A spirited display earned Gretna their first Clydesdale Bank Premier League point since falling into administration.

Gretna keeper Greg Fleming twice saved well within five minutes but a much-changed St Mirren could not sustain their pressure and Gretna midfielder Abdul Osman missed the best chance of the first half.

St Mirren substitute Stephen McGinn struck the bar with a fierce effort and neither side could finish off sporadic second-half attacks.

The draw took relegated Gretna to seven points following their 10-point penalty but the milestone of completing their pre-split fixtures was more significant given fears over their immediate future last week.

They also avoided another record low SPL crowd following the 431 attendance that saw them lose to Inverness on Saturday, with a decent travelling support pushing the crowd up to 751.

St Mirren boss Gus MacPherson handed his fringe players a chance as he made five changes for the rearranged clash at Fir Park, with Richard Brittain making his first start since August following a broken foot.

Youngster Ryan McCay and goalkeeper Mark Howard also came in along with Mark Corcoran and Jim Hamilton while Gretna replaced Nicky Deverdics with on-loan Hull midfielder Ben Wilkinson.

St Mirren started well with Fleming diving to push the ball wide after Corcoran had flicked Craig Dargo's low cross towards the far post.

He then stopped David Barron's powerful left-footed volley following the half-cleared corner, with Hamilton off-target with the rebound.

But St Mirren quickly lost their momentum and John-Paul Kissock almost connected with Brendan McGill's low cross following a slick Gretna break involving Paul Murray and Kyle Naughton.

Corcoran saw a low strike from 25 yards deflected wide but Saints were struggling to put together any meaningful attacks.

Gretna began to dominate possession but Osman headed wide from 12 yards following a Kissock free-kick.

The home side had a lucky escape on the half-hour mark when referee Stephen Finnie missed Craig Barr pulling Andy Dorman's shirt inside the box as the Saints midfielder tried to chase down a passback.

Gretna continued to have the better of the play without threatening Howard but they lost injured skipper Murray at the break with Deverdics coming on in his place.

Saints stepped up a gear but could not turn their possession and territory into clear-cut chances.

MacPherson brought on Stewart Kean and McGinn and the move almost paid immediate dividends on the hour mark.

Dorman's free-kick was blocked and McGinn met the rebound with a powerful 20-yard volley which struck the underside of the bar and bounced to safety.

Gretna responded with two long-range efforts from makeshift striker Naughton that fizzed just wide, while Osman shot into the arms of Howard from 20 yards.

Osman had another effort deflected wide as the home side, who had 22 players made redundant by administrators last month, sensed an unlikely victory.

But they did more defending than attacking in the final 20 minutes as they comfortably held on for a point.

The Saints fans began to celebrate deep into injury time when Kean netted from 10 yards after a corner, but he was well offside and they were booing at the final whistle seconds later.

Teams

Gretna Fleming, Barr, Griffiths, Meynell, Skelton, McGill,Osman, Murray (Deverdics 46), Wilkinson (Hogg 73),Kissock (Taylor 81), Naughton.

Subs Not Used: Sharples, Fisher, Robinson, Schultz-Eklund.

Booked: Meynell.

St Mirren Howard, McCay, Haining, Potter, Barron,Brittain (Molloy 83), Dorman, Brady (Kean 58),Corcoran (McGinn 58), Hamilton, Dargo.

Subs Not Used: Smith, Maxwell, O'Donnell, Docherty.

Booked: Dargo, Hamilton.

Att: 7,031

Ref: S Finnie (Scotland).