A last gasp wonder strike from Danny Mullen ensured a share of the points in Paisley.

Mullen's last-minute volley grabbed a crucial well-deserved point in an exciting game at The Simple Digital Arena.

The battle of the Saints was proceeded by one-minute applause in memory of former Scotland great, Billy McNeil, who died aged 79 earlier in the week.

St Johnstone had an early break down the right-hand side after a scrappy first ten minutes. A well worked move from the visitors saw the ball floated into the St Mirren box aimed for Callum Hendry. However, it was hastily dealt with by Vaclav Hladky in the Buddies net.

The men from Perth were causing problems down the right-hand side again a minute later. St Johnstone defender, Richard Foster, had his cross blocked which resulted in the first corner of the game.

The match then entered a pendulum period, switching possession relentlessly with every ball being battled by both teams. 

St Mirren could have been ahead on the 20th minute when the ball broke to Mateo Muzek just outside the penalty area, Muzek fought off challenges to swing a left-footed strike goalwards which was rashly punched over the bar by Clark in the St Johnstone net for a corner.  The subsequent ball into the box was cleared by the away side, but the play did signal a turn in what was a very good spell for the Paisley men.

St Johnstone's Murray Davidson received a stern talking to from the referee for his late challenge on Ryan Flynn. From the proceeding free kick at the halfway line, the Buddies threatened the Perth side with a testing ball into the box which eventually lead to a corner kick. The half-hour mark came, with the game finely balanced and highly contested.

A late challenge on Paul McGinn resulted in a booking for St Johnstone’s Murray Davidson. The proceeding free kick out was floated in by Anders Dreyer, but the ball bypassed all players before crashing off the St Johnstone post.

A late flurry of good play from St Mirren before the break saw Danny Mullen's header just over the bar. The game was poised at nil-nil at the halftime break.

St Johnstone began the second half a little sharper than the home side, putting the Buddies under some early pressure. However, the game slowly moulded into a similar pattern as the first half, with barely anything to separate the sides and the best chances falling to the home team.

Stephen McGinn slipped a clever through-ball to Dreyer in the 52nd minute. The Dane took a neat touch before being taken out by St Johnstone's Scott Tanser. The resulting free kick was cleared by the Perth side, who then broke away quickly. A foul on the halfway line by Ryan Flynn halted the move and earned him a yellow card.

St Mirren then endured a tense few minutes as a dangerous looking free kick for St Johnstone on their left hand flank was whipped in by Kennedy. The powerful cross was headed clear back to where it came from before a questionable decision by the referee resulted in another St Johnstone free kick. The ball eventually broke clear to the substitute, McAllister, on the left hand side who was carelessly brought down near the halfway line.

In to the last ten minutes and substitute, Simeon Jackson caused problems in the St Johnstone box. The striker turned a St Johnstone defender and forced a quick reaction from the keeper.

However, the Saints were dealt a blow just ten minutes from time. Against the run of play, a great sweeping cross ball by St Johnstone's Liam Craig landed at Richard Foster, who carried the ball in his stride before winning the bounce of the ball over McAllister. Foster then slotted the ball inside to substitute Chris Kane, who had kept up with play. Kane made no mistake from 8 yards out and placed the ball into the St Mirren bottom left-hand corner.

The final minutes became a dog-fight, with St Mirren anxiously looking for the equaliser which they deserved. McAllister's excellent Cruyff turn and cross into the box was eventually cleared, but St Mirren continued to apply pressure looking for a goal. The final five minutes were all at St Mirren's feet, with loads of possession but struggling to find that killer ball which would lead to a goal.

The home side’s moment eventually arrived with minutes to spare of regular time. Vaclav Hladky picked up the ball near the halfway line, miles from his goal, and fired a hopeful ball towards Simeon Jackson. The ball was met by the head of St Johnstone’s Kerr but the clearance fell enticingly for Mullen whose left foot produced the sweetest of volleys which rocketed into the top right-hand corner of the net. Not only a vital equaliser but also a contender for goal of the season. 

The full-time whistle went shortly after, ensuring a hard-fought draw was confirmed. The result moves the Buddies seven points clear of bottom side Dundee and keeps us just two points behind Hamilton.

St Mirren: Hladky, P.McGinn, Popescu, MacKenzie, Baird (Magennis 45), Muzek, S.McGinn (c), Flynn, Lyons (Jackson 72), Dreyer (McAllister 59), Mullen
Subs Not Used: Holmes, Ferdinand, Hodson, Nazon

St Johnstone: Clark, Foster, Kerr, Gordon, Tanser, Callachan (Wotherspoon 45), Craig, O'Halloran, Davidson, Kennedy (Swanson 77), Hendry (Kane 66)
Subs Not Used: Bell, Shaughnessy, Swanson, Easton, Goss

Referee: Steven Mclean
Assistant Referee: Douglas Ross
Assistant Referee: Ralph Gordon
Fourth Official: Colin Steven

Attendance: 5,123 

Gallery pictures by Allan Picken © - Allan Picken Photography

St Mirren play host to St Johnstone in our final Saturday home match of the season.

FORM

St Mirren - WDLWLL

St Johnstone - WLWLWL

The Buddies come into tomorrow's match on the back of an impressive 3-1 win away to Livingston at the Tony Macaroni Arena last weekend.

Despite Craig Halkett being sent off, the hosts took the lead through Scott Robinson. 

But Paul McGinn got Saints level soon after, before late goals from Danny Mullen and Simeon Jackson gave Oran Kearney's men the win.

St Mirren have only lost once since our last meeting with St Johnstone. That was a 2-0 loss to Celtic, while there have been wins over Dundee & Livingston and a draw away to Hamilton.

St Johnstone have won three and lost three of their previous six league matches. They come into tomorrow's match following a 2-0 win over Dundee at McDiarmid Park last Saturday.

PREVIOUS

St Johnstone have won all three encounters between the two sides this season. 

The Buddies travelled to Perth for the first meeting back in October. Despite missing two penalties, St Johnstone still ran out 2-0 winners with second-half goals from David Wotherspoon and Matty Kennedy giving Tommy Wright's men the three points.

St Mirren welcomed St Johnstone to the Simple Digital Arena on Boxing Day 2018. The visitors again came away with the points after a last-gasp winner from Tony Watt. 

The Paisley Saints missed a penalty on our trip to McDiarmid Park last month as St Johnstone edged us out 1-0. Simeon Jackson had an early spot-kick saved by Zander Clark before a defensive mix-up allowed Chris Kane to net the game's only goal.

The Buddies last defeated St Johnstone in 2014 when goals from Jason Naismith and Adam Drury gave us a 2-1 win at McDiarmid Park.

Our last win over St Johnstone in Paisley was in October 2013 where we defeated the Perth Saints 4-3. 

WHAT A WIN WOULD MEAN

St Mirren could potentially move into 10th spot if they gather all three points tomorrow.

The Buddies would have to win and hope that Hamilton fail to defeat Livingston at home to climb above Brian Rice's side. 

St Johnstone currently occupy seventh spot and will be keen on three points to keep themselves ahead of eighth placed Motherwell who are just three points behind.

TEAM NEWS

Oran Kearney confirmed that Greg Tansey is out for the season, but the midfielder is the only absence for the Buddies.

Duckens Nazon could come back into the squad after serving his two-match suspension. 

WHAT THE GAFFER SAYS

"There's a good feel about the place. But there's a realisation of where we are at and we are under no illusions of what is still needed.

"St Johnstone are a good side and we've had three tough battles with them over the season and we are yet to come away with any points from it. That should show us how tough a task it's going to be on Saturday. 

"We've always set our sights on the position above us and it is still within touching distance. While it is still mathematically possible we've got to keep pushing as hard as we can.

"The fans can't underestimate how big a role they play. When the chips are down and things aren't going well to have that encouragement from the sidelines is so important and it is absolutely something we need over the last four games."

It is hard to believe that it is almost 4 months since my last statement.

A lot has happened since my last update, not least the complete re-building of our squad in January.

The new players took a bit of time to settle but I think we can all see the progress that has been made and that we are coming good at the right time.

We have certainly had our challenges in our first season back in the top flight but I am looking forward to what is sure to be an exciting climax to the campaign. Our performances of late have given us all real hope that we can retain our Premiership place.

Oran, his backroom staff and his team have worked incredibly hard to get us moving in the right direction once again. For that we are all thankful and we should look forward to the remaining games with a justified sense of belief.

It would be nice to be able to sit back and relax over the last few games of the season but as Saints fans you will know this is very rarely the case. There have certainly been few dull moments over the last 3 seasons since we took over!

The South Stand

Having allocated the whole of the West stand to our own fans with such success in our Championship winning season we felt that we had to try to find a way to continue that arrangement in the Premiership.

We had to try and achieve that whilst still balancing the financial considerations of playing in a top flight where we are competing against other clubs who give over large areas of their stadium to big visiting supports.

As you know we took the decision to retain the use of W6 and W7 in the West Stand for home fans only for all games with Rangers and Celtic fans being allocated the South Stand in addition to the usual away end in the North Stand during their visits.

Whilst I appreciate this move caused disruption to our season ticket holders and supporters in the South Stand we have worked hard to ensure those fans requirements were met for the games in question through reduced ticket pricing and priority purchasing of re-allocated seats.

In short, the decision we took enabled us to increase our playing budget by 10% whilst also ensuring we retained the majority of seats for home fans and kept the West Stand exclusively for the use of St.Mirren supporters.

The competitive atmosphere in the first game against Celtic was fantastic and the gate that evening was as close to a sell out as we have been since we moved to the stadium back in 2009.

As a board we are unanimous that our ideal preference would be to retain the use of the South Stand for all our home matches exclusively for our own supporters, however, we also absolutely need to give ourselves the best chance of competing in this division.

Put bluntly, that additional playing budget could be the difference between survival and relegation.

Until such time as home ticket sales or better still season ticket sales dictate otherwise, we plan to continue with the arrangement we have had this season.

Our hope is that our own support continues to grow and we eventually get to a point where demand will dictate that we are able to return the South Stand to our own supporters for every single game. 

The Kibble

We continue to develop our relationship with Kibble Group. Visually you will see that Kibble has advertising around the stadium, however, you won’t know that they are also sponsoring the club by using the dome for sport and physical education of the young people that Kibble look after and also the 1877 club for staff training during the week. We will continue to explore ways in which our mutual goals can be achieved.

Technical Director

In football we are always going to have a turnover in the managerial department whether that be as a result of success or failure.

From the experience we have had over the last 12 months in particular it was clear that we needed someone who would be a constant within the football side of the club. As a result of this we created the role of Technical Director and appointed Gus MacPherson to this position.

The role of Technical Director is constantly evolving.

We are creating a position that will not impact on the main role of the manager but one which will allow us to maintain continuity in the professional manner in which we run the day to day football side of our club.

We were already aware how important recruitment was in being successful and this season has absolutely confirmed that belief.

One of the key roles that the Technical Director will have will be in assisting the manager on all recruitment.

This January window was probably not a good example due to the number of players we had to bring in over a short period of time but hopefully you agree that the recruitment during that month has had a positive impact on the performance of the team.

Going forward we hope to create a much more settled squad where minimal changes are required each transfer window and where every player we bring in has been extensively scouted. 

Saints for a day and first ever women’s match at the stadium

Saint for a day this year is on Sunday the 19th of May with a noon kick off. The bidding closes next Monday, May 5^th at 5pm so there is still time to live the dream. There are still a couple of places left. Click here for details.

Immediately after this game there will be a bit of history created.

Our women’s team will play their first ever game at St Mirren Park with a 4pm kick-off against West Park FC.

Entry to this game will be free and we will be opening the main stand so come along and support the newest addition to the Saints family.

Further details will be released on our website and social media channels once the details have been fully confirmed.

UEFA European Women’s Under 19s Euros

In July this year we are hosting group matches, a Semi Final and the Final of the UEFA Woman’s Under 19 tournament.

We are delighted to continue our association with Scotland’s women’s football team at all levels and look forward to hosting the first ever European Final to be held at our stadium.

On a related note I’d also like to take this opportunity to wish the Scottish Women’s National Team every success at the World Cup in France in the Summer.

Saints Go Marching at Glasgow Kilt Walk

The St Mirren FC Community Trust has an amazing team of fundraisers taking part in the kilt walk this Sunday, April 28th. It is an excellent event with all money raised by our team 'Saints Come Marching In' helping towards funding the many community activities that the trust are now involved in. All funds raised are supplemented by a 40% donation from the Hunter Foundation so please click here and pledge your support now.

Support This Season

The support we have had in those last 3 seasons is something I have touched on many times in my statements. I hope it is always taken with the genuine sincerity intended.

It is easy to support a team when things are going well but the way you have got behind the side, even when things haven’t been going to plan, has been a massive positive.

The feeling around the club now is very similar to the one we had two years ago when we pulled off the great escape and hopefully we can reward that support with another positive outcome this time of asking.

There is no doubt in my mind that without the incredible support the fans have shown, and their unwavering positivity, we would have struggled to recover from the position we found ourselves in.

If we succeed in delivering our goal of staying in the Premiership a massive factor of that will have been your fantastic support.

We know we can count on you to get behind the team for our remaining fixtures so on behalf of everyone at the club, thank you.

COYS!!

Our match day programme, published in partnership with Curtis Sport, will be available from the Club Shop ahead of Saturday’s game.

This issue, for the Ladbrokes Premiership fixture against St Johnstone, is a 52 pager with a £3 cover price.

This latest edition includes the following:

Front Cover – Anders Dreyer
The Gaffer - Oran Kearney looks back on recent matches and looks ahead to the match against the Perth Saints.
Last Time Out – A look back at the recent Premiership match away to Livingston.
The Opposition – Brian Corry runs the rule over Tommy Wright's St Johnstone side.
Matchday Announcements - Bulletin Board of info, dates and events in the world of St Mirren.
St Mirren Greats – David Cochran looks back on the St Mirren career of goalkeeper Craig Samson.
Matchday Gallery - Pictures from the post match presentations in the corporate suite after the recent home match against Celtic.
Action Shot & Q&A (Centre Pages) – Brad Lyons gives the answers to our quick-fire questionnaire. 
Player Kit Sponsors 2018/19 – Check in to see who is sponsoring your favourite player's shirt for the season.
Fans Corner - Ticket prices, travel clubs update, match info and dates for fans to keep in their diary.
Paisley Panda's Fun Corner – Some puzzles to keep the youngsters entertained during the half-time break.
Football Bloody Hell - Alan Gallacher looks at the perils of injury for recreational players in their 30s and 40s! 
Marketing Matters – Campbell Kennedy updates on the latest events and happenings at the club's Commercial Department.
Flashback - A picture gallery from St Mirren's win against the Perth Saints on 29th October 2011.
St Mirren Fixtures & Results 2018/19 – 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 2018/19 season click HERE.

If you live outside the UK & Ireland, St Mirren TV is your way to watch Paisley’s Premiership club live in action each and every home match day.

This service, which is delivered by media students from the University of the West of Scotland, will cover all of St Mirren’s home games.

As usual the St Mirren TV team will be presenting all the action from the Simple Digital Arena when St Johnstone are the visitors for Saturday's Ladbrokes Premiership match.

If you want to tune in here is the info you will need:

St Mirren vs St Johnstone
Ladbrokes Premiership
Venue: The Simple Digital Arena, Paisley
Date: Saturday 27th April 2019
Kick-off: 3:00pm BST

To access this match day service:

1 Day Pass – €6.99 EUR
Season Pass – €69.99 EUR

To view Terms & Conditions and get started with St Mirren TV please click HERE.

For technical support with St Mirren TV please e-mail tvsupport@stmirren.com

St Mirren in the Community are delighted to confirm that the SMFC Fans Council Panda Club will be open to young Buddies on Saturday afternoon for the Ladbrokes Premiership fixture against St Johnstone at the Simple Digital Arena.

Please note that due to ongoing maintenance at the St Mirren Airdome that there will be no practical activity as a result of this. St Mirren in the Community apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

The Panda Club will run from 2:15pm to 5:00pm for Saturday's match against St Johnstone.

For further information about the SMFC Fans Council Panda Club or to book your place at the next Panda Club match day please contact Ross Paterson by email at ross.paterson@stmirren.com. 

SMFC Fans Council Panda Club details for Saturday’s game are as follows:

St Mirren vs St Johnstone
Saturday 27th April 2019
2:15pm – 5:00pm

To find out more about the Panda Club click here

Come along to the Simple Digital Arena on Saturday afternoon and join in with the Matchday Experience in and around the Family Stand.

Building on the successful initiatives that have seen St Mirren win the accolade of Most Family Friendly Ground in the Scottish Supporters Association Fan Awards, the Club's SLO and Paisley Panda with support from SMiSA and the SMFC Fans' Council present a range of activities to improve the matchday experience for families and all younger Buddies.

Although all the activities will be taking place behind the Family Stand they are available to all fans regardless of what stand you are sitting in for the match. St Johnstone fans are also more than welcome to join in the fun behind the family stand.

Please note that parking at the disabled bays at the corner of the main and south stand will have restricted access until 2:45pm due to the amount of fans in this area.

The events lined up for Saturday are as follows:

* Inflatables (Beat the Goalie, Hungry Hippo - more info)

* Live music by local artists including the very popular Lisa Kowalski

* Face painting

* St Mirren balloon art

* Free sweets courtesy of Black and White Army

* Meet Paisley Panda!

So come along early and get involved in the fun activities before getting ready to back the Buddies in the Ladbrokes Premiership match against St Johnstone. #BackTheBuds

Giant Football Card

The St Mirren Fans Council in partnership with the Supporters Liaison Officers/Panda entertainment present our brand new matchday competition in the West Stand.

It's £2 to select a team on the football card with 100 to choose. The lucky winner will be selected by the Panda on the pitch at half time and will receive half the proceeds. 

The remaining money will go to the Fans Council to spend on club initiatives. 

Man of the Match Vote

We are giving fans the opportunity to vote for the man of the match and also put two lucky fans in with the chance of winning a £10 voucher for the Club Shop.

Every home game we’ll throw open the voting on the 60 minute mark for 20 minutes where votes can be cast on Facebook and Twitter. All you have to do is use the hashtag #SMFCMOM followed by the name of the player you are voting for, eg ‘#SMFCMOM POPESCU’.

With 10 minutes of the game remaining all the votes will be counted then the Stadium Announcer will confirm the winning player over the tannoy system.

From all the fans who nominate the winning player one will be picked at random from the Facebook account and another from the Twitter account and they will each be awarded a £10 voucher for the Club Shop. The winners will be notified through the account they posted from and they must collect their voucher immediately after the match.

So get yourself ready on the hour mark of Saturday’s game against St Johnstone and get voting with #SMFCMOM.

Bung a Baw

Paisley Panda will host the ever-popular match day competition ‘Bung a Baw’ during the half-time break of Saturday’s match against St Johnstone.

To take part in ‘Bung a Baw’ fans need to purchase a small foam ball which is numbered and they will then have a chance to throw their ball towards our club mascot Paisley Panda in front of the Family Stand. Each person will have 60 seconds to do this and the winner will be the person who has thrown the ball closest to the feet of the Panda. The winner will be confirmed over the PA system.

The competition is sponsored by Glen-Bun Bakery who are supplying a full tray of yummy cakes as the prize for the contest winner.

Each ball will cost £1 to buy. The balls will be available from sellers inside the Family Stand in the 30 minutes leading up to kick-off and then again in the first 5 minutes of half-time before the competition starts (subject to availability). Each ball is numbered and participants will also get a ticket with the corresponding number which they will use to claim the prize if they win.

‘Bung a Baw’ continues to be very popular so Paisley Panda advises that you get in early on Saturday to purchase your ball to take part.

As well as taking care of ‘Bung a Baw’, Paisley Panda will be giving away sweets to the kids in and around the stadium courtesy of the Black and White Army website.

Paisley Panda is pleased to confirm that ‘First Scorer’ will be back for the game on Saturday against St Johnstone.

‘First Scorer’ lets fans predict in advance of the game who they think will score St Mirren's first goal in Saturday’s match against the Saintees.

From all of those who guessed correctly, a winner will be picked at random and they will win a box of a dozen doughnuts which will be delivered to their seat right after the goal is scored!

To enter all you have to do ahead of the game is post your prediction of the first St Mirren scorer on Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag #Saints1stgoal. The lucky winner will then be contacted to confirm which stand they will be in with the row and seat number so that the prize can be delivered to them.

St Mirren vs St Johnstone
Ladbrokes Premiership
Venue: The Simple Digital Arena, Paisley
Date: Saturday 27th April 2019
Kick-off: 3:00pm

The match day officials for Saturday's match against Tommy Wright's St Johnstone side are as follows:

Referee: Steven McLean
Assistant Referee: Douglas Ross
Assistant Referee: Ralph Gordon
Fourth Official: Colin Steven

If you are thinking about coming to The Simple Digital Arena for the first time on Saturday please click HERE for all the info you will need to make sure your match day experience runs as smoothly as possible.

Match Details

The game kicks-off at 3:00pm.

Season Tickets ARE valid for this game.

Match is all ticket – tickets will be on sale (subject to availability) UNTIL KICK OFF.

On the match day St Mirren fans can purchase their tickets (subject to availability) at the St Mirren Ticket Office from 10:00am to kick-off time (3:00pm).

We also have a Ticket Booth sited at the West Stand beside turnstiles T11-14 on a match day.  The Ticket Booth is only for the purchase of tickets (subject to availability) for the West Stand, and also the pick-up point for pre-ordered tickets for the West Stand.  The Ticket Booth will be open from 1:30pm to 3:00pm (kick-off).

The St Johnstone fans can purchase their tickets (subject to availability) from the window at the away end of the ground (North Stand) from 1:30pm to kick-off time (3:00pm).

Tickets can also be purchased from the Online Ticket Shop.

We are also offering a ticket deal that will let two adults and up to 20 under-12s attend the match against St Johnstone for just £24. Please note that the offer is only available in the Family Stand

You have till 2:00pm today (Friday 26th April) to take advantage of the offer from the St Mirren Ticket Office. Please note that this offer will NOT be available on the day of the match.

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

Fri, 26th Apr: 10:00am to 2:00pm
Sat, 27th Apr: 10:00am to 3:00pm (kick-off)

The Ticket Booth (West Stand) opening hours in the build up to this match are as follows:

Sat, 27th Apr: 1:30pm to 3:00pm (kick-off)

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

Please note that ahead of kick-off on Saturday that there will also be a minute's applause in remembrance of Billy McNeill who sadly passed away earlier this week.

Matchday Club Policies (click links for more info)

Unacceptable Conduct

Supporters Code of Conduct

Ticket Information

Visitor Information