Jack Ross gives his thoughts on tonight's emphatic 5-0 win over Dumbarton in the Ladbrokes Championship.

A double from Lewis Morgan alongside goals from Cammy Smith, Danny Mullen and Gavin Reilly saw Saints go 14 points clear at the top of the table.

St Mirren cruised to victory over Dumbarton to take a step closer to a return to the Ladbrokes Premiership.

Lewis Morgan's 15th goal of the season, along with Cammy Smith's 32nd minute strike had Saints on easy street heading into the break. 

Danny Mullen then added his first home goal after the break, before substitute Gavin Reilly made it goal number 22 for the season. Lewis Morgan put the seal on a brilliant win with a stunning strike on 86 minutes. 

Saints were right up for it from the off with Cammy Smith going close on three minutes when he cut in from the left, but his shot was blocked by ex-St Mirren goalkeeper Scott Gallacher. 

The Buddies were awarded a free kick in a good position on the edge of the penalty box when Stephen McGinn was fouled by Liam Dick. Morgan, who scored from a similar position against Queen of the South last weekend, stepped up to take but sent it over the bar. 

But just seven minutes later the winger was on the scoresheet with a lovely curling finish to put St Mirren one-nil in front. Ryan Flynn did brilliantly to steal the ball from Craig Barr before sending it into Cammy Smith's path. Smith spotted Morgan who had peeled away on the left with the 21 year-old having the time to pick his spot to send beyond Gallacher. 

Cammy went close on 23 minutes only for his shot to be blocked, while Kyle Magennis almost scored in fortuitous fashion when his corner kick flew over everyone and had to be headed off the line by Barr. 

St Mirren's persistence paid off on 32 minutes when Cammy Smith bundled home following a goal-line scramble to make it 2-0. 

While Saints were cruising, the visitors almost pulled a goal back a minute after our second with Craig Samson making a world class save to deny Kevin Nesbit and continue his home clean sheet record.  

Jack Ross' men were rampant and continued to plug away in search of a third goal before the interval. Stephen McGinn drilled an effort just past the post before Ryan Flynn slid in at the back post sending over Morgan's ball across the box.

Half Time: St Mirren 2-0 Dumbarton

While Saints couldn't get a third in the first half, it didn't take them long after the interval to find it. Danny Mullen was on the end of a neat move and finished nicely beyond Gallacher to score his first goal at The Paisley 2021 Stadium. 

The Buddies were so in control and the match had shades of the 5-0 win over Raith Rovers towards the end of last season. Mullen was so unlucky not to grab a second when his header from a corner was deflected behind. 

Substitute Gavin Reilly got the much deserved fourth for St Mirren on 71 minutes. The striker's initial shot was blocked by Gallacher, but he showed his instincts to follow in the rebound to score his 22nd goal of the season.

The best was yet to come, but come it did on 86 minutes when Lewis Morgan scored his second of the night. It was an absolute screamer from the winger who drove forward and unleashed an unstoppable strike into the top corner to put the seal on a brilliant night for the Buddies. 

Full Time: St Mirren 5-0 Dumbarton

St Mirren: Samson, L.Smith, MacKenzie, Davis, Eckersley (Stelios 60), McGinn, Magennis (McShane 77), Flynn, C.Smith, Morgan, Mullen (Reilly 67)
Subs Not Used: Stewart, Baird, Hippolyte, Sutton

Dumbarton: Gallacher, D.Smith, Dowie, Dick, Barr, Nesbit (Gallagher 55), Burt (Wilson 72), Carswell, Hutton, Froxylias (Walsh 63), Stirling
Subs Not Used: Ewings, McLaughlin, Hill, M.Stewart

Referee: Colin Steven
Assistant Referee: Graham McNeille
Assistant Referee: Colin McAlpine

Attendance: 3,964

Gallery pictures by Allan Picken © - Allan Picken Photography and John Millar © - Millar Pictures

St Mirren have a run of three away games coming up, the first of them is this coming Saturday (31st March) when they make the trip to the Highlands to face Inverness Caledonian Thistle in a Ladbrokes Championship fixture at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium. A week later Saints go to Glebe Park to face Brechin City, then the run of three away games will end at Tannadice Park when Saints go head to head with Dundee United on Tuesday, 10th April.

The info on Travel Clubs heading to the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium, Glebe Park and Tannadice Park is as follows:

Tile Bar Supporters Bus

The bus for the match against Inverness Caley Thistle will leave at 9:00am from Abercorn Street.

The bus for the Brechin City game will leave at 10:30am.

The bus for Tannadice will leave at 5:00pm.

Bus tickets for non members are available from the bar.

Chivas Travel Club

The bus to Inverness will leave at 9:00am. This bus is now sold out.

The bus for Brechin will leave at 10:00am. This bus is now sold out.

No confirmed departure time as yet for the Dundee United game.

Bus tickets are available from The Court Bar.

Cockles Wilson Supporters Bus

The bus for Inverness will leave at 9:00am. This bus is now sold out.

We will leave at 12:00pm (noon) for the game away to Brechin City.

Tickets for this bus will be available from The Bankhouse from Saturday 31st March.

No confirmed departure time as yet for the Dundee United game.

North End Travel Club

The bus will leave from The Sneddon at 9:00am for the game at Inverness. This bus is now sold out.

The bus departure times for the games away to Brechin City and Dundee United are as yet to be confirmed, but tickets for a seat on the bus to Brechin will be sold on the bus to Inverness and afterwards in the Brewer's Tap.

There will be engineering work on the rail lines on Tuesday 10th April when St Mirren travel away to Dundee Utd.

The work will be taking place around the Stirling area, and in turn could be problematic for fans looking to travel by train to the game.

There will be only one train service leaving Dundee post match at 9:56pm.

However, when the train reaches Stirling it will be a bus replacement service to Glasgow Queen Street, which is scheduled to get into Glasgow at 11:50pm.

St Mirren are back in action at the Paisley 2021 Stadium tonight as we host IRN-BRU Cup finalists Dumbarton in the Ladbrokes Championship.

It'll be the fourth and final meeting between the two sides this campaign with Saints winning both away matches by a 2-0 scoreline, while Dumbarton shocked the Buddies 1-0 at the Paisley 2021 Stadium in December. Indeed, Dumbarton are the only team to have won in the league in Paisley since January 2017. 

The Buddies weren't in action this weekend after call-ups to Lewis Morgan, Liam Smith and Kyle Magennis saw the scheduled match against Falkirk postponed until April. Tonight's match will be just the third game St Mirren have played this month, compared to seven in March last year. 

Jack Ross' men come into the match in good spirits on the back of a three match winning running. After defeat to Livingston last month, the Buddies have gone on to defeat Brechin (1-0), Dunfermline (2-0) and Queen of the South (3-1). The most recent of which, away to Queen of the South, saw Saints comfortably gather all three points with Danny Mullen - scoring his first for St Mirren - Lewis Morgan and Kyle Magennis on the scoresheet. 

Meanwhile, Dumbarton come into tomorrow's match following a cruel IRN-BRU Cup final loss. The part-time side had pushed Caley Thistle all the way and even survived a late scare when ex-Saint, Scott Gallacher saved Iain Vigurs' 82nd minute penalty. But deep into stoppage time, Carl Tremarco ghosted in at the back post to tap home Daniel McKay's cross to win the cup for Inverness.

The Sons are in decent league form with two wins and a draw in their last four matches. They drew 0-0 away to Falkirk in February before being edged out 1-0 by Queen of the South at home. Their two wins have come home and away to bottom side Brechin with Steven Aitken's men winning 1-0 at home thanks to a Dimitris Froxylias effort. They followed up that win with a 3-1 triumph at Glebe Park thanks to goals from Calum Gallagher and Danny Handling plus an own goal.

While Saints have beaten Dumbarton twice this season, both of those wins have come away from home. The Buddies haven't beaten Dumbarton in Paisley since February 2016 when Lawrence Shankland scored the game's only goal to give St Mirren a 1-0 win over the Sons. The visitors are unbeaten in their last three visits to the Paisley 2021 Stadium.

There are a number of familiar faces in the Dumbarton squad with Scott Gallacher, Kyle Hutton, Stuart Carswell, Tom Walsh and Calum Gallagher all having plied their trade at Saints within the last three years.

Jack Ross confirmed that he has a fully fit squad to chose from tonight as Harry Davis returns for Saints after missing the 3-1 win away to Queen of the South. Adam Eckersley will also be available for selection after suffering a dead leg in the same match. 

St Mirren need 11 points from their remaining eight matches to clinch the Ladbrokes Championship title and a return to the Premiership. A win tonight would see that total drop to eight points with seven to play. Dumbarton will be looking to close the gap on eighth place Inverness as they look to climb away from the relegation play-off spot. If results go the Sons' way tonight they'd move to within a point of Caley Thistle in the battle for survival. 

St Mirren in the Community - Tuesday 27th March (Panda Club and Airdome Bookings)

Please note that there is no Panda Club on Tuesday 27th March at the home fixture versus Dumbarton. Airdome bookings will be on as per normal.

St Mirren in the Community – Community Football Centre Update

With the Easter school holidays and Easter football programme fast approaching, St Mirren in the Community would like to remind players, parents and guardians of the following community football centre updates;

• Football centres at Arkleston Primary School, Ralston Primary School, Gryffe High School and the St Mirren Airdome have finished for the holidays and will resume on the week beginning Monday 23rd April.
• Football centres at Lochbarr Services conclude this Thursday (29th March) and will resume on the week beginning Monday 23rd April.

St Mirren in the Community hopes that its supporters, players and families have a fantastic Easter holiday and we look forward to seeing you at the camps!

For further information about Community Football Centres and the Easter Football Programme, please contact Ross Paterson by emailing ross.paterson@stmirren.com. 

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

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

The latest edition includes the following:

Front Cover – Danny Mullen.
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 Queen of the South.
The Opposition – Brian Corry casts an eye over Tuesday's visitors, Stephen Aitken's Dumbarton side.
Hall of Fame – David Cochran looks back on the St Mirren career of Tommy Turner.
Player Interview – Stuart Gillespie talks to midfielder Kyle Magennis who scored in Saints' last outing, against Queen of the South.
Action Shot (Centre Pages) – Gary MacKenzie.
Last Time Here – A look back at the match between Saints and The Sons in Paisley on 2nd December last year.
Fans Corner – Ticket prices, travel clubs update, match info and dates for fans to keep in their diary. And Fan's Music Pick!
Matchday Gallery – Pictures from the post-match awards in the corporate suite after the recent match against Dunfermline.
Kit Sponsors 2017/18.
Football, Bloody Hell – Alan Gallacher tells us why he believes that the Video Assistant Referee may be a step too far.
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.

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 Dumbarton are the visitors on Tuesday evening.

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

St Mirren vs Dumbarton
Ladbrokes Championship
Venue: Paisley 2021 Stadium, Paisley
Date: Tuesday 27th March 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

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 Tuesday’s game against The Sons and get voting with #SMFCMOM.

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

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

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.