Paisley, Scotland – A first-half brace from Steven Thompson propelled St Mirren to a 2-1 home win against second-place Motherwell on Friday.
Thompson scored the opening goal after 39 minutes with a clever finish from six yards after Jon Robertson's cross, and he found the net again three minutes later on the break when Gary Teale delivered a cross to the back post that Thompson got up to head home from a tight angle.
Motherwell had won its last four road games and the visitors pulled a goal back through Robert McHugh 13 minutes from time, but the equalizer never arrived and St Mirren has claimed seven points from its last three games.
The defeat leaves Motherwell four points back of leaders Celtic, which now has two games in hand, while the Saints climbed eight points clear of last-place Dundee.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.