Connor Ronan's fifth goal of the season gives Saints first win at Easter Road since 2016.

Jim Goodwin's side have won three of their four cinch Premiership matches of 2022.

St Mirren's unbeaten run in 2022 continued as Connor Ronan's second-half goal saw Saints defeat Hibernian at Easter Road.

The Irishman scored his fifth goal of the season just after the hour mark to make it four wins from five for Jim Goodwin's side and move us to within a point of top six.

The manager made one change for the side that drew with Motherwell midweek. Alex Greive, back from international duty with New Zealand, came in for his first start in place of the injured Eamonn Brophy. 

The New Zealand forward was almost the recipient of a dangerous looking ball across from Jordan Jones with just eight minutes played, but the cross had too much on it for Greive to get proper contact. 

New Zealand international Alex Greive made his first start for Saints (Image: Craig Brown)

Saints pressed and harried the hosts in the opening exchanges forcing them into mistakes and frustrating the Easter Road crowd. Richard Tait was given an abundance of time and space to curl wide from 25 yards on 17 minutes before Jones blasted over from the same sort of range a minute later. 

Greive was sent away on the counter on 22 minutes with Lewis Stevenson hesitant to close the ball down. Greive drove forward but with no support he had a go from an angle which Kevin Dabrowski managed to push away. 

The Buddies defence was called into action a few minutes later with Joe Shaughnessy and Richard Tait making a vital goal-saving block to deny Hibernian's American forward Chris Mueller. It was end-to-end stuff with neither goalkeeper really having much to do in the first half-hour. 

Saints finished the half the stronger of the two sides with Connor Ronan in two opportunities in the final minutes of the opening 45. The Irishman dragged wide from 20 yards on 41 minutes. Two minutes later Ronan showed great feet to work his way by a couple of challenges before rolling into the path of Jay Henderson whose effort with the outside of his boot was palmed away by Dabrowski. 

Hibernian manager Shaun Maloney made a change at the break with Ewan Henderson replacing Christian Doidge and the substitute almost put the home side in front on 52 minutes. He was found well by Kevin Nisbet in the centre of the box, but Jak Alnwick was out to brilliantly block. 

The Saints goalkeeper had to be at his best to deny Henderson again four minutes later. Once again it was Nisbet who set it up for Henderson whose attempt 15 yards out was tipped over by Alnwick. 

Despite a slow start to the second-half, Jim Goodwin's men would take the lead just after the hour mark. Ronan robbed ex-Saint Jake Doyle-Hayes of the ball 20 yards from goal and slammed into the roof of the net after breaking into the box. 

Hibernian almost immediately found themselves level with Alnwick at full stretch to just claw Nisbet's close-range effort by the post. 

Jak Alnwick kept his third clean sheet of 2022 (Image: Craig Brown)

Greive was inches away from scoring his first Saints goal and doubling our lead with around 20 minutes of play remaining. Jones caught the Hibernian defence out with his low ball across the box with Greive just unable to connect. 

The home side had the majority of the pressure in the final stages as they searched for an equaliser. But they couldn't trouble Alnwick or the Saints defence which ensured all the points are heading back to Paisley.

Full-Time: Hibernian 0-1 St Mirren

Saints applaud the travelling support at full-time (Image: Craig Brown)

St Mirren: Alnwick, Fraser, Shaughnessy (c), Dunne, Tait, Power (Erhahon 70), Ronan, J.Henderson (Flynn 62), Kiltie, Jones (Millar 78), Greive (Main 70)
Subs Not Used: Lyness, McCarthy, Erwin

Hibernian: Dabrowski, Cadden, Bushiri, Porteous, Stevenson (Doig 81), Mitchell (Scott 81), Doyle-Hayes (Allan 82), Campbell (Jasper 70), Mueller, Doidge (E. Henderson 46), Nisbet
Subs Not Used: Macey, McGinn, Wright, McGregor

Referee: Greg Aitken
Assistant Referee: Alan Mulvanny
Assistant Referee: Daniel McFarlane
Fourth Official: Dan McFarlane

Attendance: 13,227

St Mirren Football Club was saddened to hear of the recent passing of our former chairman Robert (Bob) Earlie.

Mr Earlie was chairman of St Mirren between 1994 and 1996.

St Mirren Chief Executive Tony Fitzpatrick said: "We were all saddened to hear of the passing of Mr Earlie. 

"Personally, I knew Mr Earlie well and he was a really decent man.

"The thoughts of everyone at St Mirren Football Club are with Mr Earlie’s family and friends during this sad time."

Funeral service to which all family and friends are respectfully invited will take place at Woodside Crematorium, Paisley on Thursday 10th February at 11.30am. Family flowers only please, donations if desired to Dementiauk.org.

Saints busy schedule continues with a trip to Scotland's capital this weekend as Jim Goodwin's side face Hibernian at Easter Road. 

The Buddies will be looking to maintain their unbeaten run in 2022 having won three and drawn one of their four matches in the new year.

Alex Gogic's debut goal looked like it would make it four wins from four when Saints faced Motherwell at the SMiSA Stadium on Tuesday night. But a late equaliser from the Steelmen meant the Buddies had to settle for a point. 

Hibernian have yet to win in the cinch Premiership since returning from the winter break.

Shaun Maloney's side go into Saturday's match having drawn 0-0 with their Edinburgh rivals Hearts on Tuesday night. That followed losses to Livingston (2-3) and Celtic (0-1) as well as another 0-0 draw with Motherwell. 

Match Details

Hibernian v St Mirren
Competition: cinch Premiership
Date: Saturday 5th February 2022
Kick-off: 3pm
Venue: Easter Road, Edinburgh

Match Info

Tickets for Saturday's match are available at the St Mirren ticket office only and there will be no sale of tickets on the day. Ticket info and prices are available at this link.

The St Mirren Ticket Office is open between 10am-2pm and 5pm-7pm on Thursday (3rd Feb) and 10am-2pm on Friday (4th Feb). 

Supporters should also be aware that Easter Road is a cashless stadium and food kiosks will only accept card payments. 

PPV is available for those not attending Saturday's match. PPV is available for £15 at this link.

Covid Status

Spot-checks of Covid status will be in force for this match. These will take place at check-points ahead of arrival at the turnstile. Supporters are requested to bring their vaccine status with them and be prepared for it to be checked. 

Supporters will need to provide evidence of one of the three options below:

• Be fully vaccinated, which will include a booster vaccine for those who had a second dose more than four months ago.
• Have tested negative for COVID-19 virus in the previous 24 hours.
• Are exempt.

Supporters will be refused entry to the stadium if they do not have their vaccine status.

Under 18’s are exempt from providing their vaccine status.

Previous

Neither could be separated in the two meetings between the sides this season. 

Eamonn Brophy and Joe Shaughnessy scored at Easter Road as the Saints drew 2-2 with the Hibees back in September. 

Shaughnessy was on the scoresheet once again when Hibernian visited the SMiSA Stadium in December. His late equaliser earned us a share of the spoils in a 1-1 draw. 

The team celebrate Joe Shaughnessy's late equaliser at Easter Road in September (Image: Craig Brown)

The officials

The referee on Saturday is Greg Aitken. His assistants are Alan Mulvanny and Daniel McFarlane. The fourth official is Dan McFarlane. 

Tickets for our Scottish Cup match against Kelty Hearts are now on-sale at the St Mirren Ticket Office.

Saints host the League Two outfit at the SMiSA Stadium on Saturday 12th February in the Fifth Round of the Scottish Cup. 

St Mirren vs Kelty Hearts
Scottish Cup Fifth Round
Venue: The SMiSA Stadium, Paisley
Date: Saturday 12th February 2022
Kick-off: 3pm

Home end tickets

Season ticket holders have until Thursday 10th February to secure their season ticket seat before all seats become available. To secure your season ticket seat head to stmirren.com/claimyourseat.

Please note season tickets will not be valid and your season ticket card won't be activated for this match - you will receive an email with your e-ticket which can be printed off or used on your phone and scanned at the turnstiles. 

Non-season ticket holders can buy home end tickets at the St Mirren Ticket Office or online at stmirren.com/matchtickets.

Away end tickets

Kelty Hearts supporters should only buy online at stmirren.com/awaysupporters.

Ticket prices are as follows:

 *Over-65, U18s and full-time students. 

The Ticket Office hours this week are as follows:

Jim Goodwin admits a draw was probably a fair result with neither side doing enough to win at the SMiSA Stadium following our 1-1 draw with Motherwell. 

Neither team did enough to win the game and I thought a draw was fair."

An injury-time equaliser from Motherwell denied St Mirren a fourth win from four in 2022. 

Debutant Alex Gogic looked to have won the points when he headed Saints in front with less than 10 minutes remaining. But Ross Tierney scored in the first minute of added time to give the Steelmen a share of the spoils. 

Saints were forced into two changes to the side that defeated Aberdeen last week. In came Richard Tait - who has just agreed a new deal at the Buddies - as well as new signing Jordan Jones. They replaced Scott Tanser - who missed out due to injury - and Jamie McGrath who departed for Wigan on deadline day. 

The Buddies were dealt a major blow when Eamonn Brophy pulled up with an injury on 23 minutes and had to be replaced by Gogic.

While Saints failed to create anything of note in the first 30 minutes, Motherwell were looking the more likely with Sean Goss having three opportunities for the Steelmen. The first saw the Englishman drive an effort just wide from 25 yards, before twice forcing saves from Jak Alnwick. 

St Mirren's best chance of the half came five minutes before the interval. Connor Ronan's ball to the far post met Gogic who had his half-volley deflected wide by a Motherwell defender. 

The Buddies went agonisingly close to going in front two minutes before the hour mark when Jones' beautiful cross found Tait at the far post. The Saints defender looked like he was going to put Jim Goodwin's men ahead only for Liam Kelly to pull off a magnificent save to claw it off the line.  Alnwick was then called upon for Saints on 72 minutes when he made an important block to deny Kevin Van Veen. 

With only 10 minutes of the match remaining the game really sprung into life as Gogic put us ahead. Substitute Ryan Flynn saw a ferocious effort from the edge of the box tipped over the bar by Kelly. From the resulting corner, Gogic leapt above the Motherwell defence to power home a header which cracked off the post on its way into the net.

Gogic celebrates after scoring on his debut for Saints (Image: Jeff Holmes)

That looked like it would be enough to make it four wins from four for Jim Goodwin's men, but Tierney struck in the dying minutes to see Motherwell take a point away from Paisley.

Full-Time: St Mirren 1-1 Motherwell

St Mirren: Alnwick, Fraser, Shaughnessy (c), Dunne, Tait, Power, Ronan (Erhahon 87), Henderson (Erwin 59), Kiltie, Jones (Flynn 69), Brophy (Gogic 23)
Subs Not Used: Lyness, Millar

Motherwell: Kelly, O'Donnell, Solholm, Mugabi, Carroll, McGinley (Roberts 83), Goss, Donnelly, Slattery (Woolery 73), Shaw (Tierney 40), Van Veen
Subs Not Used: Fox, Ojala, Amaluzor, Efford, Grimshaw, Nirennold

Referee: Euan Anderson
Assistant Referee: Drew Kirkland
Assistant Referee: Colin Drummond
Fourth Official: Matthew MacDermid

Attendance: 4,987 

St Mirren Football Club is delighted to confirm that Richard Tait has agreed a one-year contract extension. 

The 32-year-old joined Saints in July 2020 on a two-year contract following the expiry of his deal at Motherwell. With his original contract due to expire this summer, Richard has now agreed an extension until summer 2023. 

Since joining the Buddies, Richard has been an important member of Jim Goodwin's first-team squad - making 56 appearances and scoring two goals. 

Our cinch Premiership match against Dundee - originally scheduled to take place on Saturday 29th January - will take place on Wednesday 23rd February 2022.

The original fixture was postponed due to stadium safety issues at the Kilmac Stadium caused by high winds. 

Tickets for the original fixture are still valid, while refunds are available for anyone who can't make the rearranged date.

The full rescheduled match details are:

Wednesday 23rd February 2022
Dundee v St Mirren
Kick-off: 7:45pm
Venue: The Kilmac Stadium, Dundee

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

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

St Mirren vs Motherwell
cinch Premiership
Venue: The SMiSA Stadium, Paisley
Date: Tuesday 1st February 2022
Kick-off: 7:45pm

The match day officials for Tuesday's match against the Steelmen are as follows:

Referee: Euan Anderson
Assistant Referee: Drew Kirkland
Assistant Referee: Colin Drummond
Fourth Official: Matthew MacDermid

Match Details

The game kicks-off at 7:45pm.

Season Tickets ARE valid for this game.

Match is all ticket – tickets will be on sale (subject to availability) UNTIL KICK-OFF.

On the match day St Mirren fans can purchase their tickets (subject to availability) at the St Mirren Ticket Office from 10:00am to 2:00pm or 5:00pm to 8:00pm. The West Stand Ticket booth will also be open for tonight's match. Away end tickets available online at stmirren.com/awaysupporters. 

Tickets for the original fixture on Sunday 2nd January 2022 are valid for tonight's match.

The fastest and easiest way to buy tickets for the home end is online at stmirren.com/matchtickets. This will provide supporters with a QR code directly to their phones that will be scanned at the turnstiles for entry. 

St Mirren season ticket holders who cannot attend the match can watch live on St Mirren TV. Season ticket holders who wish to access St Mirren TV should click this link and follow the instructions in the article. 

The match will also be live on St Mirren PPV at a cost of £14.99. As the game is on a midweek night, PPV will be available in England. Conor McCarthy will be the St Mirren TV guest while Campbell Money will be on co-commentary.

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

Tue, 1st Feb - 10:00am to 2:00pm and 5:00pm to 8:00pm

Ticket Office Phone No: (0141) 840-6130
St Mirren Ticket Office E-Mail: tickets@stmirren.com

Covid status checks

Due to updated guidance from the Joint Response Group earlier this week, Covid status checks will not be in check for this match. 

Visitor Information

St Mirren Football Club can confirm that Dylan Reid has joined Queen's Park on loan until the end of the season.

The 16-year-old became the youngest ever player in the cinch Premiership when he made his debut against Rangers at the age of 16 years and five days last March.

Dylan has made further first team appearances this season with his last coming in a 0-0 draw with Celtic at the SMiSA Stadium in December. 

Everyone at St Mirren wishes Dylan all the best in his time at Queen's Park.