St Mirren winger Jay Henderson insists wonder goal against Dundee United meant little after last-gasp defeat

Jay Henderson insists St Mirren are not giving up on their top-six aspirations with just two games remaining before the Premiership splits into two sections.

The ten-man Buddies suffered an agonising blow to their prospects of finishing in the top half of the table after Dundee United striker Marc McNulty headed home from two yards in the 96th minute to seal a comeback 2-1 win.

Winger Henderson had opened the scoring for the Paisley outfit at the SMiSA Stadium after just three minutes with a sublime strike which left visiting goalkeeper Benjamin Siegrist with no chance.

It was the 20-year-old’s second senior goal after netting a similarly superb effort against the Tangerines at Tannadice in January.

The youngster, who was replaced midway through the second half, reckons his early strike was the best goal he has EVER scored but was disappointed to see his team-mates succumb to United’s second half dominance.

Saints remain in ninth place and Henderson admitted: “It’s all well and good scoring, but what we really wanted was the win to get us up into the top six.

“My first goal for the club was against United as well and that one wasn’t too bad, so I’ve done ok against them. I don’t think I’ve ever scored a better one at any level of football.

“It got us off to a great start and I think we got to half-time still the better team, but it didn’t go right after that and it was a sickening way to lose the game.

“They changed their shape a bit in the second half, which kind of baffled us for a bit. We matched up, but ended up defending a fair bit, which isn’t really my game and the manager decided to take me off.

“If that’s the right thing for the team then that’s fair enough.

“It’s still in our hands to finish in the top six. We’ve two games, at Motherwell then Rangers at home, and we’ll go out to win them both.

“I know this is a sickener for everyone, but we’ll come back and we’ll keep fighting.”

Saints manager Stephen Robinson has placed faith in Henderson, who had a loan stint at League One outfit Clyde last season, in recent weeks.

He added: “This is the first change of manager I’ve known and it’s been good to learn new things under the new gaffer.

“He puts trust in me to go out and play my own game, which means a lot. It gives me a lot of confidence forward.”