The St Mirren Reserves are in SPFL Reserve League action this afternoon (5th November) as they host Hamilton Academical at the St Mirren Training Ground.

Kick-off is 2pm and entry is FREE so come along and show your support for the young Buddies.

To find out more about the SPFL Reserve League please click here.

The St Mirren Fans Council have confirmed their AGM will take place on Thursday 28th November at the SMFC 1877 Supporters Club within the Simple Digital Arena.  

The event will begin at 7pm prompt with all supporters invited to attend. 

St Mirren are back in action this weekend as Jim Goodwin's side travel to the capital to face Heart of Midlothian in the Ladbrokes Premiership.

The Buddies currently sit level on points with the Jambos after 11 matches played.

Tickets are on-sale now at the St Mirren Ticket Office and online.

The ticket prices as follows:

Prices - Roseburn Stand (Upper)

Adult - £29
Concession (Over 65) - £21
Under 18 - £15
Under 16 - £8
Under 13* - £5

* - Under 13s attending the match must be accompanied by an adult.

Regular prices for ambulant disabled with free carer.

Please note that tickets will be available at Tynecastle on the day of the match. 

Any tickets that need to be uplifted before the match from the St Mirren Ticket Office must be done so by no later than 2pm on Friday (8th Nov). 

The Ticket Office hours for the remainder of the week are as follows:

Thu, Nov 7th - 10:00am - 2:00pm and 5:00pm - 7:00pm
Fri, Nov 8th - 10:00am - 2:00pm
Sat, Nov 9th - CLOSED
Sun, Nov 10th - CLOSED

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

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

Kyle Magennis has once again been named in the Scotland Under-21 squad for their UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifier against Greece. 

The 21 year-old midfielder has started in all of Scotland's qualifying matches thus far. 

It's another boost for the St Mirren Youth Academy following recent call-ups for Ethan Erhahon (U19s), Jay Henderson (U18s) and Kieran Offord & Dylan Reid (U16s).

Scotland currently sit top of their 2021 UEFA European Under 21 qualifying group - a point ahead of Greece, but have played one more game.

The match takes place at Tynecastle Park on Friday 15th November. Tickets are on-sale now.

Two early second half goals saw St Mirren fall to a 2-0 defeat at Celtic Park. 

After a strong first-half performance from the Buddies, goals from Mohammed Elyounoussi and James Forrest gave league leaders Celtic the three points and saw Saints fall to the bottom of the table on goal difference. 

As was to be expected, Celtic started off brightly with Callum McGregor forcing Vaclav Hladky into a save inside the first two minutes before flashing a low drive wide a few minutes later. 

With 15 minutes on the clock, Saints made their first real foray forward after a quick counter. Ilkay Durmus switched the ball from left to right finding Kyle Magennis who rolled the ball onto the overlapping Paul McGinn. The right-back aimed to put a low ball into the Celtic box but it was cleared. 

Ryan Christie went close for the hosts a minute later with a powerful effort from 25 yards that skimmed the top of the bar as it flew over. 

Saints were well in the match with Durmus firing well over from distance before Jon Obika forced a save from Fraser Forster after being found by a tremendous defence splitting ball down the middle from defender Sean McLoughlin. The striker was closely marshalled by Celtic defender Kris Ajer, but still managed to get a low shot in at goal with the Celtic goalkeeper down well to save. 

Christopher Jullien should have given Celtic the lead on 25 minutes when he glided into the six yard box to meet a Christie corner but somehow managed to head over. 

Both sides would come close before the end of the first-half. Durmus almost caught Forster out with a long-range free-kick. Everyone had expected the Turkish winger to send the ball from the right into the middle, but instead he went for goal with Forster pushing off the bar before gathering at the second attempt. 

Ryan Flynn and Hladky made two vital interventions to stop Celtic taking a lead into the interval. First, on 37 minutes, Flynn was in the right place at the right time to clear Jullien's header off the line, while Hladky made an important block to push James Forrest's effort off the post with just a minute of the half remaining. 

Despite a solid first-half showing, Saints frustratingly fell behind just a few minutes after the restart. Odsonne Edouard cracked the post from the edge of the box. The ball fell to McGregor whose shot came off Calum Waters and was tucked home by Elyounoussi from six yards. 

Celtic doubled their lead five minutes later. Christie laid the ball off to Forrest inside the area with the winger cutting in from the right and firing into the bottom corner with his left foot.

That was enough to seal victory for Celtic with results elsewhere moving St Mirren to the bottom of the league.

Full-Time: Celtic 2-0 St Mirren 

St Mirren: Hladky, P.McGinn, Broadfoot, McLoughlin, Waters, S.McGinn (c), Flynn (Andreu 63), Foley, Magennis (Mullen 74), Durmus (Morias 83), Obika
Subs Not Used: Lyness, MacKenzie, MacPherson, Djorkaeff

Celtic: Forster, Bauer, Jullien, Ajer, Taylor (Hayes 88), Brown (Ntcham 69), McGregor, Forrest, Christie, Elyounoussi, Edouard (Morgan 82)
Subs Not Used: Gordon, Bitton, Elhamed, Rogic

Referee: Kevin Glancy
Assistant Referee: Frank Connor
Assistant Referee: Andrew McWilliam
Fourth Official: Alan Newlands

Attendance: 56,127

Jim Goodwin gives his thoughts on tonight's 2-0 loss to Celtic in the Ladbrokes Premiership.

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As we approach the end of the first round of fixtures I thought it an ideal time to give you all an update on happenings around the club.

I’m the first to admit these posts haven’t been as frequent as they should be and I’ll do my best to improve on that going forward.

New management team
I am delighted with how our new management team is settling in and feel very positive about the season ahead. The professionalism and commitment that Jim and Lee have brought to all aspects of the job has been a breath of fresh air.

There is very little to choose from between most of the teams in the division as was evident on Saturday when I felt we more than matched the team currently sitting third in the table on their own patch.

I feel we haven’t quite got the rewards our play has deserved to date but I am very confident that our luck will turn and narrow defeats will become draws and wins in the weeks ahead.
 

Recruitment
The unfortunate timing of our previous manager’s departure meant we found ourselves behind the curve a little when it came to recruitment.

We made a conscious effort though to look beyond this season and target players who we felt would improve our squad in the long term rather than just getting numbers in quickly.

I appreciate that we could have communicated this better at the time and that supporters were frustrated at the perceived lack of activity but believe me when I say a huge amount of work and due diligence went in to getting the players we wanted.

We firmly believe that the process and model we are using now is one that will bear fruit going forward. This is one of the most critical aspects of first team operations and it’s one we have been determined to improve on given the journey we have been on in recent seasons.

Academy
The other major part of our footballing operation of course is our Academy and I was absolutely thrilled with the run the young boys put together in the Challenge Cup.

The fantastic work that Allan McManus and his team put in across all age groups is absolutely crucial to the club going forward and it was pleasing to see the boys getting some recognition for all their hard work with a memorable trip down to Wrexham.

We have substantially increased investment in the academy over the last few years with a view to becoming recognised in the 'Elite' level academy status. We are very close to that now and will be applying to the SFA for this accreditation at the end of this season.

We had young players representing the club at various international levels for Scotland during the recent fixtures.

Kyle Magennis and Kyle McAllister were with the under-21s, Ethan Erhahon with the under-19s, Jay Henderson with the under-18s and Dylan Reid & Kieran Offord with the under-16s.

There can be no greater reward for the coaches at the academy than seeing all their hard work coming to fruition with their players getting international recognition.
 

Season tickets and new mobile ticketing system
Our season ticket sales have once again seen an increase from last seasons record sales at the new stadium (if 10 years old can really still be counted as being new!)

It is really encouraging to see the increasing number of younger supporters who are following us both home and away.

As you will have hopefully seen we are delighted to have launched mobile tickets for games at the Simple Digital Arena. We will initially run the system along with the existing paper tickets to ensure we have no issues.

The next stage of that evolution will be to allow season ticket holders to use their phone to gain entry instead of having to carry their smartcards.

Paisley Panda
I mentioned the increase in younger people coming to our games.

The pre-match family entertainment hosted by our SLO’s and the Paisley Panda go a long way to making sure that youngsters have a positive experience of the football club.

A big thank you to the Kibble, SMiSA and the St Mirren Fans Council who once again have provided the financial support to help us provide the best experience possible.

Sound system
We had a few issues last season with our sound system and as it is a vital part of the safety at the stadium it was felt that now was the time to upgrade.

Whilst the previous system was really just a PA system used to carry announcements the new platform, which was installed in September, is designed for both music and voice so you should be hearing the benefits of this investment on match days.

We have installed trackside connections to allow us to have a better quality of live music pitch side during games and have also introduced sound outside the ground on a match day to help build the atmosphere as you come into the stadium.

Kibble partnership
We continue to expand our working relationship with the Kibble.

They use both the Dome and the 1877 Club on a daily basis and continue to sponsor both the academy and pre-match family entertainment on a match day.

Women’s Euros
It was an honour to host the pre-season Woman’s Under-19 Euro Championship.

To have a European final at our stadium is something we should all be proud of and reflects well on both the stadium and our staff who ensured that all of UEFA’s requirements were exceeded.
 

Pitch lighting
Tommy Docherty does a marvellous job in maintaining one of the best pitches in the division.

The area of the pitch which always gets the most wear and tear and struggles to maintain grass coverage are the goalmouths.

We have invested in growing lights which will ensure growth in these areas throughout the season ensuring we can provide a quality surface throughout the season.

Website
Thanks to everyone who took part in our recent survey regarding the official club website. We were really encouraged with the positive feedback we received.

We’ve already taken on board some of the improvement suggestions that were given with regard the site navigation and menus and will continue to refine and improve things going forward.

We know that some fans get frustrated when news is posted elsewhere first but that is unfortunately a sign of the times we live in.

We can only post news of player signings when contracts have been concluded and signed so nothing is official until you read it on our own website or on our social media channels!

Support
Although my updates aren’t as frequent as they should be there is a recurring theme to them all, and that is to thank you all for the support you have been giving the team as usual.

The noise and atmosphere that over 1,000 of you brought to Kilmarnock on Saturday was first class and typical of the vibrant support that we are proud to have behind us home and away.

It’s never taken for granted and it’s always very much appreciated.

KTF & COYS Gordon

Vaclav Hladky admits he's in for a busy night as the Buddies head to Celtic Park to face League leaders Celtic in the Ladbrokes Premiership.

While Saints defensive record is among the best in the Ladbrokes Premiership this season, Jim Goodwin's men have only conceded nine goals - the fourth lowest in the league, the Czech goalkeeper expects he'll face a number of shots this evening.

But even though Celtic have scored 19 goals from just four home league games this season, Vaclav says he's relishing tonight's contest.

Speaking to the press earlier this week, he said: "Yes of course I'm looking forward.

It will be a very busy time and I expect a lot of work.

"With this kind of match you don't have as much time to communicate with the other guys. Everyone has to do their best job and concentrate as it will be a very busy time. 

"You have to be concentrated every single second. They have the ability to score from crosses and shots from 30 metres so you have to be concentrating. 

"We talked with Jamie [Langfield] about what we expect. We expect shots on the goal and a lot of work with crosses.

"We know that our defensive work is good. We keep doing the work and hope we will be better on the other side of the pitch. We just do the best as we can, it's simple as that.

"For everyone it's a great experience to play at Celtic Park. This is what we do. In football the career is so short and you have to enjoy every match like this."

While Saints have yet to take a point on the road this season, Vaclav believes the side are improving week-by-week and performances give hope that points won't be far away.

Our start to the season was not too good with the results but good with our performances.

"We just keep doing what we are doing and I hope the results are coming. 

"Our organisation, communication, back four and whole team gets better and better match by match."

Saints are off to Celtic Park this evening to face Celtic in the second of three consecutive away matches.

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St Mirren - LWLDDL

Celtic - WWWLWD

St Mirren sit in 10th place in the league having picked up eight points from our opening 10 matches, but have yet to pick up a point on the road this season. 

The Buddies have suffered narrow losses to Hibernian (0-1), Livingston (1-2), Ross County (1-2), Motherwell (0-2) and Kilmarnock (0-1) on our travels this season. 

Celtic currently sit top of the league having picked up 25 points from their opening 10 matches.

The Hoops come into tonight's match on the back of a 4-0 win over Aberdeen at Pittodrie on Sunday that kept them ahead of Rangers at the top on goal difference. 

Neil Lennon's side have won every game at home in the league this season defeating St Johnstone (7-0), Hearts (3-1), Kilmarnock (3-1) and Ross County (6-0). 

Celtic's last defeat at Celtic Park was in August when they lost 4-3 to Romanian side CFR Cluj in Champions League qualifying, while their last league defeat at home came in May 2018 when they lost 1-0 to Aberdeen on the final day of the season. 

PREVIOUS

St Mirren last picked up a point at Celtic Park almost 12 years ago in a 1-1 draw in December 2007. 

Current Saints captain Stephen McGinn gave the Buddies the lead on 74 minutes, but Saints were denied all three points by a Derek Riordan equaliser with five minutes remaining.

Our last win at Celtic Park came in April 1990. Tony Fitzpatrick was manager as the Buddies ran out 3-0 winners thanks to goals from Guni Torfason, Geordie Shaw and Paul Lambert.

The Buddies last point against Celtic was at the Simple Digital in the 0-0 draw in September 2018, while our last win over Celtic was the 3-2 triumph in the League Cup semi-final in January 2013. 

Saints travelled to Celtic Park once last season, losing 4-0 in January of this year. Celtic were the victors the last time the teams came head-to-head, winning 2-0 at the Simple Digital Arena in April.

TEAM NEWS

Calum Waters returns to the squad after missing last weekend's trip to Kilmarnock due to his loan agreement.

Gary MacKenzie could also return to the squad after missing out on Saturday. 

MANAGER'S THOUGHTS

"Celtic are in great form. We know how good a side they are but we have to be positive and believe we can take something from the game otherwise what is the point.

"It's a game where you know Celtic are going to dominate possession. They are games that concentration is massive because of their movement, their rotation, they way that they break and we need to make sure that we are plugging holes at times, filling in for each other and trying to get in Celtic's faces as much as we can. 

"It would be a great way for us to get our first point on the road on the board and we have to believe that we are capable of doing that."

Regular time slots have become available for hire on Wednesdays and Sundays at the St Mirren Airdome.

For further information and to book the dome please contact Janis White on 0141-889-2558 or email info@stmirren.com.