'Phillips is fast becoming example for other players to follow'

Where better to start discussing Saturday's gut punch of a defeat in North Lanarkshire than with a contrived comparison to 1998's rom-dram-edy Sliding Doors?

Think of John Hannah's James as three points against ten men, and - bear with me - think of Gwyneth Paltrow's Helen getting on the train as Mark O'Hara slotting a penalty comfortably by Aston Oxborough.

Still with me? Good.

At 2-1 down after a first half with its own controversies to juggle, Dan Casey's save on the line from a Killian Phillips snapshot reduced Motherwell to 10 men and offered a chance to level terms with a full half left to play. However, Oxborough showed quality typical of his season thus far to keep captain O'Hara off the scoresheet.

Train missed. Happiness ruined.

What followed was a test of patience for all but the most saint-like of Saints followers. Recovering from the disappointment well, the Buddies dominated possession and began knocking on the door with increasing intensity before fate intervened once again.

Calmly and casually winning the ball in harmless field position with the side of his foot, Scott Tanser was inexplicably shown a second and unreviewable yellow card. If I had to guess, I would venture that this yellow card was for having thought about slide tackling someone once in his teenage years.

The rest is history. Motherwell stepped up at 10 v 10 and were good value for their three points; the Buddies struggled to recover from this further setback and were largely held at arm's length by cannier opponents.

I won't spoil the rest of Sliding Doors, but for all the short-term pain felt on Saturday, I maintain hope that the Saints will bump into those three points again in a lift somewhere by the end of the season.

Killian Phillips is fast becoming the example for other Stephen Robinson players to follow. Relentless in his running, pressing and harrying of opposition defences, he has already shown a deftness of touch and calm head to match his physical commitment.

This was confirmed in style early on Saturday, pulling down a testing cross before spinning to ripple the net behind Oxborough for the Saints' opener.

He'll surely contribute to happier results before too long.

Mark Jardine can be found on the Misery Hunters podcast.