The manager gives his reaction to tonight's draw with Livingston as Saints ended 2022 with a point away from home.

St Mirren ended the year with a point following a 1-1 draw with Livingston at The Tony Macaroni Arena. 

Both sides had a player sent off with Curtis Main scoring an equaliser to give Saints the share of the spoils and end 2022 unbeaten in their last four. 

Saints boss Stephen Robinson went with the same starting eleven that defeated Aberdeen 3-1 on Christmas Eve.  

The opening 20 minutes were a fairly uneventful spectacle save for Mark O'Hara going into the book for a foul on Andrew Shinnie with just six minutes played. 

Livingston were reduced to 10 men on 24 minutes when Scott Pittman was given his marching orders following VAR intervention. The Livi midfielder caught Keanu Baccus with his studs and was initially shown a yellow card. But referee Steven McLean was advised to check the pitchside monitor and upgraded to red much to the displeasure of the home support. 

Despite the man advantage it would take Saints until the final minute of normal time at the end of the half to create their first real opportunity. Marcus Fraser collected the ball around 20 yards from goal and had a strike that was well pushed away by Livingston goalkeeper Ivan Konovalov. 

A fairly listless first-half prompted Robinson to make a change at the break with Eamonn Brophy on to replace Jonah Ayunga.

Saints' man advantage didn't last too long into the second-half when O'Hara was shown a second yellow card for persistent fouling. And within just a minute of the red card Livingston took the lead through Cristian Montano. The Lions winger was first on to a free-kick into the box. His initial effort came off the post, but he was quickest to react to the rebound to put the home side in front. 

The game burst into life after the opener and Livingston could have doubled their lead on the hour mark when Bruce Anderson was sent clear by Sean Kelly. The striker managed to shake off Charles Dunne to get the shot away but his effort was well saved by the foot of Trevor Carson. Saints broke up the park and almost equalised when Brophy got his head on the end of a ball in from the left. The Buddies would have been level but for a quite frankly ridiculous save from Konovalov who brilliantly clawed away. 

Ironically, Saints were much livelier when they went down to 10 men and found an equaliser on 64 minutes when Main knocked home Brophy's ball in from the left to make it 1-1. 

Curtis Main gets Saints level (Image: Craig Brown)

Livingston felt they should have been awarded a penalty with a little over 15 minutes remaining when Ayo Obileye went down in the box, but nothing was given after a quick VAR check. 

St Mirren had a big chance to win it going into the final minute of normal time when Brophy raced clear down the right side. He had Main to his left but elected to go alone and fired over the bar. That would be that as Saints end 2022 in fifth place in the cinch Premiership.

Full-Time: Livingston 1-1 St Mirren

St Mirren: Carson, Fraser, Gallagher, Dunne, Strain (Kiltie 80), Baccus, Erhahon, O'Hara (c), Tanser, Ayunga (Brophy 46), Main
Subs Not Used: Urminsky, Shaughnessy, Gogic, Flynn, Reid, Henderson, Olusanya

Livingston: Konovalov, Devlin (c), Obileye, Boyes, Kelly, Shinnie (Holt 72), Pittman, Bahamboula (Omeonga 82), Kelly, Montano (Penrice 72), Anderson
Subs Not Used: Hamilton, George, Cancar, Longridge, Goncalves

Referee: Steven McLean
Assistant Referee: Frank Connor
Assistant Referee: Graham McNeillie
Fourth Official: Duncan Williams
VAR: Nick Walsh
Assistant VAR: Dougie Potter

Tickets for our first match of 2023 are on sale.

St Mirren first foot Rugby Park to face Kilmarnock on Monday 2nd January 2023 for our first cinch Premiership match of the New Year. 

Saints supporters can buy tickets online now at THIS LINK. 

Away End tickets will be available in the Chadwick Stand only. If an away supporter purchases a home end ticket they will be denied entry. Tickets are non-refundable, non-transferable and T&C's apply.

PPV will also be available to anyone not making the journey to Kilmarnock. PPV is available for £12.99 at ppv.kilmarnockfc.co.uk.

Kilmarnock v St Mirren 
Competition: cinch Premiership
Date: Monday 2nd January 2023
Kick-off: 3pm
Venue: The BBSP Stadium Rugby Park

Kilmarnock Ticket Info

Adults - £25
Concession* - £20
Under 18 - £15
Under 16 - £8
Under 5 - FREE with any full paying over-18 (must contact the Kilmarnock ticket office to arrange)

*65 and over, full-time students, U21

If supporters require assistance, please contact the Kilmarnock FC ticketing team at tickets@kilmarnockfc.co.uk or call 01563 545 311. 

Ambulant and carer tickets - £15 (Carer - free of charge)

To purchase ambulant and carer tickets please contact the Kilmarnock ticketing team. 

Email - tickets@kilmarnockfc.co.uk 
Tel - 01563 545 311 

Tickets are non-refundable, non-transferable and T&C's apply.

Wheelchair tickets can be purchased directly through Kilmarnock FC's disabled supporters representatives. 

Kilmarnock FC disabled supporters representatives contact information;

Peter Orr –– 01563 406390
Mae Orr - 07909713098

St Mirren Ticket Office Tel: (0141) 840-6130.

St Mirren Ticket Office E-Mail: tickets@stmirren.com 

St Mirren are in cinch Premiership action for the final time in 2022 as we take on Livingston at the Tony Macaroni Arena tonight. 

Tickets for tonight's match are available online at this link. Livingston have informed us that another section will be opened online for away supporters this afternoon - these are located in Section L of the East Stand.

Livingston have also confirmed that there will be an away ticket booth open from 6:15pm at the East Stand for Saints supporters.

Livingston vs St Mirren
cinch Premiership
Venue: The Tony Macaroni Arena, Livingston
Date: Wednesday 28th Dec 2022
Kick-off: 7:45pm

The ticket prices as follows:

* - 65+ or full-time students and registered disabled.

St Mirren TV international subscribers can watch live on tv.stmirren.com as part of their subscription.

International subscriptions start at £14.99 per month or £149.99 per year for access to all of our cinch Premiership matches.

Parking 

Livingston have parking available at the Tony Macaroni Arena on Saturday outside the North Stand. That's priced at £5 for cars and £10 for buses. Please note this is cash only. 

Disabled supporters can park free of charge when in receipt of a valid blue badge. 

If any disabled fans require assistance at the stadium, please email slo@stmirren.com and they will organise this with Livingston.

St Mirren Football Club is delighted to announce that Greg Kiltie has agreed a two-year contract extension which ties him to the club until June 2025.

The midfielder joined Saints from Kilmarnock in June 2021 and has become an important part of the first-team squad – making 47 appearances for Stephen Robinson’s side.

The 25-year-old has also pitched in with seven goals from his midfield position, the most recent of which came in our 3-1 win over Aberdeen on Christmas Eve.

With his contract due to expire in the summer, the club has moved to extend his deal and we are pleased to have agreed a new contract with Greg.

Speaking on his new deal, Greg told stmirren.com: "It’s been a very good weekend for me!

It was straightforward decision for me when it all came about. I love the squad we have and everything about the place so I’m just delighted that it’s done.

"It’s nice to have the off the pitch matters settled and I can focus on the pitch and kicking on. I think we have a really good group here and we can kick on this second half of the season.

"I would like to have played more this season but it’s a strong squad and everyone is fighting for places which is a good thing for the team going forward."

Manager Stephen Robinson was happy to have Greg commit to the club and sees the 25-year-old playing a big part in the squad: "I think Greg is a fantastic player who is coming into the peak of his career.

He's somebody that we want to be part of what we are doing. He gives us goals from midfield and great quality and something different. 

"I think he’s had a fight on his hands with the three midfielders that have started really well, but we were desperate for him to sign. He conducts himself brilliantly when he’s not in the team and he’s probably been a little unfortunate not to have played more games.

"We have offered contracts to four or five of the boys. He's the first one to commit and I see him playing a big part going forward."

Greg celebrates after scoring the third goal in our 3-1 win over Aberdeen on Christmas Eve (Image: Allan Picken)

St Mirren travel to the Tony Macaroni Arena to face Livingston on Wednesday night for our final match of 2022.

The Buddies made their long-awaited return from the World Cup break on Saturday - defeating Aberdeen 3-1 at the SMiSA Stadium. After falling behind an own-goal from Kelle Roos following Mark O'Hara's penalty drew us level going into half-time. O'Hara netted from the spot early in the second-half with Greg Kiltie sealing the points in added time. 

Victory saw Stephen Robinson's men move to within a point of third place and extend their unbeaten run at home to nine matches. 

Livingston have lost their two matches since returning to action. There was a narrow 2-1 defeat for David Martindale's outfit away to Celtic on Wednesday night, while they were also defeated 4-0 by Hibernian at Easter Road on Christmas Eve. 

The Lions sit in eighth place in the cinch Premiership - a point behind Saints in sixth. 

Match Details

Livingston v St Mirren
Competition: cinch Premiership
Date: Wednesday 28th December 2022
Kick-off: 7:45pm
Venue: The Tony Macaroni Arena

Ticket Info

Saints supporters can buy tickets online now at THIS LINK and should select from sections M or P in the East Stand of the Tony Macaroni Arena.

Full ticket info can be found HERE.  

International subscribers to St Mirren TV can watch the match live on tv.stmirren.com as part of their subscription. 

Previous

A last-gasp Alex Greive strike gave Saints a dramatic win over Livingston when the sides last met in October. Keanu Baccus had put St Mirren ahead before Jonah Ayunga was shown a red card for a deliberate handball. Sean Kelly missed the resultant penalty, but Livingston would equalise with just a few minutes to go through Bruce Anderson. 10-men Saints kept going and found an injury-time winner through Greive. 

The Buddies are unbeaten in their last three league trips to the Tony Macaroni Arena. Winning 1-0 and drawing 1-1 on their two league visits to Livingston last season. 

Saints are unbeaten in their last eight league matches against the Lions - a run which stretches back to February 2020. 

Livingston did defeat Saints in League Cup action last season - winning 4-3 on penalties at the Tony Macaroni Arena in August 2021 after a 1-1 draw in normal time. 

Alex Greive celebrates his late winner the last time we faced Livingston (Image: Allan Picken)

The officials

The referee on Wednesday night is Steven McLean. His assistants are Frank Connor and Graham McNeillie, while Duncan Williams is fourth official. 

Nick Walsh is the Virtual Assistant Referee (VAR) with Dougie Potter the Assistant VAR. 

A number of our younger players are currently out on loan at clubs across Scotland. Here's a look at how some of them got on at the weekend. 

Kieran Offord was on the scoresheet for Alloa Athletic on Friday night as the Wasps drew 2-2 with Clyde in League One. The 18-year-old played the full 90 minutes for Brian Rice's side and netted the opener on 21 minutes. That strike was his fourth goal of the season for Alloa. 

Dean McMaster and Lewis Jamieson were unused substitutes for Airdrieonians in their 4-2 win away to Montrose. That victory saw the Diamonds leapfrog Montrose and move into the League One play-off spots. 

Ewan Thomson played the full match for Cowdenbeath when they played on Tuesday night with the Blue Brazil falling to a 3-1 defeat away to Bo'ness United. Aiden Gilmartin was introduced as a half-time substitution for Maurice Ross' men. 

A reminder of the the opening hours of the Ticket Office and Stadium for the festive period.

Monday 26th Dec: CLOSED 
Tuesday 27th Dec: CLOSED
Wednesday 28th Dec: 10am-2pm (Livingston v St Mirren)
Thursday 29th Dec: 10am-2pm 
Friday 30th Dec: 10am-2pm 
Saturday 31st Dec: CLOSED
Sunday 1st Jan: CLOSED

Monday 2nd Jan: 10am-2pm (Kilmarnock v St Mirren)
Tuesday 3rd Jan - Friday 6th Jan: 10am-2pm
Saturday 7th Jan: 11am-Kick-Off (St Mirren v Hearts)
Sunday 8th Jan: CLOSED

Monday 9th Jan: Business as usual

St Mirren Ticket Office Tel: (0141) 840-6130

St Mirren Ticket Office E-Mail: tickets@stmirren.com

Stephen Robinson gives his thoughts as Saints took all three points in our final home game of 2022.

St Mirren gave supporters the perfect early Christmas present after picking up all three points against Aberdeen. 

Despite falling behind to a terrific Matty Kennedy strike Saints rallied to pick up a well-deserved victory in a match that saw Stephen Robinson's men awarded three penalties. 

In the first match back after a six week break, Saints started brightly - forcing a corner in the first minute. Ethan Erhahon swung the free-kick deep into the box where it met the head of Curtis Main at the far end of the area. The striker's header forced it back into a dangerous area with Marcus Fraser nodding goalward, but it was deflected over.  

But it was Aberdeen who took an early lead with Kennedy opening the scoring on 10 minutes. The Dons winger has come close 30 seconds earlier when he rattled the post, but there was no denying his second attempt as he found the top corner with a brilliant effort from 25 yards. 

The Buddies steadily grew back into the game after a quiet spell following Aberdeen's goal. A neat passage of play ended with Saints' World Cup hero Keanu Baccus having an effort blocked by the Dons defence before Erhahon volleyed wide from just inside the box.

Baccus was involved again on 35 minutes when he robbed the ball deep in the Aberdeen half and slipped in Jonah Ayunga. The Saints striker took a couple of touches to fashion a bit of space before firing his shot over.

Immediately after that chance there was drama as Aberdeen captain Anthony Stewart was shown a red card for the visitors for bringing down Ayunga. VAR checked the incident - which began outside, but ended inside - and awarded Saints a penalty. Captain Mark O'Hara stepped up and, although his effort hit the post, it came back off Roos and found the back of the net to draw us level heading into half-time. 

Saints were awarded a second penalty into six minutes into the second-half when Roos brought down Curtis Main. The striker did brilliantly to break on to the loose ball and he was taken out by the Dons goalkeeper. O'Hara made sure it was his this time as he smashed into the net to put us in front. 

Mark O'Hara nets from 12 yards to give us the lead (Image: Allan Picken)

Astonishingly, the Buddies were awarded a third penalty kick of the match when Ayunga was sandwiched between Ross McCrorie and Liam Scales. The striker stepped up to take this one rather than O'Hara but had it saved by Roos. 

With just over 15 minute of normal time remaining Saints missed another big chance for a third when Declan Gallagher rose the highest to meet a corner at the far post but headed over. Two minutes later Aberdeen gave the Buddies a warning that this match was far from over when Ylber Ramadani cracked the bar from inside the box. 

Aberdeen were causing the pressure heading into the final 10 minutes as they desperately searched for an equaliser. It looked like they were about to find one when substitute Ryan Duncan was a whisker away from heading Kennedy's cross into the net from just a few yards out. 

But St Mirren would add a third to put the seal on the points. With Aberdeen goalkeeper Roos up for a corner, Saints managed to get clear and break forward with Kiltie slotting into the empty net from distance to make it a very Merry Christmas for the Buddies. 

Full-Time: St Mirren 3-1 Aberdeen

St Mirren: Carson, Fraser, Gallagher, Dunne, Strain, Baccus, Erhahon (Kiltie 46), O'Hara (c), Tanser, Main (Brophy 83), Ayunga (Gogic 90)
Subs Not Used: Urminksy, Shaughnessy, Flynn, Reid, Henderson, Olusanya

Aberdeen: Roos, McCrorie, Scales, Stewart (c), Coulson (Ramirez 66), Barron, Ramadani, Clarkson (Duncan 46), Kennedy, Miovski, Duk (MacKenzie 46)
Subs Not Used: Lewis, Morris, Watkins, Polvara, Richardson, Milne

Referee: Nick Walsh
Assistant Referee: Daniel McFarlane
Assistant Referee: Gordon McCabe
Fourth Official: Barry Cook
VAR: Steven Kirkland
Assistant VAR: David Roome

Attendance: 7,394