St Mirren midfielder Ryan Flynn was delighted to seal his long-awaited return with a crucial victory over Queen’s Park.

Flynn made his first appearance in more than nine months as 10-man Saints won 1-0 to secure top spot in their Betfred Cup group and a place in Sunday’s second-round draw.

The former Falkirk and Sheffield United player suffered cruciate ligament damage in a game against Hamilton on February 5 and was brought on in the 70th minute at Hampden with the Buddies in danger of going out.

Joe Shaughnessy’s 49th-minute red card put Jim Goodwin’s side up against it but Jon Obika headed home a Kyle McAllister corner for the second game running to earn his side victory.

Flynn told the club’s SMTV: “I was delighted I got some minutes. Going down to 10 men, I maybe didn’t expect it as much.

“I thought actually when we went down to 10 men we played a bit better.

“But it was good to get back on the field and, more importantly, it was good to be on the winning team.

“It’s been a long time coming and hopefully I avoid those niggles. I am still on the comeback trail and I will hopefully get more minutes as the games go on.

“December is a busy period so I want to be fit and get my sharpness up.

“It was interesting coming on at left mid, I have not played there for a while.

“But I am happy to be back and more happy that we won and we are through to the next round.”