The St Mirren U20s fell to a 2-0 defeat last night against Celtic in the SPFL Development League despite a good showing at Cappielow.

The Young Buddies went close in the opening minutes when Sam Jamieson spotted Celtic goalkeeper Ryan Mullen off his line but the lob drifted wide.

Despite probably having the better of the first half Saints went in behind at the break when Jack Aitchison profited from slack defending. The striker's initial shot was saved by Ross Stewart but he quickly pounced on the rebound to give The Young Hoops a half-time lead. 

Celtic doubled their lead soon into the second half with Ciaran Diver eventually forced the ball home after Stewart had made a good double save. 

Broque Watson had a huge chance to make it three for Celtic when he rounded the keeper but fired well wide. Then, as the goal kick was about to be taken, Ross Stewart was shown a red card for foul and abusive language. 

The Young Buddies are next in action on Tuesday as they travel to Dingwall to face Ross County. 

To find out more about the SPFL Development League please click here.

St Mirren: Stewart, MacPherson, Irvine, Miller, McDonald, Erhahon, Glover, McBrearty, Jamieson, O'Keefe, Flanagan
Subs: Wilson, Horne, McKendry, Breadner, Trialist

Friday night saw St Mirren end their 16 year hoodoo at East End Park with a 2-1 win over Dunfermline Athletic, thanks to a winner from Jack Baird on the 64th minute.

A well worked Kyle Magennis freekick on the edge of the box outfoxed The Pars defence, and left Baird alone at the back post to score his first league goal of the season.

Speaking to Buddievision, Baird said: "We work a lot on set pieces, but that wasn't one of the ones we had. We made it up on the spot - I was trying to look at them without giving it away. I was kind of hoping for a header, but a volley will do.

I don't often score, so it was really enjoyable for me.

"But the main thing was getting the three points, because it's a massive push towards creating a big gap, hopefully, at the top and put a bit of pressure on the teams round about us. But we still have a fair bit to go."

Baird scored his only other goal of the season in the 7-1 win over Lothian Thistle in the Scottish Cup third round back in November.

The 21 year old put in a stellar performance at both ends of the pitch, with some solid defending throughout the game and a couple of crucial blocks at the end. This was followed by a standing ovation from the away end as they sung the young centre back's name.

Can't beat my own chant, it's brilliant. It brings a smile to my face every time I hear it. So many people travel through, and I know its not easy on a Friday night when you're coming straight from work, but I do appreciate it and so do the rest of the boys."

St Mirren and Baird's focus are now firmly set on Saturday's home match against Queen of The South, which will be the club's first game at the Paisley 2021 Stadium in four weeks, after three away games in a row.

I feel like we don't play at home as often as we used to at the start of the season, which is annoying, because I do like paying at home. We don't often give up points there, which is good and is obviously a good mentality to have as a team. It makes it hard for people to come there."

St Mirren's away trip to Dundee United on Saturday 3rd March has been rescheduled after being selected for live coverage on BT Sport.

The match will now take place on Friday 2nd March with a 7:45pm kick-off.

The full details for the rescheduled fixture are as follows:

Dundee Utd v St Mirren
Ladbrokes Championship 
Tannadice Park, Dundee
Friday, 2nd March 2018
Live on BT Sport, 7:45pm kick-off 

The St Mirren U20s are in action tonight as they face Celtic in the SPFL Development League.

The Saints make the journey down to Cappielow this evening to face Tommy McIntyre's side.

It's The Young Buddies' first Development League match of 2018 and kick-off is at 6pm. 

To find out more about the SPFL Development League please click here. 

Saints manager Jack Ross gives his thoughts on St Mirren's 2-1 win over Dunfermline Athletic. The Buddies picked up their first win at East End Park since 2001 as Saints extend their lead at the top to 11 points. 

St Mirren extended their lead at the top of the Championship table to 11 points after a hard fought win against Dunfermline Athletic.

The Saints saw out a 2-1 victory at East End Park, with goals from Cammy Smith and Jack Baird either side of half time enough to see all three points belong to the Paisley side.

The game started off brightly, with shouts for a penalty from the home fans, after Declan McManus went down in the box after a well whipped cross from Michael Paton. McManus believed Jack Baird was holding him and prevented him getting on the end of the cross, but referee John Beaton waved play on.

It didn’t take long for the deadlock to be broken though, as Cammy Smith put the Saints ahead on the 14 minute mark with a goal of the season contender. Some tidy play by Stephen McGinn in the centre of the park saw him slip through Lewis Morgan who broke through the middle. Morgan then played a reverse back heel into Cammy Smith who was through on goal and coolly slotted past Lee Robinson in the Dunfermline goal.

The rest of the first half saw very few chances for both teams. A strike from Saint’s top goalscorer Gavin Reilly aimed straight at Lee Robinson and Kallum Higginbotham doing the same at the other end of the pitch meant St Mirren went into the break with a 1-0 advantage.

Dunfermline came out in the second half determined to get back in the game, and they succeeded on the 48th minute. A free kick from the right hand side was played high to the back post, where Jean Yves Mvoto headed the ball into the six yard box and Nicky Clark won the race to nod it past Craig Samson to even up the score.

Dunfermline really started to take the game to Jack Ross’ side, with St Mirren’s only chance coming from Kyle Magennis’ dipping freekick from 25 yards which was touched over the bar for a corner.

St Mirren managed to restore their lead on the 64th minute. Another free kick from 25 yards, but instead of taking a pop at goal, Magennis decided to delicately chip the ball to the back post, where Jack Baird was standing alone and volleyed past the Dunfermline goalkeeper to the elation of the travelling support.

Morgan could have put the game out of sight for the Championship leaders on two occasions. The first came after a nice give and go with Adam Eckersley saw Morgan cut in from the left and get away a shot, only to be firmly blocked by Robinson. Then three minutes later Morgan was through again, when Stephen McGinn stole the ball from Dunfermline and played through the overlapping winger who blazed the ball over the bar from 15 yards out.

The remaining few minutes saw the away side really hemmed in which lead to the introduction of Gary MacKenzie for goalscorer Cammy Smith. The Pars plugged away at St Mirren’s defence, but to no avail. Two courageous blocks from goalscorer Baird was enough to prevent Dunfermline and seal a first win away to Pars since 2001.

Full Time: Dunfermline 1-2 St Mirren

St Mirren: Samson, L.Smith, Baird, Davis, Eckersley, McGinn, McShane (Flynn 61), Magennis, C.Smith (MacKenzie 82), Morgan, Reilly (Mullen 78)
Subs Not Used: Stewart, Stelios, Hill, Sutton

Dunfermline: Robinson, Williamson, Talbot, Mvoto, Morris, Paton (Aird 63), Shiels (Craigen 42) Wedderburn, Higginbotham (Ryan 71), McManus, Clark
Subs Not Used: Gill, Martin, Ashcroft, Callum Smith

Referee: John Beaton
Assistant Referee: Graham Chambers
Assistant Referee: Drew Kirkland

Attendance: 5,479

Match gallery pictures by Allan Picken © - Allan Picken Photography

St Mirren are back to league action this week as they travel to Fife on tonight to take on Dunfermline Athletic.

After last week's exit from the Scottish Cup at the hands of Aberdeen, Saints will be keen to bounce back with a win at East End Park.

The two last met at the Paisley 2021 Stadium in December where St Mirren ran out 1-0 winners in a controversial affair, after Cammy Smith slotted home from six yards out after a nice piece of play from the Buddies. The main talking point from the game though was when referee Craig Charleston awarded a penalty for Dunfermline, after a tackle from Adam Eckersley on Ryan Williamson, only to overturn the decision moments later and award a freekick to the Saints.

This was The Buddies first victory over The Pars since they were promoted back to the Championship in 2015/16. The five previous league meetings between the clubs have resulted in three wins for Dunfermline and two draws.

The last time the two sides met at East End Park was a day to forget for Jack Ross' side, as they went down 3-0 to the home side back in September. Goals from Declan McManus, David Hopkirk and Calum Morris were enough to seal all three point. But St Mirren's disappointing afternoon wasn't finished, as they saw the game out with only nine men, after a straight red card for Adam Eckersley and second yellow for Gregor Buchanan rounded off a bad day at the office for Saints. 

St Mirren go into this game in good league form as they are unbeaten in their last seven games - winning six and drawing just the once. The last league outing was a 2-0 win over Dumbarton, which included a first goal of the season for captain Stephen McGinn.

Dunfermline had been on a poor run, picking up only three points from seven games during November and December. They seem to have put this past them though and come into the game in decent league form, having won three out of their last four games, drawing their last game 0-0 with Dundee Utd. 

It will be another tough test for St Mirren, but could be a crucial game in the club's hunt for promotion this season.

We can confirm that the St Mirren airdome is now fully operational. 

The dome had come down due to weather conditions last week, but has now been restored to working order. 

Community classes this weekend will be ON. For more information or enquiries please email info@stmirren.com. 

St Mirren Football Club are delighted to announce that All Commercial Parts have agreed to sponsor Steven Thompson’s Hall of Fame Award at the Club's 2017/18 Player of the Year Awards Dinner which takes place at the Normandy Hotel, Renfrew on Saturday 5th May 2018.

Commercial Manager, Campbell Kennedy said: "I would like to thank Nigel McHugh of All Commercial Parts for his kind support in sponsoring this award. All Commercial Parts have been a great supporter of the club and I would like to personally thank them their continued support." 

Nigel McHugh, Director of All Commercial Parts, said: "It’s a privilege and honour as a Leeds United fan, now a converted Buddies Fan, to present the Hall of Fame Award to the very highly respected Steven Thompson. Steven is a born and bred, dyed-in-the-wool St Mirren supporter whose professionalism, dedication and commitment to the club are much valued within the past and present footballing world and local community. In my younger years I would have even swapped the great Gordon McQueen to have Steven grace his abilities at Elland Road!”

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 £700 + VAT or TWELVE at £840 + 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.

You can also book online at our e-store or download a booking form by clicking HERE.

St Mirren fans will be able to purchase tickets on the matchday from the away end ticket kiosk from 6:45pm. The kiosk is located behind the East Stand.

However, we would encourage fans who are planning to travel through for the game to purchase your tickets in advance to avoid queues at the ticket kiosk on matchday.

Please note that the kiosk will be busy and you should arrive in plenty of time to purchase tickets. The kiosk is cash only.

St Mirren's ticket office will be opened till 7:00pm this evening to accommodate this.

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

Thu, 25th Jan: 10:00am to 2:00pm and 5:00pm to 7:00pm.
Fri, 26th Jan: 10:00am to 2:00pm

Additional Information for Travelling Fans

Tomorrow, Friday 26th January, St Mirren make the trip to 'The Kingdom of Fife' to face Dunfermline Athletic in a Ladbrokes Championship match-up at East End Park.

The referee tomorrow is John Beaton and he will be assisted by Graham Chambers and Drew Kirkland. The Fourth Official is Alan Newlands.