Declan Gallagher dedicates Aberdeen win to Alex Greive after St Mirren striker's family tragedy

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Declan Gallagher revealed St Mirren were determined to beat the Dons for their devastated Buddie Alex Greive.The New Zealand international missed the Saints’ Christmas Eve clash with Aberdeen after he returned home following the tragic passing of his father.Gallagher and his teammates were even more motivated to beat old boss Jim Goodwin’s side, with the fired up Paisley players running out 3-1 winners.And the St Mirren defender dedicated the three points to Greive, who despite his grief still wished the team good luck ahead of kick-off.Gallagher explained to Renfrewshire Live Sport: “Alex wasn’t involved in the Aberdeen game because he had to go back to New Zealand after his father passed away.“That result was for him and all the boys wanted to let him know that.

We wanted that one for him and it definitely gave us added motivation.“One thing the gaffer said to us before we went out there was to hold your loved ones close.

There’s a boy who would love to be playing football, and who had a chance to start the game because he was flying, but because of those circumstances it’s not happened.“He said to make sure we did it for Alex and that was important because we’re a close group.

It’s good we could do it for him.“It’s very hard given how far away he is from his family. He’s maybe not seen his dad in a long time.“At the end of the day he’s half the world away and won’t see his dad again.