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.
