St Mirren men once again welcome Aberdeen to the SMiSA Stadium this weekend in the Scottish Premiership.

Saints defeated Aberdeen in the Betfred Cup on Saturday thanks to goals from Ilkay Durmus and Jamie McGrath.

Jim Goodwin's men were worthy winners as they qualified for the quarter-finals and now face the Dons looking to add three points on the board in league action.

Match Details

St Mirren v Aberdeen
Competition: Scottish Premiership
Date: Saturday 5th December 2020
Kick-off: 3pm
Venue: The SMiSA Stadium

Can I watch the match?

St Mirren season ticket holders and international subscribers to St Mirren TV can watch the match live on St Mirren TV.

Non-season ticket holders and Aberdeen supporters will be able to watch the match live on PPV for £12.50 on ppv.stmirren.com.

Ex-St Mirren and Aberdeen defender Lee Mair will join match day host Ali De Foy pre-and-post-match, while David Van Zanten will join us on commentary duties.

Manager's thoughts

"The players and staff are all in a good place at the moment because we're on a good run.

"Beating a team like Aberdeen, who are probably the third biggest in the country, and put in the level of performance that we did was outstanding. 

"We're under no illusions that this weekend is going to be a completely different Aberdeen. I imagine they'll be really fired up and looking to put things right in their eyes so we have to be prepared for that.

"Our bread and butter is the league and it's important we back up the two most recent league games with another really good performance and result."

Who are the officials?

Bobby Madden is the referee for Saturday's match. He'll be assisted by David McGeachie and Paul O'Neill. Kevin Graham is the fourth official. 

St Mirren have been drawn at home to face Rangers in the quarter-final of the Betfred Cup. 

The match will take place at the SMiSA Stadium on either Tuesday 15th, Wednesday 16th or Thursday 17th December 2020.

Jim Goodwin's side progressed to the last eight following a well-deserved win over Aberdeen in the second-round. 

Jamie McGrath's late winner sent St Mirren into the quarter-finals of the Betfred Cup. 

The midfielder's strike was fumbled into the net by Aberdeen goalkeeper Joe Lewis to give Saints a well deserved 2-1 win. 

The Buddies were at it from the get go and made the perfect start when the returning Ilkay Durmus netted his first goal of the season on four minutes. The winger, who has been missing with injury, marked his return to the starting line-up by slamming home from 20 yards.

The free-kick had come after terrific play from Dylan Connolly who went on a super driving run from the half-way line, bursting deep into the Aberdeen half before being halved by Jonny Hayes 20 yards from goal. Durmus made no mistake as he found the bottom corner of the net. 

Saints were well on top and almost doubled their lead just three minutes later. Richard Tait cracked the post with a low effort from 25 yards with the rebound just evading Jon Obika allowing the visitors to clear. 

The Buddies pressed for a second as time ticked away at the end of the first-half. On 38 minutes, Connolly did brilliantly to turn Greg Leigh and race clear on goal. Lewis was out quickly to block the shot but Aberdeen couldn't clear the danger. Cammy MacPherson sent the ball back across the face of goal where Durmus got a slight flick which was blocked by Leigh.

Obika should have made it 2-0 on 41 minutes but the forward turn and knocked wide under pressure from Dons goalkeeper Lewis.

How Saints would rue that miss as Aberdeen equalised less than two minutes later. A Hayes ball fell fortuitously for Niall McGinn who knocked beyond Alnwick from close range to level heading into half-time.

Aberdeen spurned a huge chance to go ahead early in the second-half. Thomas Hoban had loads of space to meet a Ryan Hedges corner but headed wide of target. 

Saints, while not creating as much as they did in the first-half, still had the majority of the play. McGrath sent an effort well over on 52 minutes, while Durmus smashed into the side netting after jinking into the box five minutes later.

Heading into the final 10 minutes the Buddies upped the pressure. Marcus Fraser cut inside and shot into the arms of Lewis before substitute Morias was denied by a tremendous save from the Dons goalkeeper. 

But it would count for nothing for the visitors as Saints would find the winner with two minutes of normal time remaining. McGrath took aim from distance with Lewis spilling into the back of the net to book Saints' place in the last eight. 

Full-Time: St Mirren 2-1 Aberdeen

JIM GOODWIN POST-MATCH REACTION

St Mirren: Alnwick, Fraser, McCarthy, Foley (c), Tait, Connolly (Morias 83), McGrath, Doyle-Hayes, MacPherson, Durmus (McAllister 72), Obika (Erwin 72)
Subs Not Used: Lyness, Sheron, Finlayson, Flynn, Dennis, Jamieson

Aberdeen: Lewis, Hoban, Considine, Leigh, Ojo, McGinn (Devlin 45), Hedges, Cosgrove (Main 45), Hayes, Campbell (Edmondson 90), Kennedy
Subs Not Used: Woods, Taylor, Hernandez, Ngwenya, Ramsay, Duncan

Referee: Don Robertson
Assistant Referee: David Roome
Assistant Referee: Ross Macleod
Fourth Official: Grant Irvine

St Mirren Football Club is delighted to announce that Ethan Erhahon has agreed a contract extension which ties him to Saints until summer 2023.

The Saints Youth Academy graduate has been a standout in midfield for the Buddies this season making himself a regular with Jim Goodwin's side. 

Ethan made his Saints debut at the age of 16 in a Challenge Cup match against Raith Rovers in October 2017. 

The 19 year-old has since made over 40 appearances for first-team scoring two goals including a stunner against Aberdeen at Pittodrie last month.

Speaking to the press recently, St Mirren manager Jim Goodwin said: "Ethan is only 19 but has had a consistent run in the team in his favoured position.

"He is very mature in his playing style, he reads the game well, covers the ground and has a great range of passing.

"It’s important that we do everything we can to hold onto these young and talented players."

In our goal to make Paisley proud of its local team, we want St Mirren Football Club to have a strong, recognised presence within the community. We want to mark the gravitas St Mirren plays in the town’s history and celebrate the overwhelming support loyal fans show the club. The 2020/21 season is like no other, yet the fan support is unwavering.

St Mirren Belongs to Paisley

One great way to showcase St Mirren far and wide across Paisley has been to launch large traditional billboard placements across key Paisley locations. Loyal St Mirren fans will feel a sense of pride as the familiar black and white stripes capture their attention; locals who are football fanatics will be reminded of their homegrown team and be encouraged to show their support.

Be inspired to follow the Paisley football club and their youth development that has produced the talent of Lewis Morgan, Cammy MacPherson and Ethan Erhahon.

Visualisation

It takes time to decide on what to visually promote. What do we want to communicate to our fans?

Recent times have been challenging for everyone, therefore during the summer when we heard the positive update that football matches could resume, we immediately sprang into action to spread the news.

The announcement of football returning after covid-19, albeit behind closed doors, was a momentous occasion. The business operations at the club could resume with staff at the helm, players would be able to focus on the season ahead and fans could finally watch their team on the pitch, albeit virtually.

The ideal way to celebrate with our fans was to takeover Paisley with standout billboards.

Selecting Photographs

Due to social distancing measures, our photographs for billboards were limited. The transfer window period and a delay in the shipment of our 2020/21 football kit all contributed to drastically reducing our options for imagery.

Our graphic designer set to work. It was a challenge she was determined to overcome. Existing action shots would be examined to identify images that would fit into our messaging perfectly. The images would be cropped, cut out and photoshopped to life-size. The thrill of being a St Mirren Football Club supporter would be conveyed on screen.

Graphic designer hard at work

Follow The Leader

Manager Jim Goodwin was positioned at great height. He had the task to lead us into the unknown and motivate the town to Be In That Number and march alongside the saints.

Stoic Jim made an appearance

Football Is Back

“Football Is Back!” appeared in bold letters alongside first team player Jon Obika.

Obika billboard in progress

There was a sense of sheer delight once the return of football was announced. Obika’s celebratory pose matched with the bold headline conveyed the buzz of the football community.

The photo had to be methodically cut out and optimised perfectly

Fanatic About Our Fans

As football returned without fans filling the stands, the club was humbled by the unwavering fan support shown despite the adversity. As season ticket sales surpassed the same level as previous years, the wider marketing team knew the fans had to be a focal point in the communications.

The club thought about shouting from the rooftops about how fantastic their fans were. It was a resounding decision that fans would star in our billboard placements.

Fans photos in all shapes and sizes were sent to the club and photoshopped into position

Location, Location, Location

Where will our billboard pop-up? The decision on which advert placement will give us the greatest visibility for our fans, especially as people are leaving the house less, is vital to the marketing strategy.

Fortunately, fans have expressed their delight in spotting our adverts. 

Fans doing their best Obika impression

Playing For Fans

Our fan billboards had a huge impact on the players. The players were blown away by the creative and commented it was refreshing to see as they had a newfound appreciation for the supportive faces in the crowd.

Sam Foley expressed his delight in seeing the fan photos sky high and spotting the club across Paisley:

“It really gave us all an appreciation of what this club means to the people of Paisley. We can’t wait for them to be allowed to return to football."

The player response inspired marketing and graphic design to arrange an upload to the pitch side screens to motivate the players. Again, our graphic designer set to work and spent time carefully editing the important fan moments many of you shared with us.

Fan photos providing support on the pitch

Eye-Catching

The creation of pay-per-view billboards were produced to drum up excitement for match days. The creative featured both St Mirren and the opposing team. It was produced internally for St Mirren to have full ownership of the illustration and strongly convey the club’s brand and traditional colour scheme. We put the task of promoting St Mirren while subtly featuring the opposition in our own hands.

The graphics were adapted for social media. Overall, the images were recognisable and complimentary of one another. The attention-grabbing advert would demand a second look as your eye would be drawn to the familiar sight. Driving by Linwood Road you would notice an upcoming St Mirren match was available to watch live. Later, whilst online, recognition will kick-in as you notice a similar advert again and are reminded to support your local team.

Socialising online only

Be In That Number

Now more than ever it is important to stand by your local football club and St Mirren want to do what we can to be at the forefront of the minds of local football fans as the club continues business operations under uncertain circumstances.

Together the club, marketing personnel and Kibble Communications are doing their best to share news and support the team in any way we can. Our aim is to share news about our players; keep the community updated about staff who are doing their part to ensure the running of the club goes as smoothly as possible through the transition into our new normal while seizing any opportunity to raise the fans' spirits. We have exciting future plans and hope to share them with you as we move forward. 

Look out for St Mirren billboards across Abercorn Street, Renfrew Street and Linwood Road.

St Mirren host Aberdeen at the SMiSA Stadium on Saturday with a place in the Betfred Cup quarter-finals up for grabs. 

The Saints reached the second-round of the Betfred Cup after winning Group G with 10 points following wins over Partick Thistle and Queen's Park, coupled with draws (and subsequent penalty shoot-out wins) against Queen of the South and Morton.

The Buddies go into Saturday's match following a 1-0 win away to Livingston on Saturday. Jake Doyle-Hayes scored his first Saints goal to give St Mirren their first league win since August. 

Aberdeen missed the group stage of the Betfred Cup after qualifying for Europe due to their league position last season. 

Derek McInnes' side go into the match on the back of a 1-1 draw with Hamilton Academical on Wednesday night.

Match Details

St Mirren v Aberdeen
Competition: Betfred Cup
Date: Saturday 28th November 2020
Kick-off: 5:15pm
Venue: The SMiSA Stadium

Can I watch the match?

Premier Sports have live and exclusive UK coverage of the match with their coverage starting from 5pm. Click here to find out how to watch the match live if you live within the UK and Ireland.

International subscribers can watch the match on St Mirren TV as part of their subscription.

Manager's Thoughts

"Hopefully we can put in a similar performance to the win over Livingston in terms of the organisation, togetherness and desire that the players showed and hopefully added to that we can play some good football along the way. 

"It's a competition that if we apply ourselves properly and get a little bit of luck along the way you can go far in it.

"I'm expecting Aberdeen to come all guns blazing. Apart from getting Celtic or Rangers this is the next toughest game we could have got. But it is a one off game and it's an opportunity for us to try and get to a quarter-final of a major trophy."

Previous

Saints have faced Aberdeen once already this season. 

Jim Goodwin's travelled to Pittodrie at the start of October but were edged out by a last-minute winner for Lewis Ferguson that gave the Dons a 2-1 win.

Who are the officials?

The referee is Don Robertson. The linesmen are David Roome and Ross Macleod. Grant Irvine is the fourth official. 

Saints are back in action this Saturday evening as we host Aberdeen at the SMiSA Stadium for our second round tie in the Betfred Cup.

We have a limited edition run of programmes, published in partnership with Curtis Sport, for the behind closed doors cup tie played on Saturday 28th November.

This issue is a 32 pager with a £3 cover price.

This latest edition includes the following:

Front Cover – Brandon Mason.
Jim Goodwin - The Saints gaffer looks back on last week's win away to Livingston and ahead to Saturday's BetFred Cup tie against the Dons.
The Opposition – A look over Derek McInnes' Aberdeen squad.
St Mirren Programme Archive - Derek Drennan reviews programmes from past League Cup ties between Saints and the Dons.
Centre Page Poster – Jake Doyle-Hayes.
Player Kit Sponsors 2020/21 – Check in to see who is sponsoring your favourite player's shirt for the season.
Marketing Matters – Campbell Kennedy updates on the latest events and happenings at the club's Commercial Department.
Yesterday's Saints – David Cochran looks back on the 11-year St Mirren career of Jimmy Drinkwater.
Football Bloody Hell - Are penalty shoot-outs a lottery? Alan Gallacher thinks not!.
St Mirren Fixtures & Results 2020/21 – A handy reference page of all the fixtures and results for this season.
Team Lines – The two squads and match officials for Saturday's match.

To buy this issue or to place your programme subscription for the 2020/21 season click HERE.

Premier Sports will have live and exclusive coverage of St. Mirren’s last 16 Betfred Cup tie v Aberdeen this Saturday afternoon from 5pm.

The Saints are unbeaten in six games as they host Aberdeen at the SMiSA Stadium for a place in the quarter finals.

How to watch on TV in the UK:

- Sky customers signing up at www.premiersports.com can watch St Mirren this Saturday on Premier Sports HD on channel 412. New customers can subscribe from just £12.99 per month (1 month minimum term) with no connection fee or £120 annually. Premier Sports customers on Sky will also receive free access to the Premier Player by registering here - https://www.premierplayer.tv/subscribe/existing-customer 

- Online (Web, iOS App, Android App): www.premierplayer.tv Premier Player from just £12.99 per month (1 month minimum term) with no connection fee or £99 annually. If using App please set up account first on web browser before downloading the App.

- Virgin customers: Premier Sports channel 551. You can subscribe for £9.99 per month via the provider with no connection fee or minimum contract. Call 0845 840 7777 or set up viewing via box. (Press Home > Apps and Games > All Apps > TV Upgrades.)

Premier Sports offer paid subscription services. Payments for subscriptions to Premier Sports via Sky or the Premier Player streaming service will automatically recur monthly or annually dependent on your chosen package unless notice is given to cancel. The auto-recurring price will be at the standard rate.

Cancelations must be made by phone or email and must include a minimum 5 days’ notice prior to next bill. No cancelations accepted within 48 hours of subscribing. Minimum Subscriptions period is dependant (and matches) your chosen package. Terms and Conditions apply. Full Terms and Conditions available at www.premiersports.com 

The SPFL has today written to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon asking for an emergency meeting to end the lock-out of fans across the country.

Following the announcement that clubs in England have been given the green light to welcome fans back, the SPFL’s chief executive Neil Doncaster has issued a direct appeal to the First Minister on behalf of the country’s 42 professional clubs to very quickly let Scottish fans back into stadia in carefully-managed, meaningful numbers.

Mr Doncaster said: "Scottish football fans are the most passionate in Europe, with more league attendances per capita than any other country, so our clubs have been hit far harder by the lock-out than those in England because we depend much more heavily on gate receipts.

"Every major club in Scotland has very detailed, well-founded plans in place for safely returning fans back to stadiums, and thousands upon thousands of Scottish fans are simply desperate to get back quickly to watching their teams in the safety of a carefully-managed, open-air environment.

"We are now calling on the First Minister to do the right thing by Scotland’s hard-pressed football supporters. If it’s good enough for English fans, it must be good enough for Scottish fans.

"If the First Minister refuses to allow football fans all over Scotland to watch their beloved teams in carefully-regulated, limited numbers, complete with track and trace, she will have to explain to them the clinical difference between Scottish fans and English fans.

"Make no mistake, failure to get fans back in the very near future will sound the death knell for some of our best-loved clubs and no-one wants that.

"The First Minister alone has the opportunity to put a smile on the faces of Scottish football fans and give them a much-needed early Christmas present and we are calling for meaningful, urgent engagement.

"Despite the enormous financial consequences, our clubs have followed every directive and every instruction from the Scottish Government for month after month. Clubs, supporters and players have been hugely patient. Apart from supporter safety, there is no higher priority for our game. It’s now time to get the fans back.

"We have written to the First Minister seeking an emergency meeting, because time is really against us. We will meet with her at any time, day or night, to fit in with her busy schedule and we await her response.

"The clubs have done the hard work of putting their plans in place for the safe return of fans in limited numbers. All we need now is for the First Minister to say ‘Yes’."

St Mirren Football Club fully supports these calls for the safe return of football fans to stadiums. 

A great deal happens at the club, behind the saints marching onto the pitch ahead of kick-off on match day. Operations to keep St Mirren running as effectively as possible do not ever stop.

The entire staff team at the club contribute significantly to ensuring the first team are fully prepared for game day and that team spirit is high amongst fans, players, staff and the wider community. We wanted to share with you some of the goings-on within the club over the past 6 months.

Catering

The club has begun working with award-winning master chef Donald Munro to create brand new catering options for St Mirren players. Nutritious meals fully support the players’ development as professional athletes. Chef Donald and his team – including a number of kids from Kibble who possess a flair for cooking – have worked alongside our Head of Sports Science Junior Mendes to produce menus needed to fuel Scottish Premiership footballers.

Maintenance

Maintenance improvements have continued around our stadium ready for the return of our supporters. Our dugouts have been noticeably branded with new ‘Be In That Number’ and ‘Come on You Saints’ signage, whilst the Tony Fitzpatrick Family Stand and the North Stand have been given ‘Be In That Number’ and ‘Saints In That Number’ branding. There has been extensive paintwork carried out across the stadium including the vomitories, which have been painted and branded with St Mirren badges along with the installation of new safety railings.

Extensive refurbishment work has been carried out at the St Mirren Training Ground and Academy to enhance quality and standards. The gym within the first-team building has been completely renovated, with new flooring being fitted throughout. The youth academy has seen significant changes with new changing rooms and shower facilities fitted as well as the creation of an office/learning area to aid the development of academy coaches and players.

The high quality maintenance standards wouldn’t be possible without the support of our Head Green Keeper Tommy Docherty, Green Keeper Alan Michie, The Skills Academy at Kibble along with the trainers, kids and the long-standing contractors who have continued to work with us during these difficult times.

St Mirren Marketing and Communications

We teamed up with The Football Company to give supporters an opportunity to have their own recyclable, waterproof cut-out displayed proudly in the stands. The cut-outs have been placed behind the goal in the Tony Fitzpatrick Family Stand.

Cardboard Cutouts 1

Cardboard Cutouts 2

Cardboard Cutouts 3

We launched SMTV, a brand-new platform for hosting all Club media.  This has presented both challenges and opportunities for Head of Media, James Hunter to create some of his own concepts. The platform will continue to be developed over the coming months to support fan engagement with input from a variety of sources including our own Paisley Panda and the SLO’s and fans groups. Sign-up now to SMTV for match coverage, exclusive interviews and behind the scenes footage.

St Mirren have worked closely with Kibble Communications for design and marketing support. The creation of consistent brand guidelines and creative, advertising opportunities, stadium-wide signage and more are a result of the consultations. Our partnership with Kibble has strengthened brand recognition for St Mirren.

Moving Forward

Look out for the club sharing insights about club operations through out #BehindTheSaints features.