Voting is now open for the St Mirren Goal of the Season 2020/21 award sponsored by Gennaro Glass & Glazing.

Jamie McGrath features twice for strikes against Rangers and Hamilton Academical as does Kristian Dennis for goals against Celtic and Hamilton. 

St Mirren Youth Academy graduates Ethan Erhahon and Cammy MacPherson round off the list with goals against Aberdeen and Livingston respectively. 

Voting is open at this link until 12noon on Friday (7th May). 

More news on the Player of The Year awards for 2020/21 will be announced in due course. 

A disappointing afternoon at the SMiSA Stadium saw St Mirren beaten by Hamilton Academical in the Scottish Premiership.

Goals either side of half-time from Ross Callachan and David Moyo had the Lanarkshire side 2-0 ahead. Jamie McGrath pulled one back for Saints but it wasn't enough to prevent the Buddies from a first defeat against Accies since December 2018.

Jim Goodwin had initially made four changes from the side that won at Kilmarnock on Monday night. In came Daniel Finlayson, Ethan Erhahon, Cammy MacPherson and Collin Quaner in place of Conor McCarthy, Ilkay Durmus, Jamie McGrath and Lee Erwin. But defender Marcus Fraser dropped out in the warm-up and was replaced by McCarthy.  

It was the relegation-threatened Accies who were the brighter of the sides despite a scrappy opening to the match. Joe Shaughnessy made a good block on 12 minutes to deny Moyo, while Kyle Munro had a header cleared off the line a minute later. 

Quaner, making just his second start for St Mirren, had the first real opportunity for the home side in the opening 20 minutes when he dragged a shot wide from 20 yards. And four minutes later it was his good work that allowed Kristian Dennis to get a shot away from the edge of the box. The striker's effort was straight down the throat of Kyle Gourlay who held with ease. 

The visitors took the lead on 28 minutes when Callachan knocked home from close-range. Ex-Saint Lee Hodson hooked the ball over his shoulder where Callachan flicked into the far corner beyond the outstretched Jak Alnwick. 

The Buddies had two half-chances as the first-half drew to a close. MacPherson had a shot from distance deflected over while McCarthy curled wide from the edge of the box following the resultant corner. 

Accies doubled their lead just before the hour. Saints lost the ball in the middle of the park with the ball fed wide to Bruce Anderson. The striker went for goal himself but it came off his strike partner Moyo and trickled over the line.

Jim Goodwin responded by making a triple substitution. Jamie McGrath, Ilkay Durmus and Lee Erwin replaced MacPherson, Richard Tait and Quaner. The Saints looked livelier after the changes and almost immediately pulled a goal back. Dennis sprung the offside trap but didn't connect with the ball fully which allowed Gourlay to make a wonderful one-handed stop. 

But within a minute of that chance, the visitors almost made it 3-0 with Callachan thundering a ferocious effort off the cross bar.

The Buddies did reduce the deficit with just under 20 minutes of the game remaining. Durmus' cross was deflected into the path of Jay Henderson in the middle of the box. His touch teed it off nicely for the oncoming McGrath who powered home his 16th goal of the season. 

Saints should have grabbed a share of the spoils on 84 minutes when Henderson passed up a glorious opportunity to level. Erwin's terrific cross-field pass found the Saints academy graduate one-on-one with Gourlay but he smashed over. 

Focus now turns to next weekend's Scottish Cup semi-final as Saints head to Hampden to face St Johnstone next Sunday.

Full-Time: St Mirren 1-2 Hamilton 

JIM GOODWIN POST-MATCH REACTION

St Mirren: Alnwick, McCarthy, Finlayson, Shaughnessy (c), Tait (Durmus 61), Henderson, Doyle-Hayes, Erhahon, MacPherson (McGrath 61), Dennis (McAllister 71), Quaner (Erwin 61)
Subs Not Used: Lyness, Mason

Hamilton Academical: Gourlay, Odoffin, McMann (c), Hamilton, A.Martin, Hodson, Mimnaugh (Stanger 89), Munro (L.Smith 87), Callachan (Thomas 90), Anderson (Trafford 88), Moyo
Subs Not Used: Scully, Stirling, C.Smith, Redfern

Referee: John Beaton
Assistant Referee: David Roome
Assistant Referee: Drew Kirkland
Fourth Official: Gavin Duncan

KICK-OFF: Kristian Dennis takes kick-off for St Mirren.

10 mins - Scrappy opening 10 minutes at the SMiSA Stadium with no real chances for either side. MacPherson sends in a good ball from the right with Dennis sliding in but Kyle Gourlay manages to gather at the second attempt. [0-0]

12 mins - Good block from Shaughnessy to deny David Moyo. [0-0]

13 mins - Kyle Munro effort head off the line by the Saints defence.

13 mins -  Yellow! Ross Callachan booked for a foul on Jay Henderson. [0-0]

15 mins - Ross Callachan gets in ahead of Daniel Finlayson but stabs the effort wide. [0-0]

17 mins - Hakeem Odoffin's volley deflected over the bar. [0-0]

20 mins - Quaner drags a shot wide from the edge of the box. [0-0]

24 mins - Good break from Saints as Quaner drives forward. The German knocks the ball wide to Dennis who cuts inside and drives an effort straight into the arms of Kyle Gourlay. [0-0]

28 mins - GOAL! Ross Callachan gives the visitors the lead as he flicks home from Lee Hodson's cross. [0-1]

32 mins - Yellow! Erhahon is booked. [0-1]

36 mins - David Moyo's cross comes off the bar and goes over. [0-1]

40 mins - MacPherson drives forward and has his strike from 20 yards deflected over. [0-1]

41 mins - McCarthy curls wide from the edge of the box. [0-1]

HALF-TIME: St Mirren 0-1 Hamilton Academical

RESTART: Second-half underway. [0-1]

58 mins - GOAL! Saints give the ball away in the middle of the park. Bruce Anderson breaks into the box with his initial shot turned home by David Moyo. [0-2]

61 mins - SUB! Triple change for Saints as Jamie McGrath, Ilkay Durmus and Lee Erwin replace Cammy MacPherson, Richard Tait and Collin Quaner. [0-2]

62 mins - CHANCE! Brilliant one-handed save from Kyle Gourlay denies Dennis. [0-2]

63 mins - Almost 3-0 to Hamilton as Ross Callachan crashes a strike off the bar. [0-2]

66 mins - Bruce Anderson breaks the offside trap but has his effort saved by Alnwick. [0-2]

71 mins - GOAL! Saints pull one back! It's a 16th goal of the season for Jamie McGrath as he slams home from just inside the box. [1-2]

71 mins - SUB! Kyle McAllister is on for Kristian Dennis. [1-2]

73 mins - Close! Jay Henderson flashes a strike just over. [1-2]

82 mins - Ilkay Durmus smashes well over from a tight angle. [1-2]

84 mins -  CLOSE! St Mirren should be level after Lee Erwin's brilliant pass finds Jay Henderson one-on-one with the goalkeeper but the Saints academy graduate slams over. [1-2]

88 mins - Sub! Double change for Hamilton with Lewis Smith and Charlie Trafford on for Kyle Munro and Bruce Anderson. [1-2]

89 mins - Sub! George Stanger replaces Reegan Mimnaugh. [1-2]

90 mins - Three additional minutes. [1-2]

90 mins - Sub! Nathan Thomas replaces Ross Callachan. [1-2]

FULL-TIME: St Mirren 1-2 Hamilton Academical

St Mirren: Alnwick, McCarthy, Finlayson, Shaughnessy (c), Tait (Durmus 61), Henderson, Doyle-Hayes, Erhahon, MacPherson (McGrath 61), Dennis (McAllister 71), Quaner (Erwin 61)
Subs: Lyness, Mason

Hamilton Academical: Gourlay, Odoffin, McMann (c), Hamilton, A.Martin, Hodson, Mimnaugh (Stanger 89), Munro (L.Smith 87), Callachan (Thomas 90), Anderson (Trafford 88), Moyo
Subs: Scully, Stirling, C.Smith, Redfern

Referee: John Beaton

St Mirren manager Jim Goodwin has named his starting eleven for the match against Hamilton Academical this afternoon.

The Saints boss makes four changes to the side that won away to Kilmarnock in the Scottish Cup on Monday night.

Daniel Finlayson makes his first St Mirren start, while Ethan Erhahon, Cammy MacPherson and Collin Quaner also come into the starting lineup.

Conor McCarthy, Ilkay Durmus, Jamie McGrath and Lee Erwin all drop to the bench. 

*UPDATE*

Saints forced into a late change before kick-off as Conor McCarthy replaces Marcus Fraser.

St Mirren: Alnwick, McCarthy, Finlayson, Shaughnessy (c), Tait, Henderson, Doyle-Hayes, Erhahon, MacPherson, Dennis, Quaner
Subs: Lyness, Mason, Durmus, McGrath, McAllister, Erwin

Today's match is live on tv.stmirren.com for season ticket holders while non-season ticket holders can watch the match on ppv.stmirren.com for £12.50.

Saints are back in league action this Saturday afternoon at the SMiSA Stadium where we host Brian Rice's Hamilton Academical side for a Scottish Premiership fixture.

We have a limited edition run of programmes, published in partnership with Curtis Sport, for the behind closed doors Scottish Premiership fixture played on Saturday 1st May.

This issue is a 32 pager with a £3 cover price.

This latest edition includes the following:

Front Cover – Jon Obika.
Jim Goodwin - The Saints gaffer looks back on recent matches as well as looking ahead to Saturday's fixture against the Accies.
The Opposition – We run the rule over Brian Rice's Hamilton Accies squad.
St Mirren Programme Archive - Derek Drennan reviews the programme for the Boxing Day 1953 fixture between Accies and Saints.
Centre Page Poster – Joe Shaughnessy.
Player Kit Sponsors 2020/21 – Check in to see who is sponsoring your favourite player's shirt for the season.
Marketing Matters – Campbell Kennedy updates on the latest events and happenings at the club's Commercial Department.
Yesterday's Saints – David Cochran looks back on the St Mirren career of 1959 Scottish Cup winner Jackie Neilson.
Football Bloody Hell - Alan Gallacher picks the Scotland squad for this summer's European Championship.
St Mirren Fixtures & Results 2020/21 – A handy reference page of all the fixtures and results for this season.
Team Lines – The two squads and match officials for Saturday's match.

To buy this issue or to place your programme subscription for the 2020/21 season click HERE.

St Mirren Football Club will stop activity on all our social media platforms from 15:00 on Friday 30th April until 23:59 on Monday 3rd May.

Scottish football has united to support a boycott of social media in response to continuing racist and discriminatory abuse online aimed at players, staff, supporters and others associated with the game.

We will join clubs across the country as well as the Scottish FA, Scottish Professional Football League, Scottish Women’s Football and PFA Scotland in switching-off all social media activity until 23:59 on Monday 3rd May.

Information on our Scottish Premiership match against Hamilton Academical on Saturday will be available on our club website as well as live match coverage on St Mirren TV.

St Mirren's focus turns back to Scottish Premiership duty following Monday's dramatic Scottish Cup win over Kilmarnock.

The Buddies host Hamilton Academical at the SMiSA Stadium this weekend with Jim Goodwin's men hoping to maintain their advantage in seventh spot in the Premiership. Saints moved back up to seventh after a 3-1 win away to Ross County in our last Premiership outing. 

Meanwhile, Hamilton come to Paisley sitting at the bottom of the table with just three matches remaining. Brian Rice's side are three points off 11th place Ross County and five off Kilmarnock who sit in 10th. 

Accies are winless in their last eight Premiership matches stretching back to a 4-1 win against Motherwell in mid-February.

Match Details

St Mirren v Hamilton Academical
Competition: Scottish Premiership
Date: Saturday 1st May 2021
Kick-off: 3pm
Venue: The SMiSA Stadium

How to watch the match

St Mirren season ticket holders and international subscribers to St Mirren TV can watch the match live on tv.stmirren.com.

The match is also available on PPV (ppv.stmirren.com) to supporters inside the UK and Ireland for £12.50. Click here to buy now. 

Previous

This will be the fifth and final meeting between the two sides this season.

In the four matches so far Saints remain unbeaten having won two and drawn two against the Lanarkshire side. 

Both wins came at the FOYS Stadium with a 1-0 win in the league back in August, before a 3-0 Scottish Cup victory at the beginning of April.

Accies picked up a point on their last visit to Paisley with Bruce Anderson's deflected strike enough to earn Brian Rice's side a 1-1 draw in February after Ilkay Durmus had put St Mirren ahead.

Saints are undefeated in their last nine matches against Hamilton stretching back to a 3-1 loss at the SMiSA Stadium in December 2018.

The officials

John Beaton is the referee on Saturday. He'll be assisted by David Roome and Drew Kirkland. The fourth official is Gavin Duncan. 

St Mirren's Scottish Cup semi-final against St Johnstone will take place on Sunday 9th May with a 2:15pm. 

The Saints will play in the Scottish Cup semi-final for the first time since 2009 after our dramatic quarter-final win over Kilmarnock. 

St Mirren will play St Johnstone in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup after a dramatic penalty shoot-out win over Kilmarnock. 

Ilkay Durmus deservedly put Saints ahead on 24 minutes, but the Buddies were behind at half-time after goals from Zeno Ibsen Rossi and Greg Kiltie. Saints looked to be heading for the exit only for captain Joe Shaughnessy to bullet home a header with six minutes of normal time remaining. 

The game went to extra-time and despite being reduced to 10 men, Kilmarnock took the lead again with Ross Millen scoring from the penalty spot. The drama wouldn't end there as Saints were awarded a penalty of their own in the final minute of extra-time which Jamie McGrath scored to take it to a shoot-out.

McGrath, Cammy MacPherson, Collin Quaner and Shaughnessy all netted from 12 yards while Jak Alnwick saved from Rory McKenzie. That allowed Kyle McAllister to slot home the decisive spot-kick to send Saints through to the last four. 

Saints had started with intent and looked really up for it in the opening stages. The Buddies should have had the lead on three minutes when Lee Erwin drove into the box from the right side and sent a teasing ball across the face of the box where neither Kristian Dennis or Durmus could get a toe to it. 

But the pressure would tell when Durmus gave Saints the lead on 24 minutes. McGrath released the ball wide to Durmus who charged into the box from the right. The Turkish winger sent the ball across which Killie goalkeeper Colin Doyle attempted to gather but could only succeed in spilling into his own net. 

Kilmarnock took the lead in the final minute of the first-half with Greg Kiltie slamming home the cut-back from George Oakley after the Killie forward had beaten the offside track.

Kiltie could have put Kilmarnock 3-1 in front just two minutes after the break but for a brilliant last-ditch challenge from Shaughnessy. 

The home side had their tails up and again could have had the third goal only for McGrath to be in the right place to nod Ross Millen's header off the line on 52 minutes, while Alnwick made a terrific save to turn over a Kiltie strike five minutes later. 

Jim Goodwin reacted by making two changes with Quaner and Ethan Erhahon coming on for Erwin and Dennis. Quaner looked lively when coming on and laid the ball off to McGrath who curled just over on 67 minutes in what was the closest St Mirren came to an equaliser. 

Saints started pressing Kilmarnock in search of the leveller and it came with a little over five minutes to go. Skipper Shaughnessy rose the highest to bullet home McGrath's free-kick and ensure another 30 minutes of extra-time. 

Kilmarnock, who made their final changes at the start of extra-time when Rory McKenzie and Gary Dicker replaced Kiltie and Burke, were reduced to 10 men when Nicke Kabamba pulled up with an injury and couldn't continue. 

But despite their disadvantage they would take the lead on 102 minutes when Ross Millen scored from the penalty spot. The defender slotted home from 12 yards after referee Don Robertson judged that McAllister had fouled Mitch Pinnock.

Saints felt they should have had a penalty two minutes into the second period of extra-time when McGrath's strike was deflected wide and looked like it may have come off the arm of the Kilmarnock defender. All that was given was a corner which Shaughnessy met but Doyle was equal to the header. 

It looked like it just wasn't going to be St Mirren's night before Doyle fouled Jake Doyle-Hayes in the box in the final minute of extra-time. As he has done so often, McGrath rolled home to net his 15th goal of the season and take the game to penalties.

The Buddies were flawless from the spot and following Alnwick's save from McKenzie, McAllister slammed home to secure a semi for Saints.

Full-Time: Kilmarnock 3-3 St Mirren (St Mirren win 5-4 on penalties)

JIM GOODWIN REACTION

St Mirren: Alnwick, Fraser (MacPherson 106), McCarthy, Shaughnessy (c), Tait, Henderson, McGrath, Doyle-Hayes, Durmus (McAllister 72), Erwin (Erhahon 61), Dennis (Quaner 61)
Subs Not Used: Lyness, Finlayson, Mason, Reid

Kilmarnock: Doyle, Haunstrup, Broadfoot, Ibsen Rossi, Millen, Power, Mulumbu (Tshibola 76), Kiltie (McKenzie 90), Pinnock, Burke (Dicker 90), Oakley (Kabamba 81)
Subs Not Used: Rogers, McGowan, Dikamona, Whitehall, Waters

Referee: Don Robertson
Assistant Referee: David McGeachie
Assistant Referee: Kylie McMullan
Fourth Official: Greg Aitken

Jim Goodwin is hoping for another opportunity at Hampden as St Mirren get set to face Kilmarnock this evening in the Scottish Cup. 

Having already reached the semi-final of the Betfred Cup this season, the Saints manager is desperate for second shot with the national stadium awaiting the victors of tonight's quarter-final.

A narrow defeat to Livingston in the Betfred Cup semi-final in January still rankles with the Buddies boss and he hopes his side can grasp the opportunity to have another go at glory.

I think it would be a good achievement from the group [to reach Hampden twice in one season].

"We're still a little bit sore after the semi-final against Livingston. We didn't really believe that we gave a true reflection of the team we are capable of being.

"As I said after that game, I take responsibility for that because I set the team up in a certain way. I would love to get back there and try to make amends and be a bit braver and be more on the front foot if we get the opportunity.

"There's still some really top teams left in the competition there's no doubt about that. If we get through this one against Kilmarnock then we give ourselves a great chance and that what we're hoping to do.

"Two semi-finals in one season for our club would be great but we want to get to the final this time round. We want to finish seventh in the league and we want to go and win the Scottish Cup."

It's Tommy Wright's Kilmarnock who stand in Saints' way of reaching the last four.

The manager knows how difficult a task it will be this evening with Ayrshire side hitting form over the last number of weeks winning four of their last five matches. 

Key to that form has been the goalscoring exploits of Kyle Lafferty who has scored eight goals in those last five. 

And while the Buddies will have to be alert to the threat Kilmarnock possess, Jim hopes that his side can go with confidence in their own ability. 

Kyle Lafferty is a top player and played at a really high level throughout his career but I have every faith in my defenders that they'll be able to manage him on the day. We need a big performance against Lafferty there's no doubt about it, but we also have to stop the supply to him from the likes of Chris Burke and those around him. 

"Lafferty is the only real change that Kilmarnock have made since Tommy Wright came in. He's been very influential to the recent success that they've had. They've won four of their last five games and they are scoring at will at the moment as well. 

"But I'm not going to overly concern ourselves with Kilmarnock. We have to concentrate on what we are good at and the things that have been a success for us this season. If we go there in the right mindset, confident and full of belief then we give ourselves a great chance of progressing."