Saints were held to a disappointing draw against a stubborn Hamilton Academical side who finished up with 10 men.

Junior Morias wasted an early chance for the Buddies which proved to be a sign of what was to come as they struggled to convert their first half dominance into meaningful chances.

The dismissal of Accies' George Oakley early in the second half could have provided fresh impetus but that failed to appear and when Sam Foley's late goalbound effort hit team-mate Jon Obika it pretty much summed up a frustrating afternoon for the hosts.

Morias started up front on his own as Tony Andreu replaced Obika, who was relegated to the bench. So to was Kyle McAllister with Ilkay Durmas restored to the team, while Kirk Broadfoot was handed his first start since his return to the club as he replaced Gary MacKenzie. The Hamilton defence included Sam Stubbs, son of former Saints boss Alan, with Oakley and Marios Ogkmpoe leading the attack.

Large sections of the home support thought their side had taken an early lead when Kyle Magennis spun and let rip with his left foot, however his effort from the edge of the box found the wrong side of the net. Another nice passing move allowed Paul McGinn to tee up Morias but unfortunately his shot posed more of a threat to the corner flag than the Accies goal. Morias turned provider when he fired in a cross for Magennis but he was unable to react quickly enough and the ball bounced off his head and away.

The visitors hadn't threatened at all in the opening quarter but nearly took the lead with their first effort on goal. Ogkmpoe had plenty of time and space on the right to pick out Oakley and Vaclav Hladky got the slightest of touches to the striker's shot as it went inches wide of the post. Accies were able to force a series of corners without making them count and it proved to be just a blip as Saints were soon back on the attack, Andreu heading Magennis' dinked delivery straight at Hamilton goalie Owain Fon Williams.

Things got a bit scrappy after that, both teams enjoying possession but not able to do a great deal with it. Magennis shot wide from a well worked corner before the Saints fans were screaming for a penalty. Foley sent Morias bursting through on goal and he went down under a challenge from Brian Easton, however ref David Munro was unmoved. A Blair Alston header from a corner gave Accies a rare chance just before the break, Oakley's header flying just wide.

Saints started the second-half brightly but hadn't created anything of note before the visitors were reduced to 10 men. Oakley had already been booked in the first half for flattening Ryan Flynn and when he caught Sean McLoughlin with his elbow Mr Munro felt he had no option but to show the striker a second yellow card. McLoughlin nearly rubbed salt into the wound a few minutes later as he fizzed a shot over from 25 yards.

The Buddies quickly looked to take advantage of their extra man, Paul McGinn sending in a teasing cross that Stubbs did well to clear with Morias lurking. However, they were finding it difficult to break down the well organised Accies defence so it was little surprise to see McAllister replace Durmas after an hour. His arrival forced the visitors even further back but chances, let alone goals, were rare, Magennis flashing a shot from the edge of the box just wide of the far post.

Both keepers had made few meaningful saves but Hladky did well on the rare occasions he was called into action, palming away a stinging Alston drive. Saints just couldn't create anything and McAllister wasted a free-kick when he curled it tamely into the arms of Fon Williams. The winner should have arrived a minute later. Andreu's replacement Danny Mullen saw his header from a corner deflected back to Foley and his effort was going in – only to be blocked by Jon Obika. Despite five minutes of added time it proved to be Saints' final chance of note and a fitting end to frustrating afternoon.

Full-Time: St Mirren 0-0 Hamilton Academical

St Mirren: Hladky, P.McGinn, McLoughlin, Broadfoot, Waters, Flynn, Foley, Magennis (c), Andreu (Mullen 69), Durmus (McAllister 62), Morias (Obika 76)
Subs Not Used: Lyness, S.McGinn, Breadner, Djorkaeff

Hamilton: Fon Williams, McGowan, McMann, Stubbs, Easton, Collar (Hughes 62), Alston, Gogic, Smith (Beck 78), Ogkmpoe (Moyo 74), Oakley
Subs Not Used: Southwood, Fjortoft, Davies, Want

Referee: David Munro
Assistant Referee: Frank Connor
Assistant Referee: Graham McNeillie
Fourth Official: William Collum

Attendance: 4,807

Gallery pictures by Allan Picken © - Allan Picken Photography

St Mirren were looking to leapfrog Hamilton in the table, as the two sides faced off on a surprisingly warm Saturday in September. The home side were hoping to give their fans their first win since beating Aberdeen 1-0 back in August at the Simple Digital Arena. Whilst Hamilton, in similar form, also hadn’t won since beating Kilmarnock at home on the 10th of August.

St Mirren started the more energetic of the two sides as Paul McGinn and Kyle Magennis tried putting early pressure on the left flank of Hamilton. But as the early proceedings passed Accies started to come into life. Only minutes later Magennis gets a chance to give the Saints the lead. Andreu played a wide ball through Morias, whose cross finds the head of the captain, but he just fails to guide the shot on target.

For large parts of the first-half, St Mirren were left frustrated as Hamilton’s defence stayed strong against most of their advances. Accies had some flurries forward, with Ogkmpoe and Oakley driving forward all of their counter attacks. But on his home debut Kirk Broadfoot helped to keep control on a lot of the visitor’s attacks.

Midway through the half Andreu came close, with Magennis chipping a ball over the Accies defence and Andreu ran through to push the ball goal-wards, but a lack of power made an easy stop for Owain Fon Williams in net.

As half-time approached Morias and St Mirren had a penalty claimed turned down as the striker went through on goal. Smith made contact with the attacker and Morias went down in the box, but referee David Munro turned down the claims from Jim Goodwin’s men.

Smith came close at the other end for Accies, he met Alston’s corner at the near post, only for his header to fly just wide of Hladky’s near post. A warning to St Mirren, who were getting caught on the counterattack.

St Mirren should be frustrated at the fact they had not gone into the break in the lead, they struggled to take the opportunities they had through the first half, leaving the door open for Accies to come back into the game.

But after the interval St Mirren looked to have gained a huge advantage as George Oakley was sent for an early shower for the visitors, the referee gave the attacker his second yellow for leading with his elbow, leaving Hamilton a man down and forty minutes left of play.

The man advantage shows straight away for St Mirren as they pushed Hamilton deeper into their half. But this also made life more difficult for the home side as they had an even tougher challenge of breaking down a stubborn Hamilton side, who looked set to hold out for a point.

As the last 20 approached Magennis went close, he cut inside on the edge of the Accies box. While his shot may not have tested Fon Williams, it just went wide as the Saints continued their search for a goal. Hamilton nearly took the lead from the boot of Alston. A pass from Beck was hit first-time by the Accies player, forcing Hladky into action, pushing the ball wide with a dive to his far right. Beck seemed to have an instant impact for the travelling side as they began to push out of their half for the first time since the sending off.

With minutes left of normal time, St Mirren nearly take the lead from a scramble in the box. A lose header forces Fon Williams into a save and an open goal shot is blocked by the leg of Saints' sub Jon Obika, who was also offside, giving Hamilton a lucky break. The five minutes of additional time was dominated by the home side, as they fired cross, after cross into the Hamilton box. Accies defender Sam Stubbs was there to clear and stifle most opportunities.

Sadly, for Jim Goodwin’s men they couldn’t take advantage of their late dominance and Hamilton steal a point at the Simple Digital Arena, something that will frustrate the whole team with today’s overall positive performance.

Full-Time: St Mirren 0-0 Hamilton Academical

St Mirren: Hladky, P.McGinn, McLoughlin, Broadfoot, Waters, Flynn, Foley, Magennis (c), Andreu (Mullen 69), Durmus (McAllister 62), Morias (Obika 76)
Subs Not Used: Lyness, S.McGinn, Breadner, Djorkaeff

Hamilton: Fon Williams, McGowan, McMann, Stubbs, Easton, Collar (Hughes 62), Alston, Gogic, Smith (Beck 78), Ogkmpoe (Moyo 74), Oakley
Subs Not Used: Southwood, Fjortoft, Davies, Want

Referee: David Munro
Assistant Referee: Frank Connor
Assistant Referee: Graham McNeillie
Fourth Official: William Collum

Attendance: 4,807

St Mirren host Hamilton Academical at the Simple Digital Arena tomorrow afternoon in matchday six of the Ladbrokes Premiership.

FORM

Saints' return from the international break saw them head to Dingwall last weekend to face Ross County. 

The Buddies were edged out by an injury time goal from Marcus Fraser who gave the Staggies a 2-1 win. Ex-Saint Ross Stewart had given County the lead before Tony Andreu equalised with his first goal for Saints. But County captain Fraser popped up at the end to give the home side all the points.

Jim Goodwin's side sit in 10th place in the Ladbrokes Premiership with one win from our opening five matches. That was a 1-0 win against Aberdeen at the Simple Digital Arena in August with Ilkay Durmus' early goal enough to get Saints off and running for the season.

Tomorrow's opponents sit one point above Saints in the league having won one and drawn one of their opening five league matches. 

Accies four points have come from a 2-0 win at home to Kilmarnock and a 2-2 draw away to Hearts.

Brian Rice's side come into tomorrow's match having lost 1-0 at home to league leaders Celtic last week.  

PREVIOUS

The two sides met four times last season with Saints winning once, Hamilton winning twice and the other ending in a draw.

The last match between the two came in May as both battled for Ladbrokes Premiership survival. Kyle McAllister and Kyle Magennis netted late in the second-half to give St Mirren a 2-0 win at the Simple Digital Arena. 

The only other meeting in 2019 saw the Buddies pick up a point at the FOYS Stadium when Anders Dreyer's penalty-kick earned us a point in a 1-1 draw.

Accies last win against Saints came at the Simple Digital Arena last December. First-half goals from Dougie Imrie and Ziggy Gordon had the visitors 2-0 in front. Stephen McGinn pulled a goal back for the Buddies right on the stroke of half-time to hand us a lifeline, but James Keatings netted 10 minutes after the break to seal a 3-1 win for the Lanarkshire side. 

TEAM NEWS

Gary MacKenzie will miss out after a head knock at Ross County last weekend, while Cody Cooke remains sidelined due to a long-term injury.

MANAGER'S THOUGHTS

"We'll go about it the way we always do. We have prepared properly during the week and we'll give Hamilton all the respect they deserve. They are a well-organised, hard-working team and it's obviously a big game.

"We are going into the game off of three narrow defeats which is never ideal. But I think the previous results could easily have been different.

"We need to be a bit more creative. We need to use our imagination a little bit more in the final third.

"We aren't having enough shots on target, we aren't getting enough crosses into the box so therefore we aren't getting the end product which is the goal.

"That's up to me as manager to work on that in the training ground and make sure we do something about it."

Our match day programme, published in partnership with Curtis Sport, will be available from the Club Shop ahead of Saturday’s game.

This issue, for the Ladbrokes Premiership fixture against Hamilton Academical, is a 52 pager with a £3 cover price.

This latest edition includes the following:

Front Cover – Vaclav Hladky.
The Gaffer - Jim Goodwin looks back at recent games and ahead to the encounter with Accies.
Latest Signings – An introduction to St Mirren's latest signings - Junior Morias and Kirk Broadfoot.
The Opposition – Brian Corry gives the lowdown on Brian Rice's Accies side.
St Mirren Programme Archive - Derek Drennan goes back to the 2005 Challenge Cup Final against Hamilton.
100 Seasons at the Top - Cairters Corner looks back on the first few seasons of the 20th century.
They Played in the Stripes – David Cochran revisits the St Mirren career of Gordon McQueen.
Matchday Gallery - Pictures from the corporate suite post match presentations from the recent home match against Rangers.
English Title Winners - Liam Harding tells the tale of the 1897/98 English League winners - Sheffield United.
Centre Page Poster – Calum Waters.
Fans Corner - Ticket prices, travel clubs update, match info and dates for fans to keep in their diary, and Fan's Music Pick.
Player Kit Sponsors 2019/20 – Check in to see who is sponsoring your favourite player's shirt for the season.
Football Fans in Training - Commit to get FFIT in 2019.
Panda's Fun Page – Some puzzles to keep the youngsters entertained during the half-time break.
Football Bloody Hell - Alan Gallacher ponders where the next generation of players will come from as Scotland looks to re-establish itself on the international stage.
Stats and Picture Quiz - Player appearance stats for the season and picture quiz on St Mirren players from overseas.
Marketing Matters – Campbell Kennedy updates on the latest events and happenings at the club's Commercial Department.
SMiSA - Recent events at Bolton and Bury has SMiSA hailing the importance of fan ownership of football clubs.
St Mirren Fixtures & Results 2019/20 – 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 2019/20 season click HERE.

If you live outside the UK & Ireland, St Mirren TV is your way to watch Paisley’s Premiership club live in action each and every home match day.

This service, which is delivered by media students from the University of the West of Scotland, will cover all of St Mirren’s home games.

As usual the St Mirren TV team will be presenting all the action from the Simple Digital Arena when Hamilton Accies are the visitors for Saturday's Ladbrokes Premiership match.

If you want to tune in here is the info you will need:

St Mirren vs Hamilton Academical
Ladbrokes Premiership
Venue: The Simple Digital Arena, Paisley
Date: Saturday 21st September 2019
Kick-off: 3:00pm BST

To access this match day service:

1 Day Pass – €6.99 EUR
Season Pass – €69.99 EUR

To view Terms & Conditions and get started with St Mirren TV please click HERE.

For technical support with St Mirren TV please e-mail tvsupport@stmirren.com

We are giving fans the opportunity to vote for the man of the match and also put two lucky fans in with the chance of winning a £10 voucher for the Club Shop.

Every home game we’ll throw open the voting on the 60 minute mark for 20 minutes where votes can be cast on Facebook and Twitter. All you have to do is use the hashtag #SMFCMOM followed by the name of the player you are voting for, eg ‘#SMFCMOM MAGENNIS’.

With 10 minutes of the game remaining all the votes will be counted then the Stadium Announcer will confirm the winning player over the tannoy system.

From all the fans who nominate the winning player one will be picked at random from the Facebook account and another from the Twitter account and they will each be awarded a £10 voucher for the Club Shop. The winners will be notified through the account they posted from.

Please note that the winners must collect their voucher after the game.

So get yourself ready on the hour mark of Saturday's game against Hamilton and get voting with #SMFCMOM.

Paisley Panda will host the ever-popular match day competition ‘Bung a Baw’ during the half-time break of Saturday’s match against Hamilton Accies.

To take part you will receive a small foam ball which is numbered and you will then have a chance to throw your ball towards our club mascot Paisley Panda in front of the Family Stand. Each person will have 60 seconds to do this and the winner will be the person who has thrown the ball closest to the feet of the Panda. The winner will be confirmed over the PA system.

The competition is sponsored by Glen-Bun Bakery who are supplying a full tray of yummy cakes as the prize for the contest winner.

This season it is FREE to take part in 'Bung a Baw'. The balls will be available from inside the Family Stand in the 30 minutes leading up to kick-off and then again in the first 5 minutes of half-time before the competition starts (subject to availability). Each ball is numbered and participants will also get a ticket with the corresponding number which they will use to claim the prize if they win.

‘Bung a Baw’ continues to be very popular so Paisley Panda advises that you get in early on Saturday to get your ball to take part.

As well as taking care of ‘Bung a Baw’, Paisley Panda will be giving away sweets to the kids in and around the stadium courtesy of the Black and White Army website.

The St Mirren Fans Council Panda Club is back for this Saturday's match against Hamilton Accies.

The St Mirren Fans Council Panda Club is held within the Airdome two hours prior to kick off at every home game on a Saturday or Sunday, with exception of matches against Celtic and Rangers.

Our great team of friendly coaches take the kids, aged between 3-12 years, for fun, games & tournaments with prizes and surprises aplenty!

AND after all that the kids get a ticket to watch the game with our coaches for FREE!

We have a new Panda Club Membership package available which is a one-off fee of £75 for the season and will provide each child with a healthy Buddie snack box at each game PLUS a goody bag, training top and membership card. 

Alternatively, parents can pay £5 per child per two hour session. Season ticket holders and families with more than one child will qualify for a 20% discount.

For more information on the St Mirren Fans Council Panda Club please call us on (0141) 889-2558 EXT 6124 or e-mail communitytrust@stmirren.com 

We have a special treat for our younger fans at tomorrow's Matchday Entertainment event.

With Saturday set to be a scorcher we have teamed up with local ice cream shop Porrelli to offer the first 300 kids who make a food bank donation - in the bins placed around our match day entertainment behind the family stand - a free specially designed St Mirren themed Black and White ice cream cone!

Don’t miss out come down nice and early with the entertainment starting from 1:00pm.

The activities for tomorrow's Matchday Entertainment event are as follows:

*Ride the Rodeo Bull
*Are you the next Kyle Magennis? Try our new football skills zone
*Live music by Josh Turley from Red Bandit
*Face painting
*Balloon Modelling
*Free sweets from the Panda sponsored by Black & White Army
*Bung a Baw sponsored by Glen Bun bakery
*Pick the winning team and win £100 on our giant football card
*Win 12 donuts by predicting #saints1stgoal scorer
*Vote for #SMFCMOM and be in with a chance of winning a voucher for the club shop.

All fans are welcome to attend, so get yourself along to the Family Stand from 1:30pm on Saturday to get involved!

Paisley Panda is pleased to confirm that ‘First Scorer’ will be back for the game on Saturday against Hamilton.

‘First Scorer’ lets fans predict in advance of the game who they think will score St Mirren's first goal in Saturday's match against the Accies.

From all of those who guess correctly, a winner will be picked at random and they will win a box of a dozen doughnuts which will be delivered to their seat right after the goal is scored!

To enter all you have to do ahead of the game is post your prediction of the first St Mirren scorer on Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag #Saints1stgoal. The lucky winner will then be contacted to confirm which stand they will be in with the row and seat number so that the prize can be delivered to them.