Oran Kearney reflects on another good point for St Mirren on the road following today's 1-1 draw against Hearts at Tynecastle.

St Mirren Director, David Nicol talks about the progress SMiSA has made since the 2016 takeover of the club, what SMiSA actually is, his role at SMiSA, the main achievements the organisation has made have made, what the future holds for them and reasons to sign up.

St Mirren make the trip to Scotland's capital tomorrow as we face Hearts at Tynecastle in the Ladbrokes Premiership.

FORM

The Buddies ended a six game losing run in the league last weekend with a 2-2 draw away to Aberdeen. 

Saints took the lead twice thanks to goals from Duckens Nazon and Kyle McAllister, but were pegged back twice with Lewis Ferguson and Sam Cosgrove netting for the Dons.

It was a spirited showing at Pittodrie though and one which would have given manager Oran Kearney confidence heading into the final 12 games of the season.

Craig Levein's Hearts side suffered a last-gasp defeat on Sunday when they took on Motherwell at Fir Park. Jake Hastie had given the home side a first half lead, but Hearts levelled before the break through Steven Naismith.

With the game poised to end 1-1, Jambos goalkeeper Colin Doyle spilled a David Turnbull free kick into his own net deep into stoppage time to give Motherwell all the points.

Hearts were unbeaten in their previous four matches before that - beating St Johnstone and Kilmarnock in the league, drawing with Livingston and defeating Auchinleck Talbot in the William Hill Scottish Cup.

Their last defeat previous to the weekend loss at Fir Park was at Tynecastle in the first Premiership game after the winter break as they were beaten 2-1 by Dundee.

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This will be the third meeting of the sides this season.

The first saw the Buddies travel to Tynecastle on matchday four of the Ladbrokes Premiership season.

Despite a Jimmy Dunne own goal getting Saints level after Steven Naismith had given Hearts an early lead, the Jambos ran out comfortable winners with Naismith grabbing a first half hat-trick.

Oran Kearney's picked up his first win as St Mirren boss when Saints welcomed the Jambos to Paisley in November. A second half double from Adam Hammill gave the Buddies a well-deserved 2-0 win at the Simple Digital Arena. 

St Mirren's last win at Tynecastle was in October 2013 when goals from John McGinn and Paul McGowan gave the Buddies a 2-0 victory. 

WHAT A WIN WOULD MEAN

Saints will be aiming for three points to try to cut the gap at the bottom of the Ladbrokes Premiership. The Buddies currently sit in 12th - five points behind Dundee and Hamilton. 

Dundee host Hibernian tonight, while Hamilton are at home to Rangers on Sunday. If results go St Mirren's way the gap at the bottom could be cut to just two points.

Hearts seem set to secure another top six finish - sitting seven points clear of seventh placed Motherwell. A win could see the Jambos go level on points with fourth place Kilmarnock depending on their result away to Livingston.

TEAM NEWS 

St Mirren manager Oran Kearney confirmed to the press that captain Stephen McGinn and Anton Ferdinand have been running this week but will be monitored before any decision is made on whether they will come into the team.

Danny Rogers, Lee Hodson, Kyle Magennis and Jim Kellermann all remain out.

Peter Haring looks set to return for Hearts after being sidelined following a hernia operation. Craig Wighton could also return for the Jambos, but Michael Smith and Demetri Mitchell are out. 

St Mirren's final Saturday home match before the Ladbrokes Premiership split takes place on Saturday 30th March as we face Dundee at the Simple Digital Arena.

We are doing a special ticket offer for that big match with two adults and up to 20 Under-12s able to attend the match for just £24. This can be redeemed by filling out this application form and returning it to the St Mirren Ticket Office or sending by email to tickets@stmirren.com. 

Please note this offer is only available in the Family Stand and must be redeemed by Friday 29th March at 2pm. They will NOT be available on match day. 

Pre-ordered tickets can be collected in advance of the game or from ticket uplift window in the Main Stand on match day. 

Any youth clubs who wish to be notified when more offers like this are available should email info@stmirren.com to be added to our mailing list.

* Wheelchair tickets can be purchased for £14 either over the phone or by attending the Ticket Office in person.

** Ambulant disabled supporters will be charged the regular match price for their age and if they can provide proof that they are entitled to a carer this will be provided free of charge (i.e. higher rate for mobility purposes on DLA/PIP).

Any unsold tickets will be available at a cash-only pod outside the away end tomorrow afternoon. 

Please note that anyone who needs to pick up pre-paid tickets must do so before 2pm this afternoon (Friday 23rd Feb). 

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

Additional Information for Travelling Fans
On Saturday (23rd February), St Mirren make the trip to the capital to face Hearts in a Ladbrokes Premiership match-up at Tynecastle Park.

The referee on Saturday is Don Robertson and he will be assisted by Andrew McWilliam and Ralph Gordon. The Fourth Official will be Bobby Madden.

Tickets are on-sale for our trip to face Hearts at Tynecastle this Saturday in the Ladbrokes Premiership.

The Buddies make the journey to the capital to face Craig Levein's side for the third time this season.

Hearts have confirmed that any unsold tickets will be available on the day at a pod outside the away end turnstiles. Please note that tickets on the day will be CASH ONLY.

The match and tickets info is as follows:

Hearts vs St Mirren
Ladbrokes Premiership
Venue: Tynecastle Stadium, Edinburgh
Date: Saturday 23rd February 2019
Kick-off: 3:00pm

Roseburn Stand -  Upper

Adult - £28
Over 65 - £20
Under 18 - £16
Under 16 - £8
Under 13 - £5

Roseburn Stand - Lower

SOLD OUT!!

Ambulant disabled supporters will be charged the regular match price for their age and if they can provide proof that they are entitled to a carer this will be provided free of charge (i.e. higher rate for mobility purposes on DLA/PIP).

Wheelchair tickets can be purchased for £14 either over the phone or by attending the Ticket Office in person.

The St Mirren Ticket Office opening hours for the remainder of this week are as follows:

Wed, Feb 20th - 10:00am - 2:00pm
Thu, Feb 21st - 10:00am - 2:00pm and 5:00pm - 7:00pm
Fri, Feb 22nd - 10:00am - 2:00pm

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

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

Willie Telfer will be one of four inductees into the St Mirren Hall of Fame at the club's prestigious end of season Awards Dinner.

With 505 appearances in the famous stripes until his departure in 1957, Telfer is a worthy addition to a illustrious membership.

Taking place on Friday 24th May 2019, at the Normandy Hotel, Renfrew the Awards Dinner has once again been kindly sponsored by our friends Walker Laird Solicitors & Estate Agents.

Spend an evening in the company of the St Mirren first team, management and coaching staff at what is Renfrewshire’s premier social gathering.

Prepare to laugh the night away thanks to former Motherwell and, yes, Morton winger John Gahagan - undoubtedly the best after dinner speaker in Scotland.

Keeping everyone in line will be our MC for the evening, journalist, Foxbar boy and fellow Buddie, Bill Leckie.

The evening will consist of:

• Three Course Meal served with tea and coffee
• St.Mirren Player of the Year Awards 2018/19
• Young Player of the Year Awards 2018/19
• Official Web-Site Player of the Year Award 2018/19
• Black & White Magazine Player of the Year Award 2018/19
• Fans Council Player of the Year 2018/19
• Goal of the Season Award 2018/19
• Inductee’s into the clubs “Hall of Fame”
• Every guest will also receive a special souvenir event brochure and special corporate gift to commemorate the event.
• Raffle
• Grand Auction

Individual places are available at £75 + VAT per person, with a minimum of two places on a shared table basis. Tables are available in multiples of TEN at £750 + VAT or TWELVE at £900 + VAT.

To reserve packages or to enquire about event and awards sponsorship opportunities, please contact Commercial Manager, Campbell Kennedy on (0141) 840-1337 or email commercial@stmirren.com.

St Mirren FC recently welcomed South Belfast Youth League U13 and U15 select teams to the St Mirren Training Ground.

In conjunction with official partners inspiresport, the sides enjoyed a high quality training session with St Mirren Youth Academy coaches Sam Mawuena and John Divers at Ralston, before attending the Scottish Cup match vs Dundee United at the Simple Digital Arena on Saturday 9th February.

Then, on the Sunday, they enjoyed matches where the U13’s took on local side Thorn Athletic 2006, while the U15’s played an SYFA West Region select.

While visiting, the teams also got the chance to meet with St Mirren manager Oran Kearney and first team coach Jimmy Nicholl before ending their tour with a private, behind the scenes tour of the Simple Digital Arena lead by St Mirren Chief Executive, Tony Fitzpatrick.

Speaking on the tour, Tony said: "We have been overwhelmed by the response from teams visiting our club.

"Our goal is to spread the good name of our brand in Northern and Southern Ireland and it is obviously working as we continue to accept groups on a regular basis and they are turning in to new fans from afar. In the next month we will welcome 150 more players and coaches to the club."

Jed McCabe, the Head of Sales at inspiresport for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland, said: "The numbers from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland keep on coming as word is spreading about how good the St Mirren 'train and play' programme is.

"The attention to detail is up there with the very best. The social media response has been nothing short of remarkable with many teams calling me wanting to set up a tour to St Mirren.

"I would like to thank Mark Gray from the SYFA West Region for setting up two wonderful matches. It was also good to see my home town team Thorn Athletic putting on a masterclass of football."

For more information on inspiresport and their tours please contact jed@inspiresport.com. 

St Mirren picked up a valuable point at Pittodrie this afternoon following a 2-2 draw with Aberdeen. 

Oran Kearney's side twice took the lead with Duckens Nazon and Kyle McAllister on target either side of half-time, but the Buddies had to settle for just a point in the end.

Saints started brightly - winning a few corners in quick succession in the opening few minutes without being able to create from them. 

But from a corner on 19 minutes, Paul McGinn would win the penalty kick that got the opener. There was no arguing referee Craig Thomson's decision as McGinn was hauled to the ground by Sam Cosgrove who had wrapped both his arms around the stand-in captain. Duckens Nazon stepped up to squeeze the ball home into Joe Lewis' right hand corner. The Dons keeper went the right way, but couldn't deny the Haitian international his second goal for the Buddies. After a few ropey starts at Pittodrie in recent times it was the perfect way to get things underway. 

But nobody has to warn Saints of the danger the Dons pose at their home ground and they went in search of a quick equaliser. Buddies goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky was brave on 25 minutes to block an effort from Greg Stewart with his feet. The two players colliding and had to receive treatment in the aftermath but were able to continue.

Aberdeen continued to threaten and just after the half hour mark a dangerous looking Max Lowe ball into the box was only just turned behind by Jack Baird. Then initial corner was knocked out for another by Saints but Aberdeen would find themselves level from the second. The Dons took it short to Gary Mackay-Steven whose cross into the box was flicked on by Michael Devlin and nodded home by Lewis Ferguson at the back post. 

Buoyed, the home side should have taken the lead three minutes after their leveller. Greg Stewart picked out Niall McGinn in acres of space inside the Saints box, but the unmarked forward somehow skied it from just a few yards out when it looked like he might burst the net.

Aberdeen were on top at this stage but their momentum was halted after an injury Tommie Hoban as the game ebbed towards half-time. The defender went down under no challenge and was screaming in agony on the deck.

The Buddies nearly found themselves back in front almost immediately after the interval. There was less than two second half minutes gone when Kyle McAllister's cross picked out Brad Lyons who glanced his header just inches by the post with Joe Lewis scrambling across his goal-line. 

After having already made two changes at the break with Ethan Erhahon and Simeon Jackson replacing Mateo Muzek and Duckens Nazon, Saints were forced into a final change just before the hour mark when Anton Ferdinand was injured after putting his body on the line to block an Aberdeen attack.

St Mirren took the lead for a second time. The Buddies picked up on a loose ball from Aberdeen in the middle park and broke forward at speed. Brad Lyons found McAllister scuttling down the right wing. The 20 year-old winger drove into the box, cut in onto his left foot and smashed the ball into the far left corner to make it 2-1 to Saints.

The Buddies went in search of a third and would have felt aggrieved that the offside flag denied McAllister a chance to go one-on-one with Lewis despite the winger being onside. The third almost came a few short moments after that though when substitute Jackson got the better of Devlin on the left hand side. The Canadian striker worked his way into the box, wriggling away from Devlin and was so unlucky to knock the ball just wide from a tight angle. 

Saints would have to settle for just a point though when Aberdeen equalised with a little over 10 minutes to go. Saints goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky will have been disappointed he couldn't keep Cosgrove's low effort out as the striker swept home from a cross on the left.

Full Time: Aberdeen 2-2 St Mirren

St Mirren: Hladky, P.McGinn (c), Baird, Popescu, Ferdinand (Tansey 59), Muzek (Erhahon 46), MacPherson, Flynn, Lyons, McAllister, Nazon (Jackson 46)
Subs Not Used: Holmes, Corbu, Mullen

Aberdeen: Lewis, Lowe (Wilson 64), Devlin, Considine, Hoban (Gleeson 45), Shinnie (c), N.McGinn (McLennan 78), Ferguson, Stewart, Mackay-Steven, Cosgrove
Subs Not Used: Cerny, Ball, Campbell, May

Referee: Craig Thomson
Assistant Referee: Douglas Ross
Assistant Referee: Graeme Leslie
Fourth Official: Mike Roncone

Attendance: 14,701

Oran Kearney gives his thoughts on Saints' well earned point away to Aberdeen in the Ladbrokes Premiership.