Quality finishes from Scott Fraser and Tony Andreu saw Dundee United take all three points at Championship basement club St Mirren.
Fraser struck in the first half and Andreu after the break, to give the Tangerines a deserved three points from an entertaining 90 minutes.
Right from the start the two teams showed an eagerness to get forward. For United Andreu fired wide from 16 yards, while at the other end there was danger when the ball broke to John Sutton on the edge of the six yard box, but his control let him down.
The Buddies were fired up for new boss Jack Ross’s first game in charge and Ryan Hardie missed a good opportunity to put them ahead when he shot wide from the edge of the area.
United were having plenty possession without threatening the home goal but all that changed in the 38th minute.
A neat passing moved ended with Tope Obadeyi playing in Fraser and the midfielder stayed calm before placing a perfect shot past Jamie Langfield and into the corner of the net.
It should have been two before the break when Nick van der Velden set up Andreu inside the box, but the Frenchman took too long and saw his shot blocked by Jack Baird.
Early in the second half Andreu went close again when his angled shot got the better of Langfield, but Gary MacKenzie got back to scramble the ball away from goal.
As the second period progressed the Buddies pressed hard for an equaliser and Cammy Bell was the United hero when he brilliantly turned away a 20-yard Lawrence Shankland volley.
The visitors always looked dangerous on the break and they got their second with 16 minutes left on the clock.
Sub Simon Murray made the most of indecision at the heart of the Saints defence and although Langfield got down to save at his feet, when the loose ball broke to Andreu, he produced an exquisite chip to seal the points.
United played out the closing stages with ten men when Mark Durnan was sent off for picking up two bookings in the space of a couple of minutes.
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