St Mirren were beaten on the first game of 2025 as Bruce Anderson's double gave Kilmarnock all three point at Rugby Park.

The forward scored in each half as Kilmarnock won 2-0 to move to within three points of Saints in the William Hill Premiership.

There were three changes to the side that lost to Dundee on Sunday. Scott Tanser returned from suspension in place of Declan John, while Richard Taylor and Jonah Ayunga came in for Elvis Bwomono and Greg Kiltie. New signing Owen Oseni was on the bench after completing his deal on Wednesday and captain Mark O'Hara joined him on the bench after returning from injury.

Kilmarnock took an early lead after they were awarded a penalty kick just seven minutes in. Alex Gogic's clearance was charged down by Killie forward Bruce Anderson. The ball spun in the air and the striker raced on to it before going down after a nudge from the Cypriot defender. Referee Colin Steven showed no hesitation in pointing to the spot and Anderson stepped up to take. His effort was saved by Ellery Balcombe, but Anderson was quickest to react to the rebound to put the hosts ahead. 

Saints looked to respond quickly with Toyosi Olusanya seeing a shot blocked just a minute later before went down in the box under a challenge a few minutes later but referee Colin Steven was unmoved. The referee was similarly unmoved when Olusanya went down again on 20 minutes after appearing to have his heels clipped. 

A flat first-half performance saw the manager react by bringing O'Hara on for Oisin Smyth at the break before introducing Mikael Mandron for Roland Idowu on 54 minutes. Saints came close to a leveller seconds after the substitution when a free-kick was met by Taylor who headed just wide with Killian Phillips also just inches away from getting his toe on it. 

Richard Taylor heads an effort just wide (Image: David Henderson)

Kilmarnock were awarded their second penalty of the game, and again it looked soft, as Kyle Magennis went down under the challenge from Gogic. Anderson made no mistake as he sent Balcombe the wrong way to double the hosts' lead.

Oseni was brought on for his debut after the goal when he was replaced Ayunga, while Bwomono came on for Gogic. But Saints never really looked like finding a way back into the match as they game fizzled out in disappointing fashion.

Owen Oseni makes his debut (Image: David Henderson)

Full-Time: Kilmarnock 2-0 St Mirren

St Mirren: Balcombe, Gogic (Bwomono 66), Iacovitti, Taylor, Fraser (c), Smyth (O'Hara 46), Phillips, Tanser, Idowu (Mandron 54), Olusanya (Kiltie 74), Ayunga (Oseni 66)
Subs Not Used: Urminsky, John, Boyd-Munce, Mooney

Kilmarnock: McCrorie, Wright, Mayo, Deas, Murray, Lyons, Polworth (Donnelly 74), Ndaba, Anderson (Watson 84), Wales (Cameron 74), Vassell (Magennis 44)
Subs Not Used: O'Hara, Burroughs, McKenzie, Mackay-Steven, Bainbridge

Referee: Colin Steven
Assistant Referee: David McGeachie
Assistant Referee: Gordon McCabe
Fourth Official: George Calder
VAR: John Beaton

Tickets for our William Hill Premiership match away to Celtic on Sunday 5th January are on sale.

Tickets are available to buy at the St Mirren Ticket Office. Please note that only restricted view tickets remain for this match.

Match tickets purchased online are only available for collection at the St Mirren Ticket Office. Tickets MUST be collected by 12noon on Saturday 4th January 2025.

Match Tickets will also be sold at the St Mirren Ticket Office directly until 12 noon on Saturday 4th January 2025. There will be no sales or collection of tickets at Celtic Park. 

Please note this is a paper allocation only, no e-tickets are available. Any QR code sent for an online purchase is just a receipt of your order for the St Mirren Ticket Office to process your purchase, it is not your ticket.

Celtic v St Mirren
Competition: William Hill Premiership
Date: Sunday 5th January 2025
Kick-off: 3pm
Venue: Celtic Park

Celtic Ticket Info

Restricted View

Adults - £31
Concessions* - £21
Under 13s** - £15

*65+ and U16s
**U13s must be accompanied by an adult

Wheelchair and Carer - £24 (Carer free of charge)

Ambulant with carer and wheelchair with carer tickets can only be purchased directly from the St Mirren Ticket Office and must be collected by 12 noon on Saturday 4th January 2025.

The St Mirren Ticket Office opening hours this week are as follows: 

St Mirren Ticket Office Tel: (0141) 840-6130.

St Mirren Ticket Office E-Mail: tickets@stmirren.com 

St Mirren are on the road for our first match of 2025 as we face Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on Thursday.

Kilmarnock vs St Mirren
William Hill Premiership
Venue: The BBSP Stadium, Rugby Park
Date: Thursday 2nd January 2025
Kick-off: 3pm

Kilmarnock Ticket Info

Tickets for our William Hill Premiership match away to Kilmarnock on Thursday 2nd January are on sale online.

Pricing: Online Discounted Digital Ticket Purchases

Adult - £27
Concessions* - £22
U18 - £15
U16 - £10
U5** - £5***

*Over 65, U21s, Students
**One free with any full paying adult over 18 (Must contact Kilmarnock Ticket Office prior to purchase to arrange - max one per full paying over 18). Please note this must be done 24 hours prior to matchday. 
***In addition to a free under five - must contact the Kilmarnock Ticket Office prior to purchase to arrange.

Pricing: In person ticket purchases at the Kilmarnock Ticket Office

Adult - £30
Concessions* - £25
U18 - £20
U16 - £12
U5** - £5

*Over 65, U21s, Students
**One free with any full paying adult over 18 (Must contact Kilmarnock Ticket Office prior to purchase to arrange - max one per full paying over 18). Please note this must be done 24 hours prior to matchday.
***In addition to a free under five - must contact the Kilmarnock Ticket Office prior to purchase to arrange.

Ambulant and carer tickets - £25 (carer free of charge if in receipt of carer's allowance)

To purchase ambulant and carer tickets please contact the Kilmarnock ticketing team.

Email: tickets@kilmarnock.co.uk
Tel: 01563 545 311

To reserve wheelchair accessible and carer tickets please contact Kilmarnock's disabled supporters' representatives direct; 

Peter Orr - 07759 616 945 
peterorr45@yahoo.co.uk 

Mae Orr - 07909 713 098

Please note the away support will be situated in the Chadwick Stand only. If an away supporters purchases a home end ticket they will be denied entry. Tickets are non-refundable, non-transferable and T&C's apply. 

Follow the Action

If you can't make the match on Thursday, you can follow the action with updates on our X page.

International subscribers to St Mirren TV can watch the match live on tv.stmirren.com, while UK subscribers can listen to live audio commentary. Ryan Flynn will join Mark Jardine on commentary duty.

Supporter Info

• Turnstiles will open 2pm and we will be housed in the Chadwick Stand. Please sit in allocated seats as the match will be busy. 
• Kiosks are contactless/card payments only. There is no cash facility.
• Flags should be within regulations and must have a fire certificate. No offensive or political flags will be allowed. Flags can be laid across any empty seats in the lower tier and the stewards will facilitate this.
• No balaclavas or face coverings will be allowed.
• No pyro or megaphones allowed.
• No bags bigger than A4 allowed.
• No surfing banners allowed.
• Drum will be searched.
• Searching will be in place.
• Any inebriated fans will not be allowed to enter the stadium

Foodbank Collection

There will be a Foodbank collection point behind the Moffat (Family) Stand adjacent to the turnstiles. Any contributions from visiting fans will be gratefully received.

Parking

There is NO available space for parking cars or supporter buses within the stadium boundary. Supporter buses should park in Burnside Street (KA1 4EU) or Holmquarry Road (KA1 4DA), Kilmarnock resulting in a short 10 minute walk to the stadium.

Plenty of on street parking, for cars, is available in the vicinity of the stadium but we would ask all supporters to be mindful of local residents. The streets immediately surrounding Rugby Park are subject to a recently introduced match day TRO (11am to 5pm) with clear signage in place.

We are not aware of any roadworks in the local area that would directly affect visiting supporters. Updates can be found at https://www.roadworksscotland.org/ 

Other Information

St Mirren fans will be made welcome in the Park Hotel (adjacent to the stadium) prior to and after the match. The hotel can be very busy on a match day and there are usually various events taking place within. This Thursday, the main function suite i.e. Caprington Suite will be available as an overspill bar area. There will also be a bottle bar in the hotel foyer. The Pavilion coffee shop/bar only sells pre packed sandwiches/pies/cakes on a match day.

The hotel car park is strictly for hotel patrons only.

St Mirren Football Club is delighted to announce the signing of Owen Oseni from Gateshead FC on a three-and-a-half-year deal subject to clearance.

The Buddies have beaten a number of interested parties to sign the highly-rated forward for an undisclosed fee until summer 2028.

The 21-year-old has had an impressive first half of the season at the Tynesiders, scoring 13 goals in 28 appearances, with five goals in his last four matches.

Owen began his career in Ireland with Waterford FC where he got to know Richard Taylor and Roland Idowu before joining English side Derby County in 2023.

Following a fruitful loan spell at Vanarama National League North Rushall Olympic during the second half of 2023/24, where Owen scored eight goals in 15 appearances, the striker joined National League side Gateshead on a two-year deal in the summer.

Speaking after agreeing his deal, Owen said: "I'm really buzzing to get here.

In terms of where the club is heading and its aspirations, it just aligns with mine. I felt like this was the next part of my development and the next part of my journey, so I'm looking forward to it. 

"I spoke to Roland [Idowu] and Richard [Taylor] and they played a part in making my decision to come here. It was a no brainer after they told me. It makes the transition smooth when you see a couple of familiar faces. 

"The manager likes my play style and he thinks I can come into the squad and really help the team push on and achieve the goals that we've set. I feel like I can bring a lot of pace up front. I'm direct, I like to get in behind defender and hopefully I can bring goals as well."

Manager Stephen Robinson told stmirren.com: "Owen is someone that we have watched for a while now.

"His profile fits the way we play. He’s a goalscorer, he can run in behind and he’s a project that we feel is similar to Toyosi Olusanya when he came to the club. We will improve him the more he trains with us, and he will become a big asset to the club.

"It was important we got in early. There were numerous clubs after him. I must mention his agent who was fantastic in terms of the money not being the motivator, but the coaching and the chance to progress his career."

Potential

"He's a project player who we've paid a small transfer fee for because we see his potential. We believe will get better with time and coaching and someone we are delighted to have on board," the manager added. 

"A lot of time players aren’t coming for money because there are teams that will pay more money than us, but we get the right attitude which Owen has. He wants to learn and he wants to get better. 

He's a natural goalscorer, and he's already proven that at the non-league level. Now it's about stepping up to this level, which I'm confident he will do over time."

Looking long-term

"He'll be involved but it’ll likely be from the bench at this moment in time. We’re recruiting with an eye on next season when players are out of contract, but he’ll certainly play a part," the manager continued. 

"He’s a natural goalscorer which is maybe something we've been missing. It's now just getting him up to speed of the game here and how we play."

It’s my pleasure to be providing my end of year update on the back of three wins in four in the William Hill Premiership and with the team back up to fifth place in the table. What a year it has been!

We achieved our highest league finish in 39 years in May and in doing so, achieved our long held aim of returning to European competition. The team played well in the four ties and it was fantastic to see our fans and dedicated staff coming together and making memories that will last forever. Having tasted this success it’s definitely something we want to do again, and soon.

The success on the park, and the work to make match days a positive experience for all, continues to bear fruit with attendances rising and Season Ticket sales now over 4600 - almost 50% up on pre-COVID levels.

We were also delighted to report an Operating Profit again in the year ended 31 May 2024. This was particularly notable given that we paid substantial and well deserved bonuses related to qualifying for Europe before the end of the financial year. The income generated from the European campaign will be reflected in the accounts to 31 May 2025.

Other successes have included a great start to the season by St Mirren FC Women’s team and an ongoing run in the Scottish Youth Cup for our U18’s. They play Queen’s Park away on 24th January 2025 in the quarter-finals. It would be great to see another good turnout of fans to cheer them on. They really are great to watch.

On that note of our younger talent, it’s also been great seeing Luke Kenny, Evan Mooney and Callum Penman break into the first team squad and make their debuts. Added to that we have several players out on loan who are making a real impact and getting vital game time. This flow of talented youngsters is a tribute to the hard work of their coaches at the Academy and the players themselves.

Off the park our vital work in the community continues to grow as well. I had the privilege and pleasure of helping the St Mirren Charitable Foundation’s Festive Friends initiative on Christmas Day. It was a genuinely joyful experience to to be part of delivering a bit of Christmas cheer to over 400 fellow Buddies living alone, and families who are struggling at this time of year. Your support for this and the Home-Start collections earlier the month really make a difference. This year also marks 15 years of Street Stuff which we run with financial support from Renfrewshire Council. The program continues to provide vital activities and support for young people which significantly reduces youth disorder and anti-social behaviour across our community.

We are also close to finalising plans for the replacement of The Dome and hope to provide a definitive decision early in 2025. The process has taken a while but I’m sure you will understand the importance of getting all of the details, both financial and operational, right before committing to the project.

So, 2024 has been a memorable year and that has only been made possible by the contributions from our fans, players, management, sponsors, volunteers, staff and directors. I want to express my heartfelt appreciation and thanks to every single one of you. It’s a source of real pride to see the progress we are making on and of the park - let’s keep that positive momentum going.

I wish you all a very Happy New Year and a peaceful and successful 2025.

St Mirren begin 2025 with an away trip to Rugby Park as we take on Kilmarnock in the William Hill Premiership.

The Buddies' winning run came to a halt on Sunday as Saints lost 2-1 to Dundee at The SMiSA Stadium in our final match of 2024.

Despite that defeat, the Saints have picked up six wins from the last 10 and sit in fifth place in the William Hill Premiership - six points ahead of Thursday's opponents. 

Match Details

Kilmarnock v St Mirren
Competition: William Hill Premiership
Date: Thursday 2nd January 2025
Kick-off: 3pm 
Venue: The BBSP Stadium, Rugby Park

The Opposition

Kilmarnock come into Thursday's match in mixed form having won two, drawn two and lost two of their last six matches in the William Hill Premiership.  

Derek McInnes' side sit in ninth place after closing out 2024 with a narrow defeat away to Hibernian, losing 1-0 at Easter Road on Sunday. However, Killie have won their last two matches at the BBSP Stadium, Rugby Park, beating Aberdeen 4-0 and Hearts 1-0. 

It was a share of the spoils in the only meeting between the two so far this season with the sides drawing 2-2 at The SMiSA Stadium in September. Goals from Toyosi Olusanya and Mark O'Hara twice had Saints in front, but a Marley Watkins strike and an own goal from Jonah Ayunga saw Kilmarnock take a point. 

Toyosi Olusanya opened the scoring the last time the two sides met (Image: Craig Brown)

The Officials

Colin Steven is the referee on Thursday and his assistants are David McGeachie and Gordon McCabe.

The video assistant referee (VAR) is John Beaton.

Tickets for our William Hill Premiership match away to Celtic on Sunday 5th January are on sale.

Tickets are available to buy online and at the St Mirren Ticket Office. Please note that only restricted view tickets remain for this match.

Match tickets purchased online are only available for collection at the St Mirren Ticket Office until 10am on Friday 3rd January 2025.Tickets MUST be collected by 12 noon on Saturday 4th January 2025. Match Tickets will also be sold at the St Mirren Ticket Office directly until 12 noon on Saturday 4th January 2025. There will be no sales or collection of tickets at Celtic Park. 

Please note this is a paper allocation only, no e-tickets are available. Any QR code sent for an online purchase is just a receipt of your order for the St Mirren Ticket Office to process your purchase, it is not your ticket.

Celtic v St Mirren
Competition: William Hill Premiership
Date: Sunday 5th January 2025
Kick-off: 3pm
Venue: Celtic Park

Celtic Ticket Info

Restricted View

Adults - £31
Concessions* - £21
Under 13s** - £15

*65+ and U16s
**U13s must be accompanied by an adult

Wheelchair and Carer - £24 (Carer free of charge)

Ambulant with carer and wheelchair with carer tickets can only be purchased directly from the St Mirren Ticket Office and must be collected by 12 noon on Saturday 4th January 2025.

The St Mirren Ticket Office opening hours this week are as follows: 

St Mirren Ticket Office Tel: (0141) 840-6130.

St Mirren Ticket Office E-Mail: tickets@stmirren.com 

Saints ended 2024 in frustrating fashion as their good run of form was brought to a halt by Dundee.

The first half was a tale of two crosses – Josh Mulligan's delivery being headed in by Simon Murray to put Dundee in front before Elvis Bwomono produced an even better cross for Toyosi Olusanya to head in the equaliser.

After the break, the visitors restored their lead from another cross. This time a free-kick found Ryan Astley and he delivered for Murray to again head home with the help of the woodwork. Saints have proven adept at conjuring up late goals in recent weeks but there was to be no late drama this time around as Dundee saw out the remainder of the game relatively comfortably.

There was one change to the Saints side which recorded a famous Boxing Day win over Rangers, Alex Iacovitti replacing Richard Taylor in defence. Simon Murray led the attack for the visitors, with former Saint Trevor Carson in goals and Curtis Main and Sean Kelly on the bench.

Roland Idowu tested Carson at his near post early on, with a fierce cause from the on-loan winger also causing problems. The visitors then had a far bigger problem to deal with as they lost Jordan McGhee and Billy Koumetio to injury at the same time, Sean Kelly and Ethan Ingram replacing them. Dundee were briefly down to nine men as they worked out how to deal with their injuries, during which time Oisin Smyth dragged a shot wide. He had another chance once the visitors were back up to their full quota of players but it was easily dealt with by Carson.

Until this stage, Ellery Balcombe in the opposite goal had had a quiet afternoon but that all changed when he failed to deal with a cross. He then rushed from his goal and blocked a shot but was miles out of position as the ball fell to Murray, who looked odds on to score only for a well-placed Alex Gogic to head his effort off the line. Balcombe then redeemed himself with a double save from Adewumi but could do nothing moments later as Josh Mulligan produced a delightful cross to the back post for the unchallenged Murray to head home.

Despite the double injury blow, Dundee looked the stronger side and pushed for a second, having a soft penalty shout for a challenge on Murray waved away. From that, Saints immediately countered and Bwomono beat his man before sending in a delicious cross for Olusanya to head past Carson for his 13th and final goal of an impressive 2024. Having drawn themselves level, the Buddies finished the half strongly, Declan John shooting at Carson with his weaker foot.

Toyosi Olusanya drew Saints level with a terrific header (Image: Allan Picken)

Olusanya nearly completed the turnaround early in the second-half, nice work from Idowu sending him in behind the Dundee defence but he shot into the side netting. Sebastian Palmer-Houlden then stung Balcombe's palms with a fierce drive before Idowu had another go at beating Carson at his hear post which again the Dundee goalie was equal to.

The Buddies appeared to be in the ascendancy, so it was something of a surprise when Dundee took the lead. A free-kick found Ryan Astley and he delivered another great cross for Murray, his header hitting the bar before making its way into the net.

Saints rang the changes in a bid to find another equaliser and Evan Mooney almost produced the goods when the youngster pulled down a cross at the edge of the box before firing just over. It was a rare bright spot in a disappointing second-half for the Buddies as 2024 draws to a close. 

Full-Time: St Mirren 1-2 Dundee

St Mirren: Balcombe, Fraser (c), Gogic, Iacovitti, Bwomono (Penman 82), Phillips, Smyth (Boyd-Munce 75), John, Idowu (Ayunga 63), Olusanya (Mandron 63), Kiltie (Mooney 75)
Subs Not Used: Urminsky, Taylor, Adeniran, Scott

Dundee: Carson (c), Mulligan, Astley, Koumetio (Ingram 22), McGhee (Kelly 22), Robertson, Sylla, Cameron, Palmer-Houlden, Murray, Adewumi (Tiffoney 90)
Subs Not Used: McCracken, Sharp, Main, Braybrooke, Vetro

Referee: Nick Walsh
Assistant Referee: Sean Carr
Assistant Referee: Brian Christie
Fourth Official: Ryan Lee
VAR: Alan Muir

Attendance: 6,798

Tickets for our William Hill Premiership match away to Kilmarnock on Thursday 2nd January are on sale online.

Saints make the journey down to Rugby Park for our first match of 2025. The St Mirren support will be situated in the Chadwick Stand only.

Kilmarnock v St Mirren
Competition: William Hill Premiership
Date: Thursday 2nd January 2025
Kick-off: 3pm
Venue: The BBSP Stadium Rugby Park, Kilmarnock

Kilmarnock Ticket Prices

Pricing: Online Discounted Digital Ticket Purchases

Adult - £27
Concessions* - £22
U18 - £15
U16 - £10
U5** - £5***

*Over 65, U21s, Students
**One free with any full paying adult over 18 (Must contact Kilmarnock Ticket Office prior to purchase to arrange - max one per full paying over 18). Please note this must be done 24 hours prior to matchday. 
***In addition to a free under five - must contact the Kilmarnock Ticket Office prior to purchase to arrange.

Pricing: In person ticket purchases at the Kilmarnock Ticket Office

Adult - £30
Concessions* - £25
U18 - £20
U16 - £12
U5** - £5

*Over 65, U21s, Students
**One free with any full paying adult over 18 (Must contact Kilmarnock Ticket Office prior to purchase to arrange - max one per full paying over 18). Please note this must be done 24 hours prior to matchday.
***In addition to a free under five - must contact the Kilmarnock Ticket Office prior to purchase to arrange.

Ambulant and carer tickets - £25 (carer free of charge if in receipt of carer's allowance)

To purchase ambulant and carer tickets please contact the Kilmarnock ticketing team.

Email: tickets@kilmarnock.co.uk
Tel: 01563 545 311

To reserve wheelchair accessible and carer tickets please contact Kilmarnock's disabled supporters' representatives direct; 

Peter Orr - 07759 616 945 
peterorr45@yahoo.co.uk 

Mae Orr - 07909 713 098

Please note the away support will be situated in the Chadwick Stand only. If an away supporters purchases a home end ticket they will be denied entry. Tickets are non-refundable, non-transferable and T&C's apply. 

St Mirren Ticket Office Tel: (0141) 840-6130.

St Mirren Ticket Office email: tickets@stmirren.com 

St Mirren close out 2024 at home with Dundee the visitors to The SMiSA Stadium in our final match of the year.

Saints go into Sunday's match on the back of a Boxing Day win at home to Rangers. Caolan Boyd-Munce's injury-time goal saw the Buddies defeat Rangers 2-1 to secure our first league over the Ibrox side in 13 years and make it three wins from three.

Stephen Robinson's men are on a good run of form having picked up six wins from our last nine. Thursday's victory over Rangers moved Saints up to fifth place in the William Hill Premiership.

Match Details

St Mirren v Dundee
Competition: William Hill Premiership
Date: Sunday 29th December 2024
Kick-off: 3pm 
Venue: The SMiSA Stadium

The Opposition

Dundee are coming into the match on the back of three defeats in a row. Tony Docherty's men were beaten 3-0 at home to Ross County on Boxing Day, a result that followed losses away to Rangers (0-1) and Hearts (0-2). Thursday's loss to County saw the Dees drop down to ninth place in the William Hill Premiership.

The Dark Blues' last victory came at the start of the month when they defeated Motherwell in impressive fashion, winning 4-1 at Dens Park.

The two sides couldn't be separated in the only meeting between the two so far this season. Toyosi Olusanya and Mikael Mandron twice had St Mirren ahead at Dens, but goals from Curtis Main and Ziyad Larkeche saw Dundee grab a share of the spoils in a 2-2 draw.

Saints were victorious in the two meetings between the sides at The SMiSA Stadium last season, winning 2-1 and 2-0 in Paisley in August 2023 and February 2024 respectively. 

Toyosi Olusanya celebrates after giving us the lead against Dundee earlier in the season (Image: Craig Brown)

The Officials

The referee on Sunday is Nick Walsh. He'll be assisted by Sean Carr and Brian Christie.

The video assistant referee (VAR) is Alan Muir.