ST MIRREN fans were urged not to panic by manager Ian Murray ahead of last night's meeting with Raith Rovers.

Six games into their Ladbrokes Championship career following relegation and their opening spell of matches had yielded one solitary victory, with the Paisley club being without a home win on league duty since May 16.

Fast forward four months and after another Jekyll and Hyde performance last night, the wait still goes on for the club's long-suffering support as a result of this 2-1 reverse.

Behind to a James Craigen strike early on, St Mirren hauled themselves level through Lawrence Shankland on the interval before laying a second half siege on the visiting goal. A mixture of bad luck and heroic defending thwarted a lead that over the piece would have been deserved, only for Grant Anderson's slight touch to apply a killer sucker-punch three minutes from time.

Murray failed to appear post match, but his assistant Mark Spalding said: "It was a difficult one. Lapses in concentration have proved our downfall.

"it's bitterly disappointing, especially after the second half. We really started to get at Raith and I though the goal was coming in our favour."

The deadlock was broken after just 11 minutes. Ryan McCord's free-kick from the left was headed clear but only as far as Craigen on the edge of the box. The former Partick Thistle man shifted the ball on to his right and curled it into the top corner with Jamie Langfield rooted.

Despite Mark Stewart, Jon Daly and McCord squandering chances to double Raith's lead, it was the home side that somehow scored just a minute before the break.

It came from a moment of real quality that was not typical of this first half. Keith Watson played a reverse pass into Shankland who had drifted off his man, and when it appeared the ball may be getting away from him, the on-loan Aberdeen man showed great agility to slide on the ground to guide it across Kevin Cuthbert and in off the far post for his first goal in black and white.

Whatever Murray said to his team at half-time, it worked. St Mirren emerged with a real sense of purpose as Andy Webster, Jack Baird and Shankland all threatened with efforts that were turned behind.

While Murray's team continued to press for a goal, they were extremely lucky to escape not conceding a penalty at the other end when referee Euan Anderson somehow missed Jim Goodwin pushing Grant Anderson in the chest.

As the clocked ticked down the pressure on Raith - who had more lives than a black cat - intensified. Luck was on their side again with 10 minutes to go when Gallagher's effort from a yard was somehow kept out.

However, the Stark's Park club would have the last laugh. A long throw in from Rory McKeown was nodded on by Jon Daly with Anderson's outstretched toe enough to put off Langfield and guide the ball into the far corner of the net.

Ray McKinnon, the Raith manager, said of his team's first away win this season: "We were causing our own problems but I'm just delighted after that second half and the way they played to get the win."