Liam Smith got off the mark for St Mirren this week, with an audacious effort from outside the box that whistled past Queen of the South Goalkeeper Alan Martin on the third minute.

Saints ran out 2-0 winners, with Harry Davis scoring from the penalty spot after Smith's early opener enough to secure The Buddies' 17th league win of the season.

Speaking to Buddievision, Smith said: "I've played quite a few games now, but it's not something that comes around very often for me. I was pleased, and glad to eventually get the three points as well.

"The boys were giving me a bit of stick as well, saying they don't think they have ever seen it from me either - in training or that. It was a nice finish, so I'm pleased with it."

The Saints increased their unbeaten run in the league to nine games, and even managed to stretch their lead at the top of the table to 14 points after Saturday's victory. Jack Ross' side have only failed to win at home twice this season; drawing 2-2 with Morton  in October and losing 1-0 to Dumbarton at the beginning of December.

Smith believes that on their day, nobody can beat them. He said: "When we play well, there's no team in this league that can match us.

"I think teams know coming here, with our record, that if they don't score the first goal then it's going to be a tough afternoon for them.

"And I think that was evident, we took the game by the scruff of the neck and played well."

 The Scotland under-21 star has been on loan at St Mirren from Hearts since the beginning of the season, and with Man of the Match performances like Saturday, it's no wonder he is becoming a favourite with the Paisley fans.

"I just want to be consistent in my performances and I think so far I've done that. If I keep doing that then hopefully we'll end up top of the league come the end of the season." 

Tickets for St Mirren's trip to Tannadice to face Dundee United on Friday 2nd March will go on sale at 10:00am tomorrow (Tuesday 6th February) from the St Mirren Ticket Office and online.

The ticket prices and match details for this match are as follows:

Dundee United vs St Mirren
Ladbrokes Championship
Venue: Tannadice Park, Dundee
Date: Friday 2nd March 2018
Kick-off: 7:45pm

Ticket Prices

Adult - £20
Concessions (over 65, under 18 and full-time students with valid proof) - £10

Anyone requiring a wheelchair ticket can contact the Ticket Office on 0141-889-2558. 

The St Mirren Ticket Office opening hours for this week are as follows:

Tue, Feb 6th - 10:00am - 2:00pm
Wed, Feb 7th – 10:00am - 2:00pm
Thu, Feb 8th – 10:00am - 2:00pm
Fri, Feb 9th – 10:00am - 2:00pm
Sat, Feb 10th – CLOSED
Sun, Feb 11th - CLOSED

St Mirren Ticket Office Tel: (0141) 889-2558

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

A gallery of pictures from St Mirren's 2-0 win over Queen of the South in the Ladbrokes Championship on Saturday.

Liam Smith scored his first St Mirren goal on four minutes with a superb strike into the top corner from 25 yards to put The Buddies ahead.

Harry Davis made it 2-0 from the penalty spot just after the half hour mark to give Saints another valuable three points.

Gallery pictures by John Millar © - Millar Pictures

The Street Stuff Football and Dance Camps at the Paisley 2021 Stadium kick-off this Friday (9th February) running until Tuesday (13th February). 

All activities are FREE for young people aged 8+ and lunch will be provided to all participants. 

Young people who would like to attend can register at the stadium on the day. 

Timetable
Friday 9th February - 1:00pm-5:00pm
Saturday 10th February - 1:00pm-5:00pm
Monday 12th February - 1:00pm-5:00pm
Tuesday 13th February - 1:00pm-5:00pm

For more information please contact Stephen Gallacher at stephen.gallacher@stmirren.com.

During the January transfer window a number of players moved out on loan to play regular football. Here's a look at how some of them got on last weekend. 

Ross Stewart netted his fourth goal for Alloa on Saturday as his 17th minute strike gave Jim Goodwin's side a 2-1 win over title chasing Ayr United at Somerset Park. Ex-Saints loanee Lawrence Shankland had given Ayr the lead before another ex-Saint, Jamie McCart, equalised for the Wasps. Stewart played the full 90 minutes for Alloa, while Jordan Kirkpatrick featured for 75 minutes being replaced as a substitute by Callum Smith.

It was a disappointing afternoon for Robbie Leitch when he was substituted on 38 minutes as his Queens Park side, managed by ex-St Mirren manager Gus MacPherson, fell to a 3-1 loss to League One leaders Raith Rovers at Hampden. 

Darryl Duffy helped Airdrieonians on to a 1-0 win away to Forfar that keeps the Diamonds just six points off from the promotion play-offs in League One.

Conor O'Keefe and Evan Horne played the full 90 minutes as League Two side Annan were held to a 1-1 draw at home against 10-man Cowdenbeath. 

St Mirren continued their impressive league performance this afternoon, with a 2-0 victory over Queen of the South at the Paisley 2021 Stadium.

The Saints went into today's match knowing they could increase the gap between themselves and second place with a win, due to Dundee Utd's game against Inverness Caledonian Thistle being postponed earlier in the day.

St Mirren started off very lively, when two minutes into the game Kyle Magennis managed to find space at the edge of the box and struck at goal, only to be denied by Queens goalkeeper Alan Martin, who was equal to it and parried away.

The deadlock was broken only two minutes later though, when Liam Smith found himself in similar space to what Magennis had moments earlier, but this time the on-loan full back made the Queens defence pay, by lashing the ball past Alan Martin into the top right hand corner, scoring his first ever goal for the club.

The Doonhamers did work their way back into the game a bit, after a couple of good attempts from Stephen Dobbie and Ross Fergusson. After a series of corners from the away side they did manage to get the ball over the line eventually, after a rebounded Dobbie strike was touched in. But the assistant referee had flagged for offside, as Jack Ross' men held on to their lead.

The Buddies responded well and started to pile on the pressure as they had a succession of corners. One short corner almost resulted in a goal from Lewis Morgan, but was tipped over from Alan Martin.

The resulting corner was cleared and picked up by Adam Eckersley who attempted a long range effort on goal, but was handled in the box by Queens captain John Rankin. Referee Steven Kirkland had no option but to point to the spot and award St Mirren a penalty.

Strangely, it was central defender Harry Davis who stepped up to the plate, and as cool as you like the Englishman tucked home from 12 yards; sending Martin the wrong way, Davis doubled Saints' lead on the 33 minute mark.

Saints could have been even further ahead before half time: Jack Baird winning a header from a corner that went just wide, and Gavin Reilly managed to get a toe onto a low cross from Liam Smith, which trickled agonisingly past the post. 

Half Time: St Mirren 2-0 Queen of the South

The second half didn't have quite the same action as the first, with most of Saints' attacks reduced to long range efforts. Attempts from Davis, Morgan, Smith and Mullen where not enough to make life difficult for sub goalkeeper Jack Leighfield. 

The last five minutes St Mirren did need to show their resolve though, as Gary Naysmith's side strived to find way back into the game. There was a couple of late attempts from Rankin and Dobbie, but nothing that worried Saints keeper Samson.

The game finished 2-0 to St Mirren, who now hold a 14 point gap over second place Dundee Utd. 

Full Time: St Mirren 2-0 Queen of the South

St Mirren: Samson, L.Smith, Baird, Davis, Eckersley, McGinn, Magennis, Flynn (Hill 88), C.Smith (McShane 77), Morgan, Reilly (Mullen 65)
Subs Not Used: Stewart, Stelios, MacKenzie, Sutton

Queen of the South: Martin (Leighfield 59), Rooney, Fordyce, Brownlie, Cameron, Rankin, Dobbie, Thomson, Fergusson (Todorov 70), Mercer (Thomas 45), Dykes 
Subs Not Used: Murray, Bell, Harvey

Referee: Steven Kirkland
Assistant Referee: Willie Conquer
Assistant Referee: Colin McAlpine

Attendance: 4585

Gallery pictures by John Millar © - Millar Pictures

St Mirren boss Jack Ross gives his thoughts on a 2-0 win over Queen of the South which sees Saints extend their gap at the top of the league to 14 points. 

St Mirren return to the Paisley 2021 Stadium for the first time in four weeks this Saturday as they take on Queen of the South in the Scottish Championship. 

Saint's come into this game off the back of a valuable victory over Dunfermline last week at East End park, with goals from Cammy Smith and Jack Baird enough to secure the three points which extended St Mirren's lead at the top of the Championship table. In conjunction with Dundee Utd's 3-0 loss to Morton on Saturday, Saints now sit 11 points ahead of the Tayside club.

The last time these two clubs faced off was two days before Christmas at Palmerston Park, where St Mirren came from behind to win 3-2 in a festive thriller. After going down 1-0 just 20 seconds in to the game, thanks to a goal from Stephen Dobbie, The Doonhamers doubled their lead on the sixth minute with Chris Kane running in behind the Saints' defence and cooly slotting past Craig Samson. The Buddies did drag themselves back into the game, after Gavin Reilly capitalized on a mix up between Queens' defence and goalkeeper and headed the ball into the empty net. The comeback was complete on the 35 minute mark when Cammy Smith placed the ball inside the goalkeepers near post. The winner came on the 68th minute when Gary MacKenzie - known more for his aerial prowess - managed to get his foot on the end of a corner to cushion the ball into the bottom corner.

The first game between the two sides this season took place at the Paisley 2021 Stadium, with The Buddies running out 3-1 winners after the opener from Cammy Smith and a brace from Lewis Morgan.  

Queens started the season well, winning three out of their first four games, but have struggled to find that same consistency in the last couple of months. However, they still remain in fifth place with only goal difference between them and a playoff spot. Saint's defence will be put to the test, as the visitors bring the league's top goalscorer in Stephen Dobbie to town. The Doonhamer's talisman has been in fine form all season; scoring a hat-trick last week against Brechin which moved the striker's total up to 14 league goals for the season. 

As the January transfer window closed on Wednesday evening, The Buddies added one more to their ranks with the singing of Myles Hippolyte from Falkirk on Deadline Day. Unfortunately, this weekend's game will come a bit too soon for the former Bairn and is unlikely to feature after recently returning from a quad injury. 

St Mirren could extend their unbeaten league run to nine games tomorrow, and with the four teams directly below Saints all playing away tomorrow, this could be a chance to widen the gap at the top as The Buddies push for promotion.

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 Championship match against Queen of the South, is a 48 pager with a £3 cover price.

The latest edition includes the following:

Front Cover – Liam Smith.
The Gaffer - St Mirren manager Jack Ross with his thoughts on recent matches and his pre-match message for the fans.
Buddies News Update – News of the latest happenings in and around the Paisley 2021 Stadium.
Last Time Out – Match report and pictures of the recent Championship match away to Dunfermline Athletic.
The Opposition – Brian Corry runs the rule over Saturday's visitors, Gary Naysmith's Queen of the South side.
Hall of Fame – David Cochran highlights the St Mirren managerial career of Danny Lennon.
Player Interview – James Hunter talks with Saints' defender, Adam Eckersley.
Action Shot (Centre Pages) – Craig Samson.
SMiSA – John White updates on the latest news from the St Mirren Supporters' Trust.
Fans Corner – Ticket prices, travel clubs update, match info and dates for fans to keep in their diary.
Matchday Gallery – Pictures from the post-match presentations in the corporate suite after the recent home match against Inverness Caley Thistle.
Kit Sponsors 2017/18.
Football, Bloody Hell – Alan Gallacher talks with Katie Cooper about the recently launched St Mirren Women's team.
Marketing Matters – Commercial Manager, Campbell Kennedy brings us up to date with all the commercial activities within the Club.
St Mirren Fixtures & Results 2017/18 – A handy reference page of all the fixtures 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 2017/18 season click HERE.

If you live outside the UK & Ireland, St Mirren TV is your way to watch Paisley’s top football side 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 Paisley 2021 Stadium when Queen of the South are the visitors on Saturday afternoon.

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

St Mirren vs Queen of the South
Ladbrokes Championship
Venue: Paisley 2021 Stadium, Paisley
Date: Saturday 3rd February 2018
Kick-off: 3:00pm GMT

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