When Chris Kane trundled in an opener for St Johnstone with barely 10 minutes to go of this tight tussle in Paisley, the sighing deflation in the home stands was so palpable it just about registered on the Beaufort Scale. The raucous roars that greeted Danny Mullen’s barnstorming equaliser on 90 minutes, meanwhile, could’ve juddered the Richter Scale.

This was a topsy turvy afternoon at the wrong end of the Ladbrokes Premiership. News drifting through from Lanarkshire reported that Hamilton, St Mirren’s rivals in peril in that scrap to avoid a relegation play-off, were 2-0 up on Livingston. And then it was 2-2. And then it was 3-2 to Livingston. As St Mirren celebrated Mullen’s late show, though, Hamilton were savouring a last gasp equaliser of their own.

In Motherwell, meanwhile, Dundee’s injury time defeat at Fir Park would have had fans of both St Mirren and Hamilton in rabid exultation while simultaneously reaching for the gas and air mask. If Saturday is anything to go by, there will, no doubt, be a few more twists and turns yet before things finally come out in the wash as the season shudders to a fraught finale.

"It was a crazy last 20 minutes,” gasped the St Mirren captain, Stephen McGinn. “When you look at how the scores went, at one point we were four or five points behind and there were all sorts of permutations and I am glad I wasn't watching it live. It was just an amazing feeling at the end. It would have been a real sore one to lose, but it's the type of game we've been losing all season. Psychologically, it was a massive point for us."

St Mirren remain two points behind Hamilton in the table. Oran Kearney’s men visit Motherwell next week, then entertain Hamilton before ending the campaign with a trip to Dundee. It will all unravel over the next couple of weeks. McGinn is well used to nail-nibbling conclusions when backs are against the wall.

During his first stint at St Mirren he watched from the sidelines as they came from 2-0 down at Motherwell to win 3-2 and safeguard their top flight status. A couple of years ago, he helped the Saints complete a great escape from the drop in the Championship with a draw on the final day at promoted Hibernian. On Saturday, the cheers that erupted around the ground with developments from the Hamilton game kept everybody informed. Not that McGinn was reading much into them . "It's weird because two years ago there were mad cheers at Easter Road and it turned out the Ayr United had a penalty against Raith, but they (the fans) didn't actually tell us they missed it,” he reflected of that day when Raith Rovers still could have dropped St Mirren into a relegation play-off. “After that experience you tend not to get too involved with it. The Motherwell game was one of the best days I have had at St Mirren even though I wasn't involved. We were dead and buried that day. And it was as amazing couple of minutes on Saturday because it was actually quite a flat game with not much happening and then the place just erupted (with the news from elsewhere) and it became a frantic last 15 minutes.”

Mullen’s last gasp volley, a strike so clean it looked like it had been buffed up with a lint-free cloth, was a just reward for St Mirren’s resilience and drive after the set-back of Kane’s breakthrough

“It was euphoric at the end,” said McGinn. “The manager grabbed me just after the goal and asked me to try and calm everyone down because it was really important we didn't lose it. Earlier in the season we lost 1-0 to St Johnstone and they were able to bring on quality from their bench and we weren't able to back it up. I think the strength of our squad is good now. We are in the best place we have been all season and you can see that by our form."