Martin Woods came back into the Dundee team after pulling out of the goalless Boxing Day draw with Livingston due to sickness.

However, the Dark Blues were stunned to find themselves 1-0 down inside 35 seconds.

Chris Kane fed the ball wide to Tanser. The Saints full-back cut in before sending a tantalising cross which caught home goalkeeper Jack Hamilton by surprise and came back off the far post before crossing the line.

Then, a few minutes later, Kane had a chance to double their advantage but could only shoot right into the hands of Hamilton from 10 yards.

It was all Saints, with most of their attacking play coming down the left, where Jesse Curran and Cammy Kerr were struggling to cope, and in the 18th minute Tanser found himself in yet more space which led to Hamilton saving his shot.

The pressure was relentless. As the first half progressed, both Tony Watt and Matthew Kennedy also had shots blocked by the Dundee defence inside the box.

Dundee's first opening came in the 25th minute. Calvin Miller overlapped on the left and his low cross was cut back by Kenny Miller.

Jesse Curran was only eight yards from goal but the Australian could not get his effort away quickly enough and the danger was cleared.

Saints, though, remained on top, with midfielder Kennedy coming close with a half-volley 10 minutes before the interval.

However, the hosts almost equalised in the 39th minute. Woods sprayed the ball wide to Miller, whose cross sped just inches past the far post where Paul McGowan was lurking.

The second half started with Kennedy getting into the final third twice in quick succession but failing to hit the target.

In the 59th minute they did not miss. Kennedy's cross from a short corner caused havoc in the home defence, allowing Craig to bundle the ball home from just a few yards.

From then on, Saints could easily have increased their lead, with Kennedy especially tormenting the home defence and Hamilton having to look lively to prevent substitute David McMillan making it 3-0 with the final kick of the ball.

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Press Association Sport staff');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', '34c7ead9-e65d-4ac6-8e84-83f642fd97f7');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:club-news,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:match-reports');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Travelling Saints experience joy of six'});