St Andrews United boss Greg Shields inspires sensational comeback and is sent off

As if United scoring two goals in the final four minutes through Kyle Sneddon and Lewis Sawers (penalty) to snatch a point after trailing for most of the match wasn’t dramatic enough, the game also saw 48-year-old former Rangers star Shields red carded and ordered from the dugout in the second half for protesting too loudly over alleged time wasting by their opponents.

He said: “I always say I want to give referees respect. It’s a tough, tough job and ever since I’ve been at the club I’ve been very quiet towards refereeing decisions because I know how difficult it is.

"You can’t show your emotions sometimes and last weekend the referee never liked it.

"On Saturday it was out of character for me and I apologise to the referee because it was wrong. I hold my hands up, these things happen in games.

"It was the right decision in the end and I’m banned from the touchline for our next game (a league fixture at home to Dunipace this Saturday which kicks off at 2.30pm).”

Saints’ comeback at Whitburn coincided with Shields making major personnel changes after the break, when four substitutes were introduced.

He said: “The subs came on and played their part. I think we changed formation two or three times to try and give us another look.

"And fortunately it was late on that we scored the two goals. We went with a bit of width and played more direct and it worked.

"Overall in the game, being 2-0 down for a long period, it’s a point gained. We got a bit lucky at the weekend, but I’ll take it.

"We have a tight squad now. A lot of players have left after being told they’re not going to play. It’s so important that everybody plays a role.

"They’ll play one week but they might not play the next or the next after that. And then when they’re called upon, they’ve got a big role to play.

"And that was the case last weekend. Kyle Sneddon came on having not started the previous two games, a big part of St Andrews, a local guy.

"And he was instrumental in the first goal by pulling the ball back from the byline for the cross that came in for Payney to finish.

"Then we threw the dice a little bit, John Tod went up as centre-forward and he won a penalty with Ryan McManus.

"The players adjusted better to the elements after the substitutions than what we started off with because the pitch wasn’t good.

"It wasn’t really a game for playing about at the back. It’s not what we are about, but the ball had to go longer and we needed a bit of pace up front to sort it out.

"Payney went up front with Alex Balfour. The two of them did well together.

"Alex, who is on loan from Montrose, looked more like himself after coming back following ten months out with an ankle injury. That was his third appearance in a week coming off the bench, so he’ll be pushing shortly for a start.

"Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. I think my assistants (Stuart Milne and Stevie Clark) have got a big part to play as well.”

Shields, who took over from Garry Wright as United boss in November, is only the second manager in the club’s history to go undefeated in their first six league matches.

He added: “We’ve got a good group who have got ten points out of 18 since I came in. They’ve responded but I know how quickly football can change.”

Following the game v Dunipace this weekend, United – 12th with 20 points from 18 matches – visit Hill of Beath Hawthorn next Wednesday in a 7.30pm kick-off.