St Mirren lost only their second home league game of the season tonight, after a late comeback from Falkirk to make the score 2-1.

The Champions were winning with less than 10 minutes remaining, before some slack defending let The Bairns get back in the game and inevitably go on to win.

It was a particularly slow first half of the game, as both teams saw lots of the ball, but couldn't turn any possession into chances. The first glimpse of any action came from the visitors, when Louis Longridge went on a good run down the right hand wing and whipped in a good cross. However, the cross evaded everyone and eventually went out for a St Mirren throw in. The same happened with Saints, as Danny Mullen sprung free down the right, but he couldn't find Myles Hippolyte who was waiting in the box.

Falkirk had a few long range efforts on goal in a pretty dull first half. The first came from Joe McKee from a 35-yard freekick; he strikes the ball well, but it was never threatening Craig Samson's goal. Next up was Alex Jakubiak, when he created a bit of space on the edge of the area, but his effort was right at The Buddies keeper. 

Half Time: St Mirren 0-0 Falkirk

The second half started a bit livelier with Saints creating a great opportunity within two minutes of the restart. A good ball into the box was met by the head of Danny Mullen who turned it goal-ward, but Joe Thomson was equal to it. 

The deadlock was broken on the 54th minute, when a freekick from the left was delivered into the box and Alan Muir pointed to spot after Danny Mullen went down from a challenge from Bairns defender Paul Watson. Myles Hippolyte stepped up to the mark against his former team and sent the keeper the wrong way to make the score 1-0 to St Mirren. 

Hippolyte could have doubled the score and his tally five minutes later. Stelios Demetriou made a run down the left wing and managed to cut in on Falkirk captain Aaron Muirhead, then played the ball to Hippolyte who was free - but the big forward just couldn't beat Thomson in the Falkirk goal as he parried it away.

The only other chance for St Mirren fell to Jack Baird from a corner. An in-swinging corner from Kyle Magennis was met at the back post from the towering central defender, but sub goalkeeper Conor Hazard managed to block the attempt and scramble the ball away for another corner.

Another penalty was awarded on the 81st minute, this time for Falkirk. There was an adjudged shove from Jack Baird, in similar fashion to the penalty that was awarded earlier. Lewis Kidd stepped up to the plate, but he was denied by a great save from Craig Samson, who was determined to hold on to his clean sheet record.

Sadly it wasn't to be though, as one minute later Falkirk equalised. After a cross came in to the back post Samson made a save, but the ball spilled to Joe McKee who only had to touch the ball into the empty net from three yards out to make the score 1-1.

As everyone thought the game was going to trickle out as a draw, Craig Sibbald had other ideas. After the ball made it's way down the left for Jakubiak, he put in a tempting ball again to the back post. Stelios seemed to get caught under the ball though, and Sibbald ran in to volley the ball into the back of the net on the 91st minute to give the Bairns all three points. 

Full Time: St Mirren 1-2 Falkirk

St Mirren: Samson, Irvine, Baird, Donati, Stelios, McShane (Magennis 58), McGinn, Hill, Mullen (Morgan 69), Hippolyte, Reilly (C.Smith 80)
Subs Not Used: Stewart, Erhahon, Glover, Sutton

Falkirk: Thomson (Hazard 60), McGhee, Muirhead (Kidd, 70), Grant, Watson, McKee, Taiwo, Sibbald, Longridge, Harris (O'Hara 64), Jakubiak
Subs Not Used: Tumilty, Blair, Mitchell, Welsh

Referee: Alan Muir
Assistant Referee: Ivan Stankovic
Assistant Referee: Steven Traynor 

Attendance: 3761

Jack Ross gives his thoughts on tonight's match as the Buddies lost only their second match at home in the Championship this season.

St Mirren take on Falkirk tonight at the Paisley 2021 Stadium in the team’s first game since being crowned league champions on Saturday.

The Buddies sealed promotion back to the Ladbrokes Premiership after securing the one point required in a 0-0 draw at home to Livingston. 

Not only was it a game that saw the Championship clinched, but it was also a record-breaking event. Saints stopper, Craig Samson, has now not conceded a goal at home in eight games – defeating Craig Hinchcliffe’s previous record of seven games. The League Cup winner will be looking to extend that record further with another clean sheet tonight. 

This fixture is the twice-rescheduled game from the end of February, after the first game was moved to a free weekend in March, but was then postponed again due to international call-ups.

So the last time the two sides have off was back in October, where the match ended 0-0 at the Falkirk Stadium. It was a fairly uneventful game for both sides, with very few chances. St Mirren had to rely on half chances from Smith, Reilly and Morgan in the first half – but the second half saw the best opportunity in the game fall to Cammy Smith, when he capitalised on Jordan McGhee’s failed attempt to clear the ball, but was foiled from a good save by Robbie Thomson.

The other game between the teams was on the opening day of the season at the Paisley 2021 Stadium, where the home team ran out 3-1 winners. It was The Bairns who opened the scoring though, when Nathan Austin took advantage of Samson’s spilled save to give the away side an early lead. St Mirren managed to equalise before half time though, through a well-taken strike from Stelios Demetriou.

The Buddies came to life in the second half though and took the lead seconds after the restart when Cammy Smith struck into an empty net when Robbie Thomson couldn’t clear a Gavin Reilly cross. The three points were secured on the 69^th minute – Gavin Reilly ran from deep in the opposition half before he drove past the Falkirk defence and drilled past the keeper into the far corner to score his first league goal for The Saints.

A familiar face also played a part in both games, as Myles Hippolyte turned out for Falkirk and gave the St Mirren's defence a couple of tough afternoons. Hopefully tonight he returns the favour for The Buddies. 

This is a very different Falkirk team from the previous two meetings this season, as Paul Hartley gave his side a complete face lift in the January transfer window, with nine new players coming in and 10 going in the opposite direction.

With three games still left of the season, and the future now secured for St Mirren, this could be an opportunity for some other players to come into the team and prove their worth. 

If you live outside the UK & Ireland, St Mirren TV is your way to watch Paisley’s top football side 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 Paisley 2021 Stadium when Falkirk are the visitors this evening.

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

St Mirren vs Falkirk
Ladbrokes Championship
Venue: Paisley 2021 Stadium, Paisley
Date: Tuesday 17th April 2018
Kick-off: 7:45pm 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 Chief Executive, Tony Fitzpatrick, has encouraged job seekers in Renfrewshire to "give it a shot" and sign up to new employment service, Fair Start Scotland.

The new initiative is designed to help get at least 3,400 people currently out of work across Inverclyde, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, West Dunbartonshire and East Dunbartonshire the skill they need to help them move towards work.

Fair Start Scotland will be delivered throughout the west of the country by leading social enterprise, the Wise Group, which launched its delivery of the service in Paisley today.

St Mirren CEO, Fitzpatrick, said: “St Mirren is a club that prides itself on being right at the heart of the local community so it is great to see an initiative like this that will really benefit the people of Renfrewshire. I hope as many of them as possible sign up to give themselves the best chance of finding work.”

Wise Group CEO, Sean Duffy, Said: "We want to give job seekers the best chance of getting, and then keeping, real and meaningful employment. We believe Fair Start Scotland gives them the ideal opportunity to do so by focusing on the needs and aspirations of each person.

“Choosing to take part in Fair Start won’t put people’s benefits at risk while local employers can also gain through training programmes and work placements that meet their recruitment needs."

The Wise Group has more than 35 years of experience in supporting people to change their lives and their communities, and will work with a number of partners to deliver Fair Start Scotland including ENABLE Scotland, Project Scotland, Enterprise Mentoring, SALUS, Street League, Community Renewal, The Lennox Partnership, Working Links and The Venture Trust.

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 MORGAN’.

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.

So get yourself ready on the hour mark of tonight’s game against The Bairns and get voting with #SMFCMOM.

Paisley Panda is pleased to confirm that ‘First Scorer’ will be back for tonight's game against Falkirk.

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

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.

Thousands of people will party on the streets of Paisley when St Mirren’s SPFL Championship winning side are honoured with an open-top bus parade through the town centre.

Renfrewshire Council is marking the Buddies’ return to the top-tier of Scottish football by staging the large-scale outdoor celebration event on Saturday 21 April.

St Mirren mathematically confirmed the title on Saturday after a 0-0 draw with second-placed Livingston means they can now no longer be caught.

That means the league trophy will be presented next week on the pitch immediately after their last home game of the season – against local rivals Morton – which the parade will follow.

The open-top bus will leave the Paisley 2021 Stadium before 7pm and travel through the town centre, to a specially-erected stage in Bridge Street, behind Paisley Abbey, around 7.30pm.

There, fans will be able to greet their heroes, with short speeches for the crowd from key figures from the club as they show off the trophy.

Before the team arrives, DJs from Pulse FM will be keeping the crowds entertained with St Mirren-themed songs and entertainment.

The bus will arrive in the town via the west end, with fans encouraged to see the team travel along the following route: High Street (at Paisley Museum), Storie Street, Witherspoon Street/New St (past Paisley Arts Centre), Causeyside Street, St Mirren Brae, Gauze Street, Cotton Street.

Renfrewshire’s Provost Lorraine Cameron – who will help host the event – said: “We want to congratulate St Mirren on a wonderful season and are delighted the council is able to stage this event so the people of Renfrewshire can honour their team.

“I am sure the streets of Paisley will be full of celebration on the 21 April and I am looking forward to being there for what will be a great atmosphere and a wonderful occasion.”

St Mirren chairman Gordon Scott added: “We want to thank Renfrewshire Council for organising this event to allow the people of Paisley – whether hardcore fans or not – to see the team and trophy.

“St Mirren are – and always will be – at the heart of the Paisley community, so it is fitting we get to celebrate a memorable year for the club and celebrate together as a town.”

For more event information and to keep up to date on all local events, visit www.paisley.is

The St Mirren celebration event will be the first of two weekends which will see the area around Bridge Street and Abbey Close packed with activity – with the Paisley Food and Drink Festival to take place one week later.

The Club has come to the decision to change the date of the annual Saint for a Day event. 

The event was due to take place this Sunday - following our title party against Greenock Morton on Saturday where we will be presented with the Ladbrokes Championship title.

The decision to change dates was made after feedback from supporters who regularly take part in Saint for a Day.

We have decided that the event will now take part before the start of the Ladbrokes Premiership season and you could take part as a 'Premiership Saint for a Day'. 

A new date will be announced in due course. For more information please contact claire.coventry@stmirren.com. 

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

This issue, for the Ladbrokes Championship match against Falkirk, is a 48 pager with a £3 cover price.

The latest edition includes the following:

Front Cover – Lewis Morgan.
The Gaffer - St Mirren manager Jack Ross with his thoughts on recent matches and his pre-match message for the fans.
Buddies News Update – News of the latest happenings in and around the Paisley 2021 Stadium.
Last Time Out – Match report and pictures of the recent Championship match away to Dundee United.
The Opposition – Brian Corry casts an eye over Tuesday's visitors, Paul Hartley's Falkirk side.
Hall of Fame – David Cochran looks back on the St Mirren career of Barry McLaughlin.
Player Interview – James Hunter chats with Gary MacKenzie.
Action Shot (Centre Pages) – Kyle Magennis.
St Mirren Supporters Trust – John White updates on the latest from SMiSA.
Fans Corner – Ticket prices, travel clubs update, match info and dates for fans to keep in their diary. And Fan's Music Pick!
Last Time There – Picture gallery from St Mirren's last visit to The Falkirk Stadium last October.
Kit Sponsors 2017/18.
Football, Bloody Hell – Alan Gallacher looks back on St Mirren's second half of the 2017/18 season.
Last Time Here – A look back at the league season opener against Falkirk at the Paisley 2021 Stadium on 5th August.
Marketing Matters – Commercial Manager, Campbell Kennedy brings us up to date with all the commercial activities within the Club.
St Mirren Fixtures & Results 2017/18 – A handy reference page of all the fixtures for this season.
Team Lines – The two squads and match officials for Tuesday’s match.

To buy this issue or to place your programme subscription for the 2017/18 season click HERE.

Last Time Here – A look back at the match between Saints and The Pars in Paisley last December 16th.