Our U19s suffered their first defeat of the league season on Tuesday night as Montrose ran out 4-2 winners at the Community Arena at McDiarmid Park.
The first goal of the encounter came just five minutes in when Saints defender Arran Brookfield turned the ball into his own net as he attempted to clear a dangerous ball into the box.
Montrose’s second came just two minutes later when winger Calvin Jamieson curled home into the far corner after cutting in from the left flank.
The visitors continued to press in the first period and had further chances, but Saints keeper Conner Douglas was able to deny them on more than one occasion with a couple of smart stops.
Saints eventually found a route back into the game through Luka Garden, whose strike from the edge of the box on the half-hour mark had enough power to beat Rhys Low in the Montrose net.
Unfortunately, that route back into the game didn’t last long for Saints, who quickly found themselves 3-1 behind just one minute later.
Some tidy work from Archie Clelland on the byline created space for a cutback, which was then fired high into the net by the onrushing Andrew Taylor.
Saints made three changes at the interval as Kai Hughes, Ethan Martin and Cameron Brown all entered the action. The changes made an instant impact as the young Perth outfit started the second half on the front foot.
Martin firstly took aim from the edge of the box, but his shot was comfortably saved. Sam Gallagher also tried his luck on more than one occasion as he bombed forward from his left-back berth.
Other half-chances followed, but it took Saints until the 80th minute to find the back of the net again. Aiden Young was on hand to nod home at the back post from a Gallagher corner, setting up a grandstand finish.
Jack Robertson curled a free-kick over the bar shortly after, but unfortunately, a quick counter-attack by the visitors killed off any hope of a comeback.
Young brought down Fraser MacLeod as the last man inside the box, and Calvin Jamieson was on hand to calmly slot the resulting penalty home.
It was a spirited second-half display from the young Saints, who head to Dundee next week.
