St Mirren have been drawn to face Raith Rovers at home in the third round of the IRN-BRU Cup. 

The Buddies have overcome Lowland League side East Kilbride and Hearts Colts on their way to the third round. 

The match will take place on the weekend of 7/8th October. 

Full details and ticket arrangements will be announced in due course. 

There are still opportunities to have your business advertised on the front of a St Mirren FC Youth Academy team strip for season 2017/18. 

Your company will be the main sponsor for that age group and will be included in online marketing materials via the club's social media channels. 

All logos will be highly visible and placed on the front of every jersey of the sponsored team creating fantastic exposure for your company. 

The company logo will also appear on the academy page in every home match programme for the 2017/18 season. 

To find out more about this great opportunity please contact Claire on 0141-882-0925 or email claire.coventry@stmirren.com 

The St Mirren U20s are back in action tomorrow night as they face Motherwell at Forthbank.

The match kicks off at 5pm with the young Buddies searching for their first league win of the season. 

They opened the campaign with a 3-3 draw with Partick Thistle before being narrowly beaten by Kilmarnock last week.

For more on the SPFL Development League please click here.

SMISA has announced that they have arranged a question-and-answer night with Jack Ross and James Fowler for Thursday 14 September.

Now the transfer window has closed and management have assembled their squad for the season, this is your chance to hear directly from them about their plans for as they talk with the supporters.

The Q&A will take place in the hospitality suite at the Paisley 2021 Stadium, with doors opening at 6.30pm for a 7pm start.

The event is only open to fans over the age of 18 as it is a licensed event and is free to attend, but should it reach capacity, it will be first come, first served.

You can guarantee your place by registering via the Eventbrite link here.

A gallery of pictures from St Mirren's 3-1 win over Hearts Colts in the IRN-BRU Cup.

Gavin Reilly scored a double either side of half-time, with John Sutton netting late on after Rory Currie had pulled a goal back for the young Jambos.

The win made it five home victories in a row for the Buddies for the first time at the Paisley 2021 Stadium and sees Saints in tomorrow's third round draw.

Gallery pictures by Allan Picken © - Allan Picken Photography

St Mirren assistant manager James Fowler gives his thoughts on the Buddies 3-1 win over Hearts Colts in the IRN-BRU Cup.

A double from Gavin Reilly was added to by John Sutton to make it five home wins in a row for the first time at the Paisley 2021 Stadium and see Saints progress to the third round.

St Mirren made it five home wins in a row for the first time since they moved into the Paisley 2021 Stadium as they defeated Hearts Colts in the IRN-BRU Cup.  

Gavin Reilly scored either side of half-time to put Saints in firmly in control before Rory Currie snatched a late goal for the young Jambos. Substitute John Sutton put the game to bed just a few moments later to secure St Mirren's place in Tuesday's third round draw. 

The Buddies got off to a flying start with ex-Hearts man Reilly opening the scoring on eight minutes. It was a fine finish from the ex-Hearts man as he curled the ball beautifully beyond Kelby Mason from the edge of box after a neat passage of play.   

Saints were on top and could have had a second when debutant Dale Hilson found Conor O'Keefe in space on the left side. The young winger, making his first Saints start, steadied himself for the shot before hitting it straight into the arms of Mason. 

The Hearts goalkeeper did well to deny Reilly in similar circumstances not long after, holding the striker's low drive on 20 minutes. 

It was then the turn of Saints keeper Ross Stewart to be put to work as he tipped Hearts skipper Angus Beith's powerful effort from outside the box over the bar. 

In truth though, that Beith chance aside, the Buddies dominated the first half and Reilly will feel he should have had his second before he did. On 33 minutes, Hilson did brilliantly well to pull down Gregor Buchanan's cross-field pass and keep it in play on the left touchline. He raced into the box, seeing an attempt from the angle blocked by Mason. The ball fell invitingly for Reilly with it ready to be passed into the back of the net, but he somehow managed to put it over. 

A quick move just before half time could have almost got Hearts level heading into the break. Currie played the ball to Callum Morrison who whipped a dangerous looking ball into the Saints box with Lewis Moore just failing to get on the end of it. 

Half Time: St Mirren 1-0 Hearts Colts

The Buddies doubled their lead soon after the interval when Reilly grabbed his and Saints' second. Just as was the case in the win over Dundee United last week, it was the perfect start to the second period as the striker burst on to a neat through ball from captain Stephen McGinn and lashed it home for his eighth St Mirren goal. 

Hearts Colts tried to find a way back into the match and were lucky still to be in the contest when Ian McShane swung a free-kick just by the right hand post on the hour. 

A third goal would have surely killed off the match, but this young Jambos side were a determined bunch. Again Beith who went close to getting on the scoresheet for the visitors with the captain curling a shot just wide after being laid off by Currie. 

They would get the goal they craved with just under 10 minutes of the match to go. Substitute Aidan Keena found himself in good space in the box only to have his attempt deflected by for a corner. The Buddies failed to deal with the set piece with Keena flinging the ball back into the danger area. It came off the leg of Jack Baird and landed in the path of Currie who managed to put the ball into the back of the net.  

But any hopes of a comeback were dashed for the visitors when John Sutton added a third for Saints on 83 minutes. This time Reilly turned provider as he clipped the ball from the byline into the six-yard box to meet the head of Sutton who nodded home. 

Both sides had chances in the final few moments with Ross Stewart saving well with his feet to deny Jamie Brandon and Gavin Reilly seeing a shot inside the box blocked as he seemed set to grab a hat-tick. 

In the end it was a fine effort from a young Hearts side, but it's Saints who deservedly progress into the next round of the cup. 

Full Time: St Mirren 3-1 Hearts Colts

St Mirren: Stewart, Stelios, Baird, Buchanan, Eckersley, McGinn, McShane (Sutton 71), Hilson (Stewart 54), Smith, O'Keefe (Kirkpatrick 61), Reilly
Subs Not Used: Samson, Whyte, Erhahon, Duffy

Hearts Colts: Mason, Brandon, Sandison, B. Gadja, Hamilton, Petkov (Cochrane 88), Morrison, Beith, Currie, Paton (Keena 49), Moore
Subs Not Used: W.Gadja, Irving, Reid, Ritchie

Referee: Craig Charleston 
Assistant Referee: John McCrossan 
Assistant Referee: Iain Snedden

Attendance: 1,130

St Mirren make three changes to the side that defeated Dundee United last week. 

Ross Stewart is between the sticks in place of Craig Samson who takes a seat on the bench. 

Lewis Morgan misses out due to international duty, while Liam Smith is struggling with a knock and they are replaced by Dale Hilson and Conor O'Keefe.

It's a Saints debut for Hilson who has been out with an injury since signing in the summer, while it's also a first start for academy player O'Keefe.

There's also a place on the bench for 16 year-old prospect Ethan Erhahon.

Kick-off is at 3pm and we'll have all the action covered on our Twitter and Facebook pages. Saints fans outside the UK and Ireland can watch the match live on St Mirren TV. 

St Mirren: Stewart, Stelios, Baird, Buchanan, Eckersley, McGinn, McShane, Hilson, C.Smith, O'Keefe, Reilly
Subs: Samson, Whyte, Kirkpatrick, Erhahon, Stewart, Sutton, Duffy

The transfer window slammed shut last night with no players in or out at St Mirren on the final day.

It has, however, been a productive window for Saints with 12 players joining the Buddies over the summer months.

It was announced at the end of the season that Andy Webster, Ben Gordon and Jordan Stewart would all leave the club after their deals expired. Norwegian utility player Pal Fjelde also departed when his contract came to an end.

Webster hung up his boots after a career that saw him capped 28 times for Scotland and play for the likes of Hearts, Rangers, Dundee United, Wigan, Coventry and Saints among others. A few weeks after calling time on his playing career, Webster joined the St Mirren Youth Academy as a coach.

Gordon signed with League One side East Fife, while Stewart was picked up by Clyde. Fjelde moved on to Faroese club 07 Vestur.

Just days after securing our place in the Ladbrokes Championship with a 1-1 draw against Hibernian at Easter Road, Adam Eckersley put pen to paper as he agreed a new two-year deal with the club. He was closely followed by fellow defender Jack Baird who extended his deal by one-year a few days later.  

Gary Irvine and captain Stephen McGinn both triggered clauses in their contracts that saw them renew their deals by another year.

Stephen Mallan left St Mirren for English Championship side Barnsley for an undisclosed fee in May. The 21 year-old had been with the Saints youth academy before making his first team debut in 2014. With over 100 appearances, the midfielder made the move down south after playing a pivotal role in keep the Buddies in the Ladbrokes Championship.

Despite this, Saints were boosted by the news that Josh Todd and Gary MacKenzie had both agreed new one-year deals.

On the same day that the Buddies renewed MacKenzie’s deal, Cammy Smith joined the club on a permanent deal. Smith had originally joined Saints on loan in January from Ladbrokes Premiership runners-up Aberdeen. After impressing in his temporary spell, he joined on a two-year deal following the expiry of his Dons contract.

A day later, Kyle Hutton agreed to mutually terminate his deal despite having a year left after falling out of favour at Saints.

There was delight for St Mirren when Kyle Magennis extended his deal to the year 2020. The midfielder had made a huge impression after making his debut in the first team under Jack Ross. 

The manager continued to work hard to bring players in before pre-season with four players joining in the space of two days. Two Ross Stewarts were signed from Albion Rovers - one a striker, the other a goalkeeper. Jordan Kirkpatrick, who had worked with Jack Ross at Alloa, joined on a free after scoring 17 goals from midfield for the Wasps. Another centre half was added to the side also when Gregor Buchanan signed after leaving fellow Ladbrokes Championship side Dumbarton.

Ex-Saints goalkeeper Craig Samson re-joined the club at the start of June and said he felt he had unfinished business at the Buddies.

Fan favourite Stelios Demetriou agreed a contract extension five days later much to the delight of St Mirren supporters.

The next day, Gavin Reilly was snapped up after leaving Premiership side Hearts. The manager had worked with the striker during his time with the Jambos, while assistant manager James Fowler was Reilly’s gaffer at Queen of the South.

U20s player Nathan Flanagan agreed a one-year deal with the first team before joining East Fife on loan. Fellow academy player Darren Whyte also signed a first team contract while Lewis McLear was let go after five years with Saints.

Ian McShane joined from Ross County on a two-year deal a few days before Saints’ first competitive game of the season against Stranraer in the Betfred Cup. He was closely followed by ex-Queen of the South forward Dale Hilson after he penned a six-month deal in June following a brief trial period.

Harry Davis, who had impressed at the Buddies last season before injury cut short his loan spell from Crewe Alexandra, joined the club permanently at the start of August after agreeing a one-year deal.

A few days later, midfielder Rocco Quinn agreed to terminate his contract with a little under a year remaining on his deal.

Jack Ross and James Fowler agreed a three-year contract extension on August 4, tying them to the club until 2020.

Rocco Quinn’s departure allowed Saints to free up funds to sign well-travelled Darryl Duffy. The striker signed a one-year deal after four years playing in India.

Scotland U21 international Liam Smith became the last addition to the squad when he joined on a season-long loan from Hearts on 14 August.

James Fowler will be the man in the dugout tomorrow with Jack Ross serving his one match suspension. 

The gaffer has accepted his punishment following a breach of Disciplinary Rule 203 in the recent win away to Livingston. 

That means assistant manager, James Fowler will lead the team in the IRN-BRU Cup tie against Hearts Colts at the Paisley 2021 Stadium. 

While Fowler has experience of being the main man from his time in charge of Queen of the South, he isn't expecting his role to be much different than usual tomorrow.

I'm looking forward to it," he told stmirren.com.

"Obviously the manager will be at the match as well so I'm sure we'll discuss lots before to make sure we are prepared.

"It won't really change much for me, it'll just be me giving a few more instructions to the players.

"My role will just be to make sure the players are clear on what we want and that they are at it from the first minute."

Tomorrow is the first time Saints have played a Colt team since their addition to the Challenge Cup last season.

The inclusion of Colt teams to the IRN-BRU Cup has proved to be a controversial decision.

And Fowler confessed that, while he understands the rationale behind it, he doesn't believe it has worked. 

It's probably not ideal to be honest," he said.

"I can get the thinking behind it in terms of trying to progress young players.

"I think they originally thought that Celtic and Rangers would take good crowds to these games, but it seems to have been proved that that hasn't been the case.

"We still need to try and find a solution to progress our young players and make sure they are playing competitive football, but I'm not sure this cup is the best way to do that."

Saints are expected to play a strong team tomorrow as they look to continue the momentum that has been building over the last few weeks. 

Fowler also believes that it provides one or two fringe players the chance to come in and establish themselves in the first team.

I think when it's a midweek game you maybe think about resting a few, but being a Saturday I think it will be a balance in what we do.

"There is maybe one or two boys that haven't had much game time that might feature and it allows them to keep the competition for places high.

"We are in this competition and we want to try and progress through. We want to keep the momentum going and we want to make sure we keep winning."