IT was almost as if he’d never been away. Injuries have prevented Kyle McAllister from playing a first-team game for Derby County since signing there two years ago, meaning his last senior appearance prior to Saturday was in a Scottish Cup victory for St Mirren over Dundee in January, 2017.

A loan deal completed only on Friday afternoon has seen him return to his former club to try to reignite his career and, a day later and in the same competition, he made the first of what manager Oran Kearney hopes will be a number of telling contributions.

Ten-man St Mirren, who had Brad Lyons sent off on his Saints debut, trailed Alloa Athletic due to goals from Alan Trouten and Kevin Cawley when Kearney sent on McAllister from the bench. After Cody Cooke had pulled one back, the winger was directly involved in the next two goals, playing a role in the equaliser from Ethan Erhahon before ensuring his side’s passage through to the next round with a spectacular late winner.

It was the sort of upturn in fortunes that both the club and the 19 year-old had been looking for. “It was a great comeback and that’s what we needed,” he said. “It was nice to do it on my first game back. Coming on when the team is 2-0 down and down to 10 men is a hard thing to do. But we all showed courage and got the win so it was the perfect day.

“With the type of player I am, that sort of situation is what I am made for. I am made to go on and make a difference so hopefully that was good enough. Going from 2-0 down to 3-2 in the space of 30 minutes is brilliant. But overall, the team performed well in the second half and showed some fight.”

A lot was expected of McAllister when he signed for Derby for £200,000 after making just 18 appearances for St Mirren, but injuries and recurring niggles mean his only outings to date have come for their under-23 side. He has returned to familiar surrounds to get some much-needed first-team football, although admits he may have already set a high bar for himself.

“I was struggling a bit with injuries at Derby. I was only playing every so often because I kept getting wee niggles. So when the opportunity came up to come and play in the Premiership then I knew I had to take it straight away.

“I think this is the best league that I could have come to outside of the English Championship so as soon I heard St Mirren were interested, I took that chance.

“I think Saturday was what I needed. I think there were high expectations of me coming back from Derby. I needed that goal to start me off. I’ve set the bar quite high, I don’t think it will get any better than that but we will see.

“I just need a run of games now to show what I can do. Even if it is not starts and it is just coming on, that would be perfect.”