The next generation of Europe’s star footballers will be coming to the Simple Digital Arena this week, as the Scotland Men's Under-17s play host to Portugal and Russia in the Elite Round of the UEFA U17s European Championship. 

It's the first matches in the Elite Round group stage with Scotland aiming to be on of 15 teams to qualify from the groups for the Championships in Ireland in May. 

The matches taking place at The Simple Digital Arena are as follows:

MD1: Scotland v Portugal – Wednesday, 20 March 2019, 6pm, The Simple Digital Arena, Paisley.
MD2: Scotland v Russia – Saturday, 23 March 2019, 4pm, The Simple Digital Arena, Paisley.

Entry to both matches is free so come along and give the Scotland Men's Under-17s your support! 

St Mirren manager Oran Kearney admits he was frustrated that today's match against St Johnstone has been postponed, but believes the correct decision was made. 

Today's match was postponed due to an unplayable surface at McDiarmid Park, while there were also concern for spectator safety due to snow in the surrounding areas. 

It's very frustrating," he told stmirren.com.

"When you go through all the preparation and you're down into the excitement of game day and everything that comes with it it is obviously very disappointing.

"But I have seen photos of the pitch and to be honest even seeing photos of the roads when it gets to that point people's safety is more important so the correct decision has been made.

"We could sit here and cry about the game not being on but if the ref was the push on with the game and somebody was to pick up an injury we'd have been the first people to turn round and say the game shouldn't have been played. We can't have it both ways."

Saints are not set to be back in action until Saturday 30th March due to the international break.

Kyle McAllister, Duckens Nazon, Anders Dreyer and Jordan Holmes are away with on international duty and those who remain will train as usual, but will get an extra day off next weekend.

We do have to wait a period of time before our next game and we had come into a decent run of performances.

"We have four players away on international duty so we've wished them all the best this morning and hope they return safely.

"For the ones who remain we'll get a bit of extra work done to try and sharpen up and go again. 

"We've a lot of players here from Europe now who are going four or five weeks without seeing family members so being ultra-conscious of that the way we have tried to manage this next two weeks we have condensed training into a few days and tried to give them a sort of long weekend off next weekend - Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

"Then the week after will be as normal leading into the next match."

The manager's family had travelled over this weekend and while he'll now get to spend some more quality time with them this afternoon, he confessed his son 

There is one unhappy boy, Luca, my son. He was absolutely champing at the bit and he was adamant with me that he would be in with the away fans and not in with the board in the soft seats.

"He was adamant Stephen McGinn would be taking him in with the away fans and he was looking forward to that and the drum and everything that goes with it.

"But that's football so for us now it looks like cinema and shopping!"

Today's scheduled Scottish Premiership match between St Johnstone and St Mirren has been postponed due to an unplayable pitch.

There were also concerns regarding the safety of spectators due to snow in the car park and surrounding areas in addition to road conditions for those travelling to Perth.

The game will be rescheduled in due course and played at a later date.

We apologise for the inconvenience this may have caused, and will update you with new date when it has been rearranged.

St Mirren manager Oran Kearney expects a difficult match when the Buddies travel to Perth tomorrow to face St Johnstone in the Ladbrokes Premiership. 

Saints have already faced the Perth side twice this season - once at McDiarmid and once at the Simple Digital Arena. 

Oran anticipates it being another stern challenge for the Buddies in our bid for Premiership survival and hopes the side can maintain recent good form heading into the final nine games of the season.

It'll be another tough game," Oran said.

"We have played them twice this season and both games have been really tough.

"It's not rocket science to see the job Tommy [Wright] has done up there and how well he has them organised.

"We have got to try and hit that same level again. We've got to get close to where we have been in the last few weeks and make sure we are up around that level if we are to get anything out of that game. 

"We have nine games left and 27 points to play for so it's in our hands. It's not panic stations, there's no big histrionics or anything else.

"Everybody is aware of the scenario we are in, but everybody is also aware of what it is going to take to get us out of that scenario.

"We've had our biggest points haul all season over the last month. It's so important that we keep that level of consistency that we are starting to find." 

The gaffer made a number of changes to the squad in January with a number of players leaving the club, while the likes of Vaclav Hladky, Mihai Popescu, Mateo Muzek, Duckens Nazon and more were added. 

He believes that Saints are beginning to see the best of the new boys now they have started to settle at the club and praised them for what they have brought to the team.

The new players that have come in have all done extremely well and are all improving game-by-game.

"They came in with some obstacles on the pitch and some obstacles off the pitch in terms of language and everything else.

"As all of that starts to even itself out and settle itself down you are hoping we start to see the best of these guys and for me that has been quite apparent in the last few games."

The Buddies will be without captain Stephen McGinn after the skipper aggravated a hernia issue just prior to kick-off in Monday night's match against Kilmarnock. 

Other than that, the manager expects the squad to be the same that faced Kilmarnock.

Stephen McGinn won't be available for selection as he has had a minor operation for a hernia. Apart from that it will be the same squad from Monday night."

It’s the battle of the Saints tomorrow as St Mirren make the trip to Perth to face St Johnstone on matchday 30 of the Ladbrokes Premiership.

FORM

The Paisley Saints go into tomorrow's match undefeated in our last two away matches.

A 2-2 draw with Aberdeen last month was followed up by a 1-1 draw at Tynecastle. Since those away matches there has been a 1-0 win over Livingston and a 1-0 loss to Kilmarnock at the Simple Digital Arena.

St Johnstone, meanwhile, have only picked up a solitary point in their last seven Premiership matches. That came in a 0-0 draw with Rangers at Ibrox in February. 

Since their last win - a 1-0 triumph over Livingston in January - the Perth Saints have lost to Livingston, Hibernian, Aberdeen, Hamilton Academical, Celtic (twice) and Hearts in the league. 

They come into tomorrow's match having lost 3-1 to Livingston at the Tony Macaroni Arena last Saturday.

PREVIOUS

This will be the third meeting of the sides this season. 

Our first visit to Perth this season saw the home side win 2-0 thanks to second half goals from David Wotherspoon and Matty Kennedy. 

St Johnstone visited Paisley on Boxing Day and left with all the points after an 89th minute goal from Tony Watt gave them a 1-0 win. 

Indeed, St Johnstone have won the last four meetings between the two sides with the Buddies last victory over St Johnstone coming at McDiarmid Park in October 2014 when goals from Jason Naismith and Adam Drury gave us a 2-1 win. 

WHAT A WIN WOULD MEAN

A win would see the Buddies move into 11th place, two points clear of Dundee who play Celtic on Sunday.

Depending on Hamilton Accies' result at home to Hearts, the Paisley Saints could go to within a point of the 10th placed Lanarkshire side. 

Even a draw for Saints would see us move into 11th ahead of Dundee on goal difference before they play. 

St Johnstone are looking for three points to keep their top six hopes alive.

The Perth side are currently eighth in the table - four points behind sixth place Hibernian with four games to go until the split. 

TEAM NEWS

Greg Tansey could return to the squad after serving a two-match suspension, but Stephen McGinn is out for after going through a minor operation this week.

Deputy goalkeeper Jordan Holmes is away with Australia on international duty while Danny Rogers, Lee Hodson and Kyle Magennis remain out.

Please note that football centres are off at the dome tomorrow, due to ongoing maintenance at the facility.

St Mirren in the Community apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Tomorrow afternoon (Saturday 16th March) St Mirren head to Perth for a Ladbrokes Premiership match-up with St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.

The info on Travel Clubs heading to McDiarmid Park for the match is as follows:

North End Travel Club

The bus to Perth will leave the Sneddon at 12:45pm.

Bus tickets are available in the Brewer's Tap, £6 each.

Tile Bar Supporters Bus

The bus is leaving Abercorn Street at 11:15am for the game against St Johnstone.

Bus tickets are available from the bar.

Chivas Travel Club

The bus for Perth will leave the Court Bar at 11:30am.

We will be visiting the Muirton Lounge at St Johnstone before the game which is a family facility and children are welcome.

Bus tickets are on sale now from behind the bar.

Cockles Wilson Supporters Bus

If you would like to travel on the bus please contact Fraser Burns on Facebook or twitter.

* - Under 13s will gain access free of charge when accompanied by a paying adult (max 2 per adult). Turnstile 5 Only.

** - Wheelchair users and ambulant disabled must purchase tickets in advance from the St Mirren Ticket Office. Carers will gain access free of charge.

St Johnstone will be offering a £16 family deal but it will be via gates 18 and 19 in their SSE Ormond Family Stand and not via gate 5 in their Main Stand as it was for our match back on October 27th.

The Ormond Stand will operate as a mixed, Family Stand on the day, with the following prices:

One adult and max 2 x U13s - £16 (family deal)
Additional adult within the family group - £16
Additional child under 13 - £6
Additional child aged 13-16 - £9
Additional over 65 - £13

There are a limited number of accessible parking bays which can be booked in advance of the game – £5 per car.

There are also a limited number of ADC receivers for blind/partially sighted supporters. These can be booked in advance through Beverley Mayer on 01738 459 090 and collected from the St Johnstone Ticket Office on the match day.

St Mirren Ticket Office Phone No: (0141) 840-6130.

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

Additional Information for Travelling Fans
On Saturday (16th March), St Mirren make the trip to Perth for a Ladbrokes Premiership match-up with St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.

The referee on Saturday is Andrew Dallas and he will be assisted by Frank Connor and Daniel McFarlane. The Fourth Official will be Alan Muir.

The St Mirren FC Community Trust are on a mission to recruit 100 of the Black & White Army to march in the Kilt Walk on Sunday 28th April 2019 to raise essential funds to support their elderly, mental health & children’s community programs for the next year.

So far the Greenock Morton Community Trust has been the Trust with the largest participation of any year ahead of the Celtic, Rangers & Aberdeen.

But this year the Buddies are determined to pull out all the stops and have a sea of black, white & tartan fans marching to glory.

Out Kilt Walk team name is 'Saints Come Marching In' and if you want to join us you can use the link here and select 'St Mirren in The Community' in the charity section or email gayle.brannigan@stmirren.com for more details.

Should you wish to show your support by donating you can use our link or the above email address to get in touch or simply call Gayle on 0141 889 2558 EXT 6124.

It was late disappointment for Saints as Kilmarnock snatched victory in the dying minutes at the Simple Digital Arena last night.

In what was a fairly even game in which the Buddies would have felt worthy of a point, Kilmarnock took all three as Liam Millar got a toe on the end of an Eamonn Brophy ball across the box with three minutes of normal time remaining. 

The match was played in wet and windy conditions - similar to those experienced in the win over Livingston a little over a week ago. And like that match, it made it difficult for both sides to play football.

St Mirren started brightly enough with Kyle McAllister flashing a wicked left foot volley from the edge of the area just by the post with only two minutes on the clock.

Kilmarnock's Chris Burke tried to take advantage of the wild conditions when he had a go from range on 15 minutes, but Saints goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky was equal to it. 

10 minutes later, a neat through ball from McAllister found Simeon Jackson who raced towards goal. But under pressure from ex-Saint Kirk Broadfoot, the striker shot straight at Daniel Bachmann. 

The visitors best opportunity of the first half came just a minute before the interval. Burke was bodychecked by Ethan Erhahon as he charged forward and referee Don Robertson awarded Killie a free-kick 22 yards from the St Mirren goal. Brophy stepped up but fizzed over.

Kilmarnock came out strongly after the interval, and despite Erhahon testing Bachmann on 47 minutes, it was Steve Clarke's side that went close twice in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Burke skimmed a shot wide from long-range before Brophy smacked the post. 

The game was very end-to-end with 20 minutes remaining and that was evidenced by both sides having the chance to break the deadlock on 72 minutes. Broadfoot rose the highest to meet a free-kick into the Saints box but Hladky gathered. The Czech goalkeeper quickly released the ball to McAllister who drove into the Kilmarnock half. He checked inside and found Jackson in good space, but the striker waited for the ball to fall to his feet allowing Stuart Findlay to slide in and deny the forward's effort.

Five minutes later Duckens Nazon had a go from 20 yards but his low shot was straight at Bachmann. Killie tried to get forward at speed right after with Stephen O'Donnell's long-range drive deflected just wide.

Jackson was denied his sixth St Mirren goal on 83 minutes when Bachmann made a great stop to tip away the striker's flick from Paul McGinn's cross.

With the game ebbing away it looked like Saints would gain the point that would lift us off the bottom of the league. But with only three minutes remaining Burke fed the ball down the right to Brophy. The striker sent the ball across the box where it found the unmarked Liam Millar who slid in to tap home from close range to take all three points.  

Full Time: St Mirren 0-1 Kilmarnock

St Mirren: Hladky, P.McGinn, Popescu, Baird, Muzek, Erhahon, MacPherson (Nazon 65), Flynn, Lyons, McAllister, Jackson
Subs Not Used: Holmes, Ferdinand, MacKenzie, Corbu, Dreyer, Mullen

Kilmarnock: Bachmann, O'Donnell, Findlay, Broadfoot, Taylor, Burke, Dicker, McKenzie (McAleny 79), Power, Jones (Millar 79), Brophy (Tshibola 89)
Subs Not Used: MacDonald, Millen, Water, Boyd

Referee: Don Robertson
Assistant Referee: Sean Carr
Assistant Referee: Joseph Lawson
Fourth Official: William Collum

Attendance: 4,458

Gallery pictures by Allan Picken © - Allan Picken Photography