St Mirren are back in action this weekend as the Buddies travel to face Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale in the third round of the William Hill Scottish Cup.

It’ll be first ever meeting between the two sides as Saints face the East of Scotland League side at their Saughton Enclosure home.

The Buddies come into tomorrow's match on the back of a free weekend after the international call ups of Lewis Morgan, Liam Smith and Kyle Magennis saw the scheduled home league match against Livingston postponed until Tuesday 28th November. 

The last time Saints were in action was almost two weeks ago as they were beaten 2-1 by Dundee United at Tannadice at the start of the month. United scored either side of the interval through Mark Durnan and Sam Stanton to go 2-0 up before the Buddies scored a late consolation goal from Adam Eckersley's wonder goal. However, despite the loss, St Mirren remain atop of the Ladbrokes Championship after a good start to the season.

Tomorrow's opponents, Lothian Thistle have also been in tremendous form this season - unbeaten so far in all competitions.

Their Scottish Cup began with a 1-0 win away to Kelty Hearts in the first preliminary round. In the second preliminary round they emphatically overcame Coldstream by 4-0 to make the Scottish Cup proper. In the first round they narrowly defeated Inverurie Loco Works 3-2 to set up a second round tie with League Two side Stirling Albion. Against the odds, the East of Scotland League side beat the Binos 5-3 at Forthbank Stadium to make it through to the tomorrow's clash.

Louis Swanson, brother of Hibernian's Danny Swanson, is one of Lothian's key players and he netted in the win over Stirling, while Sean Wringe grabbed a double.

St Mirren’s Scottish Cup journey last season saw them progress to the quarter finals where, after taking an early lead against Celtic at Celtic Park, the Buddies were knocked out by Brendan Rodgers side. Last season’s campaign began with a 5-1 win over Spartans at the Paisley 2021 Stadium in the third round. A double from Lawrence Shankland was added to by goals from Stephen Mallan, Kyle McAllister and John Sutton. Indeed, McAllister's fine solo effort won him goal of the round. 

After beating the Lowland League side, Saints were drawn to face Premiership side Dundee at Dens Park in the fourth round. The Buddies, bottom of the Championship at the time, were underdogs but put in a tremendous display despite missing key some players with goals from John Sutton and Jack Baird seeing Saints progress to the next round.

Saints were given another away tie with a trip to New Bayview to face League One side East Fife in February. The Buddies progressed by the odd goal in five with Cammy Smith netting his first St Mirren goal before a second half brace from Lewis Morgan put the Saints into the last eight. 

Again, St Mirren were drawn away from home and the Buddies couldn't have asked for a tougher draw with a trip to Celtic Park to face Brendan Rodgers' domestically unbeaten Celtic side. It was going to be a huge ask for Saints but they took the lead early lead when Harry Davis was on the end of a John Sutton knock down to stun the Parkhead side.

Early in the second half, a Mallan free kick was deflected off the bar as Saints looked to double their lead and cause a huge cup upset. But Celtic equalised a few minutes after the near miss through Mikael Lustig before goals from Scott Sinclair, Moussa Dembele and Leigh Griffiths saw the Hoops progress. 

It was a tough result to take after such a spirited performance with Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers complimentary of the Saints in his media duties after the match. 

Tomorrow will be a new experience for Saints at a ground that many of the players are unlikely to play at ever again. More than 600 St Mirren supporters are expected at Saughton for the 1pm kick-off. It's the magic of the cup with Lothian hoping to take another scalp, while the Buddies will be looking to navigate their way into the fourth round. 

Tomorrow afternoon (Saturday 18th November), St Mirren head through to Edinburgh for a Scottish Cup tie against Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale at Saughton Enclosure.

The info on Travel Clubs heading to Saughton Enclosure for the cup tie is as follows:

Cockles Wilson Supporters Bus

We will be leaving at 11:30am for the Hutchison Vale game.

Bus tickets are on sale in The Bankhouse.

North End Travel Club

The bus to the Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale game will leave The Sneddon at 11:00am.

Bus tickets are on sale now in The Brewer's Tap, £7 each.

Members don't need a ticket.

Chivas Travel Club

The bus for the cup tie will leave at 11:30am from The Court Bar.

There are 10 tickets still available for the bus at the Court Bar.

All members have a reserved seat for the bus, any members not requiring their seat should contact Wullie Bell as soon as possible.

Tile Bar Supporters Bus

The bus for the cup tie at Edinburgh will leave at 11:15am.

Tickets for this bus are now on sale in the bar, but we only have 3 seats remaining.

* Concessions are for over 65s, full-time students, ambulant disabled, carer and unemployed - all must provide valid proof of status.

Additional Information for Travelling Fans

Tomorrow, Saturday 18th November, St Mirren make the trip east along the M8 to Edinburgh to face Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale in the 3rd Round of the William Hill Scottish Cup at Saughton Enclosure.

Tickets for this match are on sale from the St Mirren Ticket Office up till 2:00pm today (Friday 17th November).

The referee tomorrow is David Lowe and he will be assisted by Graham Chambers and Blair Fraser.

For directions to Saughton Enclosure click HERE.

St Mirren Commercial Manager, Campbell Kennedy was delighted to welcome a party of our Main Sponsors, Skyview Capital to the Paisley 2021 Stadium on Sunday.

The party were on a scheduled business trip from the USA to Europe and had hoped to take in the Livingston game that was originally scheduled for Saturday 11 November.

Campbell welcomed Jim Hall, Baudy Bueno, Erica Curello and Matt Oehlmann and gave them a tour of the stadium where they had opportunities to get some pictures with their Skyview branding.

On the visit, Campbell said: "I am in regular touch with Jim Hall and it was great to meet Baudy, Erica and Matt to give them a behind the scenes look at the stadium."

Unfortunately, due to the postponement of the Livingston match, they did not manage to see the Saints in action as intended but are hoping to be back in Scotland in the New Year to take in a game and cheer on the Saints.

St Mirren manager Jack Ross says he's looking forward to Saturday's match after a free weekend last week.

The Buddies are back in action as they travel to Edinburgh to face Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale in the Third Round of the William Hill Scottish Cup. 

The 2016-17 East of Scotland League Champions have had a terrific start to their season - defeating League Two side Stirling Albion 5-3 in the previous round to set up this weekend's clash.

And they come into Saturday's match on the back of a 5-1 win over Tynecastle in the SFA South Region Challenge Cup last Saturday.

The gaffer has already seen the in-form Vale side in action and admits he won't be taking them lightly.

"It's nice to have it to look forward to and it's different," he said. "In cup competitions I like to get drawn against someone out with our league. When we come round to the game the players will look forward to it and enjoy the different experience of it. 

"They've had a great season so far and I know they won again on Saturday and what they've achieved in the league has been terrific, but I look forward to it. 

"James and I went to their game against Peebles a couple of midweeks ago. It shows the respect we are giving them in terms of how we prepare for the game that our preparation is the same and consistent as it is for any opposition. 

"We'll play what we feel is our strongest team to win the match. There are sometimes one or two changes depending on what you want to do for a specific game and we've obviously had players away with the Scotland U21s so we'll assess them. But we'll treat it as every other game for us and with the utmost respect."  

Saints defender Harry Davis told stmirren.com that he is ready to go this weekend if called upon after a lengthy spell out injured. 

Davis played for an hour in a bounce match against a strong Celtic side at Lennoxtown last week.

The manager admits he was happy with how the 26 year-old performed and say he comes into his thoughts for Saturday's match. 

He did really good," said Jack. "He's had a couple of weeks full training now, but eight months is a long period to be out for. His general fitness is good it's just the sharpness aspect of it.

"I was really pleased with him. It was a good test as well because they had some strong players playing and he's come through it fine. He's starting to be in my thoughts and he may be around the squad on Saturday which is a bonus.

"It just strengthens us," he continued. "We've had a difficult season in that regard because we've been missing players consistently through the season and it's left us a little short. It'd be great to have Gary [MacKenzie] and Josh [Todd] back as well. But getting Harry back is at least one back and he showed in his spell here last year how important a player he could be.

"Gary is still working back from his achilles. I think timescale wise we are hoping he is getting towards the end of it and in a week, week and a half's time, he will be back training with us.

"He's getting closer but by the time that comes around he'll have been out 15/16 weeks. Being out that length of time it takes a little while to get back to full fitness as well." 

The St Mirren Fans Council are hosting a Children's Christmas Party on Sunday 17th December 2017 at the 1877 Supporters Club.

Taking place between 12:30pm-2:30pm, it will be an afternoon of fun and games for young St Mirren fans with the Panda Santa present. 

All kids will receive a gift with lots of St Mirren related prizes to be won on the day. 

Entry is by ticket only with prices at £3 for children and £1 for adults. Tickets are available on the St Mirren Fans Council website and Eventbrite.

The St Mirren U20s picked up a point away to St Johnstone in the SPFL Development League yesterday afternoon as they drew 3-3. 

But the Young Buddies will be disappointed to have not come away with all three with St Johnstone levelling deep into stoppage time to secure a share of the spoils. 

The hosts took an early lead through Jamie Docherty, but two goals in quick succession from Scott Glover and Conor McBrearty put the Buddies ahead. 

Docherty scored again to get the Perth Saints level before Sam Jamieson put St Mirren back into the lead heading into the interval. 

St Johnstone stole a point at the death when Shaun Struthers popped up in injury time to make it 3-3. 

The Young Buddies are next in action on Tuesday 21st November as they play host to Hamilton Academicals. 

For more on the SPFL Development League please click here. 

St Mirren: Wilson, Horne, Barclay, MacPherson, Miller, McDonald, Glover, McBrearty, Jamieson, Kirkpatrick, Stewart
Subs: Henry, Breadner, Erhahon, Morrison, King, Leitch

Supporters have until 2pm on Friday to secure their tickets for Saturday's Scottish Cup tie against Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale. 

The Buddies' Scottish Cup campaign gets underway with a trip to Saughton Enclosure in Edinburgh to face the East of Scotland League side. 

The match will kick-off at 1pm and tickets are available from the ticket office and online. These are priced at £10 for adults and £5 for concessions.

Any tickets ordered online must be collected from the ticket office no later than 2pm on Friday. 

On Saturday afternoon St Mirren head along the M8 to Edinburgh to face Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale in the William Hill Scottish Cup.

The 3rd Round tie will take place at the East of Scotland Football League side's home ground, Saughton Enclosure. For fans who aren't sure of the directions to the stadium, Lothian Thistle have a travel guide on their website which you can see by clicking HERE.

Tickets for the tie are still on sale from the St Mirren Ticket Office; adults - £10, concessions £5.

We note the newspaper article yesterday that revealed the eight clubs chosen to spearhead the Scottish Football Association’s elite level of Project Brave.

Some supporters have been in touch, disappointed with the decision not to include St Mirren as one of the club’s involved at the elite level of the programme. However, we can confirm that we did not apply for elite level status at this time.

Going forward we will be a part of the ‘Performance Progressive’ category. Having done our research on this we believe that with our current, sustainable business model this category will give us a best possible platform to work towards attaining elite level over the next three years.

To achieve elite level we will have to employ five additional members of staff on a full time basis (U18s Coach, Sports Scientist, Head Of Recruitment, Performance Analyst, Head of Children’s Programme). Over the next three years we will actively strive to recruit these positions as fits in with our business model and the timeframe given to achieve elite level status.

We are proud of the hard work we have done at the academy in recent years which can be seen with the likes of academy graduates Kenny McLean, John McGinn, Lewis Morgan, Kyle Magennis and Stephen Mallan all in the full and U21 Scotland squads in the last week, while Ethan Erhahon and Ben Cameron have been regulars in the U17 and U16 squads over the last year.

That hard work will continue as we look to keep producing players for the first team who can go on to play at the highest level.