St Mirren got the win they needed in Dundee but it wasn't enough to avoid the play-offs with Hamilton securing their place in the league. Saints gaffer Oran Kearney gave his reaction.

St Mirren travel to Dundee for matchday 38 of the Ladbrokes Premiership.

FORM

St Mirren - WDDWDL

Dundee - WLLLLL

Saints come into tomorrow's game on the back of a 2-0 win over Hamilton Academical on Monday night which made it five matches without defeat for the Buddies.

Two wins and three draws have given Oran Kearney's side the chance of clinching survival on the final day of the season. 

Dundee arrested a slide of 10 defeats in a row when they beat Livingston 1-0 at the Tony Macaroni Arena last Saturday with veteran striker Kenny Miller scoring the game's only goal.

Despite the win, Dens boss Jim McIntyre was sacked on Sunday afternoon with James McPake taking over as caretaker for tomorrow's match. 

PREVIOUS

Saints have managed to get the better of Dundee on two of the three matches we have faced the side this season.

The Buddies opened the season by hosting Dundee at the Simple Digital Arena on match day one. A Danny Mullen double either side of an Elton Ngwatala goal got Saints an opening day three points.

Jim McIntyre had replaced Neil McCann as manager of the Dark Blues when we visited in November. Simeon Jackson scored from the penalty spot to give Saints the lead, but the home side grabbed a point through Kenny Miller.

The final meeting of the two came at the end of March when Dundee visited the Simple Digital Arena for the final time this season. It was the away side who got off to a flyer with Ethan Robson giving them the lead with just 23 seconds played. But Saints grabbed a quickfire leveller through Mullen with Brad Lyons nodding home the winner on 57 minutes.

Dundee's last win over Saints came in January 2015 when goals from Gary Irvine and Iain Davidson cancelled out Kenny McLean's opener.  

WHAT A WIN WOULD MEAN

Come full time tomorrow Saints will know whether they have secured Premiership football for next season or whether they will face a play-off.

It's out of the Buddies hands but a win or a draw could keep us up.  By the same token a win or a draw may not be enough depending on Hamilton's result at home to St Johnstone. 

If Hamilton beat St Johnstone the Buddies will face a relegation play-off, regardless of our result tomorrow. If Hamilton draw with the Perth Saints then Oran Kearney's side must defeat Dundee to finish in 10th. If Hamilton lose then either a draw or a win will secure survival for Saints.

TEAM NEWS

Anders Dreyer and Greg Tansey remain out for Saints. 

The manager also told the press yesterday that Simeon Jackson is a doubt after coming off against Hamilton on Monday night. 

WHAT THE GAFFER SAYS

"We find ourselves in territory that I don't think anyone expected we could get to.

"There was a stage a few months ago we were eight or nine points behind Hamilton and maybe five or six behind Dundee at one point as well.

"To have had the swing of points that we have had and the momentum and push that we have made we are there on merit.

"We've been chasing the whole time and the chase is still on for us and it's one last chase on Saturday."

* Anyone purchasing a concession price ticket must provide proof of age/status at time of purchase and must also be prepared to take it with them on the day of the match. Failure to provide satisfactory proof will result in refusal of admission to the stadium.

** With carer if required.

Please note that Dundee do no accept responsibility for tickets lost in the post or in any other way and replacements will not be authorised under any circumstances.

Tickets for this match are on sale from the St Mirren Ticket Office.

Fans have until 2:00pm this afternoon to buy tickets or collect tickets they have pre-paid for.

The St Mirren Ticket Office (Main Stand) opening hours in the build up to this match are as follows:

Fri, 17th May: 10:00am to 2:00pm
Sat, 18th May: CLOSED

Ticket Office Phone No: (0141) 840-6130.
St Mirren Ticket Office E-Mail: tickets@stmirren.com.

Additional Information for Travelling Fans

On Saturday (18th May), St Mirren head to the 'City of Discovery' to face Dundee in a Ladbrokes Premiership match-up at the Kilmac Stadium at Dens Park.

The referee on Saturday is Andrew Dallas and he will be assisted by Graham Chambers and Sean Carr. The Fourth Official will be Barry Cook.

The Bankhouse in Paisley will host their annual Player of the Year Awards this Saturday (18th May) following our match against Dundee.

Supporters attending are advised to get to the Bankhouse early as it's been a busy occasion over the last few years.

Vienna’s & Blur will host the official afterparty following the awards with players in attendance (subject to results). 

Doors open from 10pm (St Mirren colours welcome) and Vienna's expect to be at capacity so get along early to guarantee entry.

The Panda Express is back for Saturday's big match away to Dundee!

After successful outings over the last few weeks the family supporters bus will be returning for our crucial away match against Dundee at Dens Park on Saturday 18th May.

Tickets for the bus are priced at £8 per person.

The bus departs the stadium at 9:30am.

To book please contact colin.bright@stmirren.com.

A gallery of pictures from the Westmarch Suite following our win over Hamilton Academical in the Ladbrokes Premiership on Wednesday night.

Thanks to our match sponsor TG Industrial Services Ltd and match ball sponsor Walker Laird for their support.

Gallery pictures by Allan Picken © - Allan Picken Photography

St Mirren will take the fight to finish 10th to the final day after a deserved 2-0 win over Hamilton Academical at the Simple Digital Arena.

Second-half goals from St Mirren Youth Academy graduates Kyle McAllister and Kyle Magennis wrapped up the three points with Saints still in with a chance of avoiding the Ladbrokes Premiership relegation play-offs. 

It was all or nothing for the Buddies who knew they had to take all three points to have any chance of avoiding a play-off spot heading into the match. Oran Kearney made one change to the side that drew 1-1 with Motherwell the week previous with Magennis starting in place of Ryan Flynn.

It was, however, the visitors who should have taken the lead when a long ball from Accies goalkeeper Gary Woods found its way to George Oakley who raced through on the Saints goal. Buddies goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky was off his line quickly, but was rounded by Oakley who looked set to roll the ball into the back of the empty net. The English striker let the ball run too far and slammed over from a tight angle.

Saints immediately broke forward and could have been ahead when Paul McGinn's ball across met an unmarked Magennis in the box. The midfielder had time to take a touch but decided to take it first time and curled well over the bar.

Scott Martin had two chances in the space of a minute for the visitors but failed to make either count. The first saw him pounce on a slack clearance from Hladky. He picked up the ball around 40 yards from goal and had a go with the keeper stranded but sent it well wide. 60 seconds later he sent an effort from the edge of the box into the arms of the Saints goalie. 

Hamilton's Aaron McGowan was lucky to escape a red card on 19 minutes after kicking out at Danny Mullen. The Saints striker was shielding the ball before falling to the ground. McGowan, who may have argued he was trying to get the ball, kicked out at the forward much to the anger of the Saints team. Referee Willie Collum raced across and booked the Accies defender, while he also booked Saints skipper Stephen McGinn for his remonstrations. 

Accies would be reduced to 10 men 10 minutes later as Alex Gogic was given his marching orders for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity. Simeon Jackson was about to race clear on goal after getting on the end of a McAllister pass, though the Canadian was hauled to the ground by Gogic who was promptly shown a red card. 

McAllister stepped up to take the resultant free-kick but sent it straight into the arms of Woods. Brad Lyons and Stephen McGinn had half chances before the interval as the Buddies looked to make their man advantage count but it would remain goalless at the break.

Mullen and McAllister both had sniffs at goal 10 minutes into the second 45 with the former heading over from a Mateo Muzek cross and the latter sending an effort high and wide.

10 men Accies had a big opportunity to take the lead just before the hour mark through substitute Mickel Miller. He found himself on the end of a flick on and charged into the box. Miller had Tony Andreu in the centre waiting for a pass but elected to go alone and dragged a poor effort wide of the mark. 

Saints made a change on 61 minutes as Ryan Flynn came on in place of Brad Lyons and it was after the hour mark that the Buddies really stepped up a gear.

Mihai Popescu almost found the opener with a header on 63 minutes only to be denied by a terrific save from Woods. From the resultant corner Simeon Jackson headed over.

The Buddies were having all the pressure with McGowan having to turn over a dangerous Paul McGinn cross and Mullen having a shot deflected by for a corner. It seemed for a spell like it was corner after corner for Saints and while they all looked like they might yield something for the home side nothing was coming off. 

With 15 minutes to go Saints finally made the breakthrough thanks to McAllister. The winger played a reverse pass with Paul McGinn and took the ball down well inside the box. He got his first shot wrong however though the block from an Accies defender found the ball back at McAllister's feet and he made no mistake second time around as he slammed low beyond Woods to give the Buddies a well-earned opener.

Woods denied McAllister a second with a good block with 10 minutes remaining, but Accies, who knew a draw would be enough to ensure their Ladbrokes Premiership survival, came at Saints. Dougie Imrie's chip into the box met Oakley who head towards Andreu. Hladky was brave to get in ahead of the Frenchman to claw away. But Saints couldn't clear their lines allowing Oakley a chance as he smashed just wide from 20 yards

Six minutes of injury time were added after an injury to Miller and Saints did well to keep control in stoppage time. Magennis rounded off a good evening for the Buddies as he made it two goals from two with a composed finish from inside the box after robbing Darian MacKinnon of the ball. 

Hamilton still have the advantage heading in to the final day, but Saints have given themselves a chance of avoiding the play-offs and could do so with a draw or a win at Dundee depending on how Accies fair at home to St Johnstone on Saturday.

Full Time: St Mirren 2-0 Hamilton Academical

St Mirren: Hladky, P.McGinn, Popescu, MacKenzie (Baird 38), Muzek, S.McGinn (c), Lyons (Flynn 61), Magennis, McAllister, Jackson (Cooke 68), Mullen
Subs Not Used: Holmes, Ferdinand, Hodson, Nazon

Hamilton: Woods, McGowan, McMann, Gordon, Martin (Imrie 79), Mimnaugh (Sowah 31), Gogic, MacKinnon (c), Andreu, Ogkmpoe (Miller 56), Oakley
Subs Not Used: Marsden, Smith, Hamilton, Davies

Referee: William Collum
Assistant Referee: Andrew McWilliam
Assistant Referee: Gary Hilland
Fourth Official: John McKendrick

Attendance: 6,421

Saints manager Oran Kearney gives his thoughts as St Mirren defeat Hamilton 2-0 at the Simple Digital Arena to ensure the race for 10th spot goes to the final day.

St Mirren play host to Hamilton Academical in our last regular home league match of the 2018/19 season tonight.

FORM

St Mirren - DDWDLW

Hamilton - WDDDLL

Saints come into tonight's game having lost just one of our last six league matches. 

The Buddies, who have to win tonight to have a chance of avoiding the play-offs, have won two of those six matches - a 2-1 win at home to Dundee and a 3-1 win over Livingston at the Tony Macaroni Arena. 

We are unbeaten in our last four matches with draws against Motherwell (1-1) and St Johnstone (1-1) coming after our win away to Livingston, while we drew 1-1 with Hamilton just before the league split. 

Like Saints, Hamilton are unbeaten in their last four matches having also won one and drawn three.

Accies defeated Dundee 1-0 in their last match to relegate the Dens Park side and move four points ahead of the Buddies. They've also drawn with Livingston (3-3), Motherwell (1-1) and Saints (1-1). Their last defeat came away to Livingston at the start of April when they lost 2-0 at the Tony Macaroni Arena.

PREVIOUS

Saints have yet to beat Hamilton in three attempts this season.

The Buddies lost 3-0 away to Accies in September, before suffering a 3-1 defeat in Paisley in December.

Oran Kearney's men picked up a point in our last match against the Lanarkshire side. Brian Rice's outfit took the lead at the Hope CBD Stadium through Steve Davies, but the Buddies bounced back to grab a point thanks to Anders Dreyer's penalty a few minutes later. 

Our last win against Hamilton came at the Simple Digital Arena in February 2015 when Steven Thompson's second half goal gave us a 1-0 victory.

WHAT A WIN WOULD MEAN

The Buddies come into tonight's match knowing that only a win will be enough to keep us in the hunt for 10th spot.

Anything but a win will consign Saints to 11th place and the relegation play-off spot.

Hamilton know that a draw or better will see them secure Premiership safety for another season.

TEAM NEWS

Anders Dreyer, Cammy MacPherson and Greg Tansey are all out for Saints.

WHAT THE GAFFER SAYS

"The last five or six games have been really encouraging and we've built up a head of momentum at the right time.

"We were written off by many throughout the season and to have secured at least a play-off is a heck of an achievement from where we have been. But mathematically there is still a huge incentive for us to try and stay up outright.  

"There is a real feel-good factor about the place and a real air of positivity and that's what we want to tap into. 

"It's so important that the crowd gets behind us. I'm not asking for that because I know they will do that anyway - they've been absolutely top-notch." 

St Mirren Women’s team are making history on Sunday 19th May 2019 when the team will play at the Simple Digital Arena for the first time ever! This will prove to be a historic day and one to remember forever as the women's team take on West Park FC in SWFL Division 2 - West/Central. 

St Mirren FC is proud to be a family club where we promote the inclusion of everyone in the game of football. Over the years we have developed amazingly talented male players and now we are continuing in that tradition by offering the same opportunities to women and girls across Paisley and Renfrewshire. 

We are forward thinking in our commitment to the women’s game with the Women's National Team playing their matches at the stadium as well as being one of the host venues for the upcoming Women's U19s Europeans Championship Finals.

Undoubtedly this year is going to be an exciting but again a challenging year for women’s football. The club are proud to be part of all these amazing events because it continues to grow the St Mirren football family. The lives we can touch whether it’s as a fan, a player or proud parent it’s all about getting involved and changing the future of people and players. 

And so the 19th May is more than just a game it’s the continuation of the progress women are making in sport, recognition of their talent, and of what they bring to the football family at St Mirren FC.

The 19th May is the next step in St Mirren FC developing the players of the future. Creating new dreams and ambitions, changing the future of young players and becoming a leader in women’s football in Scotland. 

The match kicks off at 4pm and tickets are FREE!! We would like to extend a warm welcome to everyone who wishes to some along & support the next stage of the journey of the women’s team and the St Mirren Football Club Family.

For more information on the day please email: gayle.brannigan@stmirren.com or kate.cooper@stmirren.com