St Mirren won at Celtic Park for the first time since 1990 after a brilliant 2-1 victory over Celtic.

Jim Goodwin's men were worthy winners with goals from Kristian Dennis and Ilkay Durmus either side of an Odsonne Edouard strike giving Saints their first away win against Celtic in over 30 years.

Saints showed intent from the get go with the manager opting to play a 3-4-2-1 formation with Durmus and Dylan Connolly playing off striker Dennis, while Kyle McAllister and Cammy MacPherson also came into the side. Dennis had a low drive held by Scott Bain on 12 minutes, before Jamie McGrath curled into the arms of the Celtic goalkeeper a few minutes later.

The Buddies early pressure would tell with Dennis scoring his second goal in as many games on 18 minutes. The striker latched on to a low Connolly ball from the right and smashed under Bain to put us in front. 

Saints were in control in the first-half, but would be pegged back just after 30 minutes when Celtic's French forward Edouard was found by Callum McGregor in the St Mirren box. He got in ahead of Conor McCarthy and managed to slot beyond Jak Alnwick. 

Within five minutes St Mirren were back in front. Durmus did brilliantly to get in ahead of Shane Duffy to meet a McAllister lob and fired home from the angle to put Saints ahead for a second time.

McAllister wasn't a million miles away from extending that lead early in the second-half with a go from distance. The drive from 25 yards was deflected just over the Celtic bar, but it looked like one of those efforts that could have ended up anywhere. 

Celtic made a number of changes in search of an equaliser with Ryan Christie and Albian Ajeti introduced to the fray just after the hour mark. The former slammed two attempts over the bar from distance. 

Saints had to be strong till the final whistle with Celtic probing in the final minutes. Tom Rogic curled an effort just wide of the far post, while an Edouard free-kick from a good area was deflected off the wall. 

Alnwick made a wonderful stop in the final minute of added time to deny Duffy and ensure all three points would, deservedly, make their way back along the M77 to Paisley.

Full-Time: Celtic 1-2 St Mirren

REACTION: JIM GOODWIN 

REACTION: JAK ALNWICK

St Mirren: Alnwick, Fraser, McCarthy, Shaughnessy (c), McGrath, MacPherson (Obika 73), Erhahon, McAllister (Doyle-Hayes 62), Connolly (Tait 85), Durmus, Dennis (Brophy 62)
Subs Not Used: Lyness, Finlayson, Flynn, Henderson, Jamieson

Celtic: Bain, Ajer, Bitton (Welsh 46), Duffy, Taylor, McGregor (c), Soro (Christie 62), Turnbull (Johnston 81), Elyounoussi (Ajeti 62), Griffiths (Rogic 46), Edouard
Subs Not Used: Barkas, Ralston, Laxalt, Klimala

Referee: Bobby Madden
Assistant Referee: Graeme Leslie
Assistant Referee: John McCrossan
Fourth Official: Duncan Williams

St Mirren Football Club can confirm that Sam Foley has left the club to join Motherwell FC.

The 34-year-old’s contract was due to expire at the end of the season, but he departs the club early to join the Lanarkshire side.

Sam joined St Mirren as one of Jim Goodwin’s first signings in August 2019 following the expiry of his deal at Northampton Town.

The Irish U21 cap quickly became a fan favourite at Saints making 31 appearances and scoring twice in his first season with his performances earning him the club’s official player of the year for 2019/20.

In the summer, Sam was named vice captain of St Mirren, before officially becoming club captain following the departure of Kyle Magennis. But game time has been limited for the midfielder over the last few months and he leaves to seek a new challenge.

Speaking on Sam’s departure, Jim Goodwin said: "I had a good, honest conversation with Sam and said I wouldn’t stand in his way if he had the opportunity to go somewhere else. I think it’s the right thing to do.

"Sam was outstanding for us last year and we wish him well. He will always be welcome back at St Mirren."

On behalf of all at St Mirren Football Club we would like to thank Sam for all his contributions as a St Mirren player and wish him every success in his future. 

Our Scottish Premiership match at home to Livingston, originally due to take place on Saturday 3rd April, has been rescheduled. 

The match has been brought forward and will now take place on Saturday 20th February with a 3pm kick-off. 

The full rescheduled match details are:

Saturday 20th February 2021
St Mirren v Livingston
Kick-off: 3pm
Venue: The SMiSA Stadium
Live on St Mirren TV

St Mirren are on the road again this weekend as the Buddies take on Celtic at Celtic Park.

Saints picked up their first win of 2021 on Wednesday night in sensational fashion as Jim Goodwin's men put five past Dundee United at Tannadice.

Goals from Joe Shaughnessy, Jamie McGrath (x2), Dylan Connolly and Kristian Dennis secured the 5-1 win - the first time Saints have scored five goals away from home in the top flight since 1984.

Celtic, meanwhile, also won their first match of 2021 on Wednesday with a 2-0 home win over Hamilton Academical which ended a run of four without a win for the Glasgow side.

Match Details

Celtic v St Mirren
Competition: Scottish Premiership
Date: Saturday 30th January 2021
Kick-off: 3pm
Venue: Celtic Park

How to watch the match

Unfortunately the match will not be available to supporters within the UK and Ireland as Celtic do not offer a PPV service.

International subscribers to St Mirren TV can still watch on St Mirren TV as part of their subscription., while UK subscribers can listen to audio coverage. 

Previous

This will be just the second meeting between the two sides this season.

Saints hosted Celtic at the SMiSA Stadium in September. Despite Lee Erwin netting his first St Mirren goal to give us an early lead, goals from Shane Duffy and James Forrest gave Celtic a 2-1 win. 

Who are the officials?

The referee on Saturday is Bobby Madden. He's assisted by Graeme Leslie and John McCrossan. Duncan Williams is the fourth official.

St Mirren picked up their first win of 2021 and did it in style as the Buddies thumped five past Dundee United at Tannadice.

Joe Shaughnessy's first goal of the season put Saints ahead on the half-hour mark before two penalties in three minutes from Jamie McGrath had Jim Goodwin's men cruising at the break.

Ian Harkes pulled a goal back for the home side with a stunning strike, but two goals in the last 10 minute from substitutes Dylan Connolly and Kristian Dennis sealed a stunning win in Dundee.

The manager made three changes from Sunday's semi-final loss with Ilkay Durmus and Jon Obika in, while Ryan Flynn made his first start in almost a year.

The Buddies had plenty of pressure in the opening 20 minutes without creating anything clear cut. Brophy snapped a shot wide in the opening minute, while there were strong shouts for a Saints penalty on even minutes with a number of players claiming the ball struck a United hand. 

It was United who had the best opportunity of the match on 23 minutes when Dillon Powers was denied by a wonderful save from Jak Alnwick before slamming over.

Dundee United were furious to be denied a penalty just before the half-hour mark when Marc McNulty went down under the challenge from Richard Tait after the defender had got in front of the forward and knocked the ball away with a well-time challenge. Referee John Beaton rightly said no and within a minute Saints were ahead. Jamie McGrath's free-kick from the left was met by Conor McCarthy who nodded into the path of Joe Shaughnessy with the captain heading home to score his first goal for St Mirren.

Saints were awarded a penalty with three minutes of the half remaining when Shaughnessy went down under a challenge in the box from Mark Connolly. McGrath took and he made no mistake to role home his fourth penalty of the season. And into the final minute of the half Saints were given another penalty after a Flynn strike came off the hand of Lawrence Shankland. Again McGrath stepped up and again the Irish midfielder scored to make it nine goals for the season.

United pulled a goal back early in the second half to reduce the arrears. It was a terrific strike from American midfielder Harkes who curled into the top corner from range leaving Alnwick with no chance. 

But the St Mirren players put in a real professional performance to keep the home side at bay before adding the sheen on a top performance with two late goals.

On 80 minutes, Dennis lifted the ball over the top for substitute Dylan Connolly to race on to. The winger drove into the box slammed into the net to secure the points for Saints.

And the cherry was put on the cake for the Buddies when Dennis got himself on the scoresheet with five minutes remaining. It was all about the work of the returning Flynn who showed his class as he picked the ball up on the halfway line, drove along the left touchline before breaking into the box and finding the English striker at the far post to tap home on a good night's work for Saints. 

Full-Time: Dundee United 1-5 St Mirren

St Mirren: Alnwick, Fraser, McCarthy, Shaughnessy (c), Tait, Flynn, McGrath, Erhahon, Durmus (McAllister 81), Obika (Connolly 71), Brophy (Dennis 56)
Subs Not Used: Lyness, Finlayson, Sheron, Henderson, Jamieson

Dundee United: Deniz, Smith, Powers (Fotheringham 45), Connolly, Reynolds (c), McNulty, Clark, Robson, Bolton (Appere 72), Harkes, Shankland
Subs Not Used: Siegrist, Sporle, Pawlett, Edwards, Hoti, Mochrie, Neilson

Referee: John Beaton
Assistant Referee: Graeme Stewart
Assistant Referee: Stuart Stevenson
Fourth Official: Graham Grainger

St Mirren are back in Scottish Premiership action on Wednesday night as Jim Goodwin's men take on Dundee United at Tannadice.

Saints will be looking to get their first win of 2021 on the board and quickly move on from the disappointment of losing the Betfred Cup semi-final against Livingston on Sunday. 

The Buddies last win came on Boxing Day when we beat Ross County 2-0 in Dingwall. Since then there have been 1-1 draws against Kilmarnock and Motherwell and losses to Rangers (0-2), St Johnstone (0-1) and Livingston (0-1). 

Dundee United are also searching for their first win in 2021 having not won since 23rd December. Mickey Mellon's side have drawn four of their last five Scottish Premiership matches, while losing the other away to Celtic. 

Match Details

Dundee United v St Mirren
Competition: Scottish Premiership
Date: Wednesday 27th January 2021
Kick-off: 6pm
Venue: Tannadice Park

How to watch the match

Dundee United will be offering pay-per-view for Wednesday night's match at a price of £12.50. Click here to buy now.

International subscribers to St Mirren TV can watch on St Mirren TV as part of their subscription.  

Manager's Thoughts

"Dundee United are a very well-drilled and well-organised team. 

"They have a really good defensive shape about them and are quite compact. We all know about the attacking threat they have too with Lawrence Shankland, Marc McNulty and Nicky Clark. 

"We are going to have to make sure we are organised defensively and we have to come up with solutions to break down a very well-organised defence."

Previous

St Mirren have faced Dundee United twice this season but have yet to win against the Terrors.

Goals either side of half-time from Lawrence Shankland and Adrian Sporle had United comfortably ahead when Saints visited Tannadice in September. Despite Richard Tait being shown a straight red card on the hour mark, Saints pulled a goal back through Dylan Connolly but couldn't force a leveller. 

Neither side could be separated when they met in Paisley at the start of November with a 0-0 draw played out at the SMiSA Stadium.

Who are the officials?

John Beaton takes charge of the action on Wednesday night. His linesmen are Graeme Stewart and Stuart Stevenson. Graham Grainger is the fourth official.

St Mirren FC’s Annual Accounts for the period ended 30 June 2020 show the impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the club, however, due to the prudence and commitment of the board and thanks to the support of our fans over the past number of years, the club remains in a robust position.

A copy of the club’s Annual Accounts can be found at Companies House.

St Mirren's hopes of a cup final place were ended at Hampden this afternoon after a narrow semi-final loss to Livingston.

The Buddies couldn't find a response to Scott Robinson's early effort despite piling on the pressure in the latter stages of the match.

The focus is now solely on the league for Jim Goodwin's men with a trip to Tannadice coming up on Wednesday night. 

It was Livingston who started the match the brighter of the two sides with Jak Alnwick holding efforts from Jon Guthrie and Josh Mullin in the opening minutes.  

The Lions' quick start paid off as they took the lead on nine minutes. A free-kick from the left was met by Efe Ambrose whose initial header crashed off the bar. Robinson was allowed to follow in to nod home the rebound.

Saints never really got going in the first-half with only a long-range drive from Eamonn Brophy that he dragged wide all the Buddies had to show in the first 30 minutes. 

Jim Goodwin's men were denied what appeared to be a stonewall penalty just after the half-hour mark when Nicky Devlin caught Joe Shaughnessy inside the Livingston box, but referee David Munro said no despite the protestations from the Irishman.

Livingston goalkeeper Max Stryjek had to be alert to clear the danger on 36 minutes when Brandon Mason looked like he'd have the opportunity to get a shot away. 

With five minutes of the first-half remaining, Dylan Connolly managed to break clear but failed to find Brophy inside the box where the forward would surely have levelled.  

After a disappointing opening 45, Saints started with more intent in the second-half with Conor McCarthy looking like he was going to head Saints level six minutes after restart when he rose the highest to meet a Jamie McGrath corner. The header was goal-bound only for Craig Sibbald to be in the right place at the right time to nod clear. Seconds later Connolly almost caught out Stryjek with a cross-cum-shot that the goalkeeper had to flick over. 

Three minutes later it was Brophy's turn to go close for the Buddies, but he headed Cammy MacPherson's free-kick over.

Jim Goodwin made a number of changes heading into the final 20 minutes with Kyle McAllister, Ilkay Durmus and Jon Obika all coming on in as substitutes. 

The latter had a claim for a penalty with 15 remaining when he went down under pressure from Jullien Serrano after a neat bit of skill to break into the box. Instead the referee deemed it simulation and booked the forward. 

McAllister was looking lively and put a nice ball onto Obika's head on 78 minutes only for the striker to nod tamely into the arms of Stryjek. A minute later McAllister sent a dangerous ball across the face of the box, but there were no takers in black and white. 

With time ebbing away Shaughnessy went agonisingly close to find an equaliser to take the game to extra-time. The skipper's header drifted inches by the post after he got himself on the end of a McGrath corner. In the end it wasn't to be Saints day. 

Full-Time: Livingston 1-0 St Mirren

JIM GOODWIN REACTION. 

St Mirren: Alnwick, Fraser, McCarthy, Shaughnessy (c), Tait, Connolly (McAllister 57), McGrath, MacPherson (Obika 68), Erhahon, Mason (Durmus 68), Brophy (Dennis 81)
Subs Not Used: Lyness, Finlayson, Flynn, Foley, Erwin

Livingston: Stryjek, Devlin, Guthrie, Ambrose, Serrano, Sibbald (Longridge 86), Mullin (Reilly 73), Pittman, Bartley, Holt, Robinson (Fitzwater 82)
Subs Not Used: McCrorie, Kabia, McMillan, Lawson, Forrest, Emmanuel-Thomas

Referee: David Munro
Assistant Referee: David Roome
Assistant Referee: Drew Kirkland
Fourth Official: Alan Muir

St Mirren Football Club was saddened to hear of the passing of lifelong Saints supporter and season ticket holder Harry McLachlan who sadly passed away last month.

Harry, who had Down's syndrome, defied the odds by living to the age of 73 years old which made him one of the oldest people living in the UK with Down's. He was very well known in Paisley and followed his beloved St Mirren through thick and thin.

Harry was also a keen Boccia player and represented Great Britain at the Special Olympics and was an avid singer often belting out "Oh When The Saints."

Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Harry.

Due to the current lockdown restrictions, production of commemorative engraved bricks has been halted until further notice.

Applications for bricks can still be made by email to info@stmirren.com, however, we are unable to confirm when bricks will go into production and be ready to be placed on the wall outside the SMiSA Stadium.

The club will update on stmirren.com when brick production resumes.