Dundee boss Neil McCann refused to point the finger of blame at Jack Hamilton after the goalkeeper gifted St Mirren victory in the dying moments.

Former Hearts stopper Hamilton was robbed of possession by Ryan Flynn after stepping on the ball, and Danny Mullen tapped in the winger's pass for his second goal of the day.

McCann said he felt no need to criticise his goalie as Hamilton was fully aware of his error.

The frustrated Dens manager also hinted that opposite number one Craig Samson should have saw red on the hour mark when he hauled down Jean Mendy in the box.

Samson made amends for his mistake by saving Sofien Moussa's penalty and Dundee were made to pay.

McCann said: "It was just a bad decision from Jack. We all make mistakes. We're trying to encourage him to play but at the moment in time, it was not the right thing.

"I think his mind maybe just got a bit clouded. He took the wrong decision and we paid a heavy penalty.

"Of course he is disappointed. He's come in and apologised to the boys.

"But I'm not going to go through him as I thought he made some good stops in the first half. He's made a mistake which he knows. I'm not going to go in and state the obvious.

"We should be ahead before that though. We had a gilt-edged opportunity from the penalty spot. It was a good save from big Craig. Whether he should still have been on the field, I have my thoughts on that.

"I don't have a problem with the new rule because the triple punishment can be harsh at times, but it's whether he makes a genuine attempt to play the ball.

"The keepers hedge their bet. If they're clever enough they go low, but he's not getting the ball. He's never getting the ball. So there's no genuine attempt for me. I think it's passed him before he's dived, so therefore he's cleaning out the player.

"But he stays on the field and makes a good stop, which Moussa is unhappy about."

Mullen had struck early to give the Championship winners the advantage before Elton Ngwatala fired in a quickfire response.

Saints pounced on Hamilton's late mistake, though, to grab their first opening-day Premiership win since 2006.

Buddies boss Alan Stubbs said: "It was a great way to celebrate the title flag being unfurled but it was far from a perfect display.

"There was a period when it would have been easy to go under but they didn't and we benefited from Jack's mistake at our winner.

"I feel for him but we will take any luck which goes our way."