were excellent.
“When Alex scored I went steady. I was steadier than I usually am. I thought ‘Here we go, they will go back 25 minutes to see where that started’.
“The boys rallied again. I thought we started the second half brightly, but they equalised which is our only disappointment because we didn’t make the first contact from a long ball into the box. We had to mark men in the second phase and we didn’t and that’s what we are normally very good at.
“But they picked themselves back up again. We had the goal disallowed and we could have been disappointed at that, but that’s not the group we have.
“We have honest boys who keep going to the end. We have boys coming on from the bench who are frustrated at not starting and want to prove points which is fantastic.”
Having watched back the Keanu Baccus foul which cost Jonah Ayunga his seventh goal of the campaign several times, Robinson still believes the officials got the call wrong despite having the benefit of added video replays.
The St Mirren manager admitted VAR did add some “excitement” to the match, but hopes decisions will become clearer and quicker as top-flight referees get more accustomed to the new system.
Robinson said: “It was different. No more running down that line, that’s a lesson I’ve been taught!
“It’s a fingernail if anything [for Baccus’ foul]. But it shows that there are still human decisions in this.
“The refs have the hardest job ever, but VAR will certainly help them. It does slow down the game slightly but we will all have to get used to it.
“They won’t get everything right because human eyes still have to judge it. I have watched it back a few times and I disagree with it – but I am going to say that.
“Everyone is still getting used to it. It’s played a big part in the weekend and maybe it adds to the excitement.”
Robinson was again particularly pleased with his bustling frontline, with Curtis Main forcing home the Paisley side’s opener and Ayunga unfortunate not to add to his tally.
Robinson added: “Curtis was excellent. He led the line and hit the bar from 25 yards out as well. I thought he and Jonah were excellent.
“Jonah scored a perfectly good goal and they were a right handful once again.”
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