Jack Ross gives his thoughts on today's 3-2 win over Queen of the South as the Buddies came from 2-0 down to win and secure top spot at Christmas. 

If you'd said at 3.06pm this afternoon that Saints would leave Dumfries with all three points, you'd have been accused of overindulging on the mulled wine and brandy butter. And yet, on an incredible afternoon at Palmerston, that's exactly what happened.

Queen of the South made a lightning fast start and were two up before anyone could draw breath. Stephen Dobbie scored the first after less than 30 seconds before teeing up Chris Kane to add the second.

But Saints fought back and halved the deficit after some confusion between Darren Brownlie and Alan Martin allowed Gavin Reilly to nip in to head home. Some more suspect defending from Brownlie allowed Reilly in to rattle in the equaliser 10 minutes before the break.

The second half wasn't anywhere near as exciting but all Saints fans will care about is that Gary MacKenzie bundled home Ian McShane's corner to complete a dramatic turnaround that sees the Buddies top of the tree at Christmas.

Dobbie went into the game looking for his 100th Queens goal and his search was over inside the first 20 seconds, the striker being given far too much space as he ran at the defence before firing past Craig Samson. Lewis Morgan shot over before things went from bad to worse for the Buddies as Gary MacKenzie failed to cut out Dobbie's tremendous through pass and Kane found the net with the help of the post. The loss of Adam Eckersley to injury completed a horrific opening as Stelios took his place.

Saints looked for a glimmer of hope to cling on to, Cammy Smith dragging a shot wide after Morgan and Stephen McGinn combined to create an opening. Andy Stirling had a shot deflected into the arms of Samson who promptly claimed a bizarre assist. The keeper thumped the ball forward and it looked as if opposite number Martin had things covered, only for defender Brownlie to head the ball over him. Reilly didn't need to be asked twice and charged in to nod the ball into the unguarded net. Game on.

Dobbie shot just wide after again being given too much room, Morgan unlucky to see a shot hacked off the line after he skinned Scott Mercer. Queens were then forced to make their own change due to injury as Callum Tapping replaced Kyle Jacobs, who had come off worse in a challenge with Stelios. There was a huge left-off for Saints when the new arrival's free-kick was knocked on for Jason Kerr whose shot thundered off MacKenzie, Brownlie then hammering the loose ball well over.

It was to prove costly as a few minutes later Saints were level. Brownlie made a mess of a through ball and Reilly was in, composing himself before slotting past Martin to square things up. The striker didn't celebrate against his old club but he must have been the only calm Buddie, the vocal travelling support going wild with delight.

Unbelievably, their side could have been in front moments later, Cammy Smith and Kyle Magennis both shooting wide, in between times Martin denying Jack Baird with a great save. The half ended with some controversy as Reilly tried to block Martin's kick-out and the ball flew wide. The keeper was incensed and ref Steven McLean gave a free-kick – although he appeared to have his back to the action at the time.

It took Dobbie a bit longer to get a sight of goal in the second half, Samson denying him twice in the first five minutes. Morgan charged at the Queens defence before unleashing a shot that went a yard or two over but the hosts were looking the more likely side to score, Dobbie and Kane continuing to cause problems for the Saints defence. Despite that, Reilly was given a chance to complete his hat-trick when Baird found him with a delightful pass, however the forward's first touch was poor and the ball bobbled wide.

Instead it was left to MacKenzie to put Saints in front. McShane's corner bounced through to the back post and the big defender forced it over the line, much to the delight of him and every Buddie else. Queens were forced to replace Jordan Marshall with Shaun Rooney due to injury before Reilly's hopes of a hat-trick were ended when he came off for Danny Mullen. The final roll of the home defence saw Stirling replaced by Derek Lyle as Queens got ready to throw the kitchen sink at the visiting defence, however the waves of attack never materialised and Martin was the busier keeper as he saved from Mullen.

At the other end, Samson was barely troubled as Saints comfortably saw the game out to ensure they'll go into next week's crucial clash with Dundee United top of the Championship.

Full Time: Queen of the South 2-3 St Mirren

St Mirren: Samson, L.Smith, Baird, MacKenzie, Eckersley (Stelios 9), McGinn, McShane, Morgan, C.Smith (MacPherson 85), Magennis, Reilly (Mullen 71)
Subs Not Used: Stewart, Buchanan, O'Keefe, Sutton

Queen of the South: Martin, Marshall (Rooney 68), Brownlie, Stirling (Lyle 75), Rankin, Kane, Dobbie, Jacobs (Tapping 29), Kerr, Mercer, Dykes
Subs Not Used: Leighfield, McFadden, Murray, Bell

Referee: Steven McLean
Assistant Referee: Michael Banks
Assistant Referee: Derek Crothers

Attendance: 2,019 (646 St Mirren fans)

Tomorrow afternoon (Saturday 23rd December), St Mirren make the journey south to face Queen of the South at Palmerston Park in a Ladbrokes Championship match-up.

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

North End Travel Club

The bus to Dumfries will leave The Sneddon at 11:30am.

Bus tickets are available in The Brewer's Tap, £8 each.

Chivas Travel Club

The bus for the Queen of the South game will leave from the Court Bar at 11:00am.

Bus tickets now on sale from the Court Bar.

Cockles Wilson Supporters Bus

The bus for Palmerston Park will leave at 10:30am.

Bus tickets now available in The Bankhouse.

Tile Bar Supporters Bus

The bus going to Dumfries will leave Abercorn Street at 10:15am.

This bus is now sold out.

Tickets for this match are available to purchase from the St Mirren Ticket Office up till 2:00pm today (Friday 22nd December)

St Mirren Away Support Sales Information

St Mirren have had the entire away support allocation of tickets for this fixture. It appears unlikely that the away allocation will sell out in advance of the fixture with still about 400 tickets remaining this morning which St Mirren will return to Queen of the South for match day sale.

Tickets returned by St Mirren will go on sale from the Away Ticket Office at Palmerston, outside the entrance to the away section of the Rosefield Salvage Stand, from approximately 1:30pm on Saturday.

Please note segregated ticketing is in operation for this match. St Mirren supporters should only purchase their tickets from the office at the Away Stand and should not use either of the Home Support Ticket Offices.

Additional Information for Travelling Fans

Tomorrow, Saturday 23rd December, St Mirren make the trip to Dumfries to face Queen of the South in a Ladbrokes Championship match-up at Palmerston Park.

The referee tomorrow is Steven McLean and he will be assisted by Michael Banks and Derek Crothers.

St Mirren striker Ross Stewart has joined Alloa Athletic on loan until the end of the season.

The 21 year-old joined the Buddies on a two-year deal from League One side Albion Rovers and went on to make 17 appearances for Saints scoring two goals.

He joins ex-St Mirren captain Jim Goodwin's Wasps side on an emergency loan until January before joining on a standard loan until the end of the 2017/18 campaign.

St Mirren manager Jack Ross said: "Ross has done well since he joined the group in the summer. The team has been doing so well and that has limited Ross' game time recently. We feel, for his development, that playing regularly at Alloa for the rest of the season will be beneficial."

Everyone at St Mirren wishes Ross every success during his loan spell.

UNDER 12s can go free to all SPFL Championship matches during the two weekends of the Premiership winter break next month in an initiative supported by all 10 second-tier clubs.

Children under the age of 12 will be permitted free admission to any of the 10 games played in the Ladbrokes Championship on January 6 and January 13 if they are accompanied by a paying adult.

The move is aimed at encouraging families to get along to a match, even if their favourite top-tier side is not in action.

Games on January 6 include Livingston versus Queen of the South, Dumbarton against Dunfermline Athletic and St Mirren versus Inverness Caledonian Thistle, while on January 13 Dunfermline are at home to Dundee United, Morton take on Falkirk and Brechin City host Livingston.

SPFL Chief Executive Neil Doncaster said: “Football goes on even during the Ladbrokes Premiership winter break and I commend the Ladbrokes Championship clubs for coming up with this welcome initiative.

“Hopefully many supporters will take the chance to get out to a match next month, with free admission for under-12s making it more affordable for families to attend together.”

Falkirk director Martin Ritchie, one of two Championship representatives on the SPFL Board, added: “With no Premiership fixtures in early January the spotlight will fall on the Ladbrokes Championship for a few weeks.

“We hope that this offer will encourage fans to take in a game, even if they haven’t been for a while. Matches in this league tend to be exciting and entertaining, and hopefully people, especially families, will take the opportunity to discover that for themselves next month.”

St Mirren in the Community are delighted to announce details of our Christmas Football Camp, ‘Jingle Balls’, the perfect stocking filler for all young Footballers!

The Camp will take place at St Mirren’s Aridome at The Paisley 2021 Stadium over 22nd, 23rd and 24th December with the option of half-day and full-day camps.

The full-day camp, for boys and girls aged 6 to 12 years old, will run from 9:00am to 3:00pm and cost £25.

There will be half-day camps from 9:00am to 12:00pm and 12:00pm to 3:00pm (for boy and girls aged 3 to 5 years) and they will cost £12.50.

As always we expect the camps to be really busy so to avoid disappointment we advise that you book your place as soon as possible. You can do that by picking up an application form from the stadium reception or alternatively you can download it by clicking HERE.

For more details please e-mail communityadmin@stmirren.com.

We hope to see you all there, Merry Christmas!

Jack Ross gives his thoughts on this afternoon's 1-0 win over Dunfermline at the Paisley 2021 Stadium as his side returned to the top of the Ladbrokes Championship. 

A first half Cammy Smith goal was enough to send St Mirren back to the top of the Ladbrokes Championship after a tough fought 1-0 win over Dunfermline. 

The forward's ninth goal of the season gave Saints a big three points and saw them move one clear of Dundee United and 12 clear of The Pars. 

It was the visitors who went closest to opening the scoring in the early exchanges when, with just five minutes on the clock, Ryan Williamson burst into the Saints box and saw his effort deflected by for a corner. 

The game had it's fair share of controversial moments, the first coming just before 10 minutes when Sean Murdoch was lucky to escape red when he wiped out Gavin Reilly on the edge of the box. The Saints striker had broken on to a terrific long ball from Lewis Morgan and just as he looked to round the Pars keeper he was brought down. Referee Craig Charleston awarded a free kick and consulted with his linesman before deciding only to book the goalkeeper much to the annoyance of the Saints support. Ian McShane stepped up to take but sent it over.  

Dunfermline had a few half chances in the next period of the match with Adam Eckersley doing well to block a Nicky Clark shot before a corner kick led to a scramble in the box which Saints eventually managed to get clear.

Reilly wasn't far away from netting against the side he was on loan at last season on 23 minutes. A Nat Wedderburn handball saw The Buddies awarded a free kick on the right hand side. McShane swung the ball into the Dunfermline box where Morgan nodded into the path of Reilly who then flicked goalwards with Murdoch doing well to palm away. 

The Buddies took the lead on 38 minutes after Cammy Smith finished off a nice move from the Saints. Kyle Magennis sent through a wonderful pass to find McShane who had run into the box. It really was a pass of the highest quality with McShane cutting it across the box to Gavin Reilly. The striker, who had his back to goal, took the ball in and on the turn had it pinched off him by Smith who knocked beyond Murdoch to put Saints in front. 

Saints had a huge chance to double their advantage when McShane picked out Reilly who found himself clear on goal. Murdoch raced off his line with Reilly electing to try and lob the keeper but sent the ball over the bar. 

Half Time: St Mirren 1-0 Dunfermline

While St Mirren were well worthy of their first half lead on the balance of play, the second half saw the home side have to dig deep to eek out the three points. But they could have made it 2-0 very early into the second half when a Kyle Magennis ball in from the left was headed just wide by Jack Baird.

Joe Cardle went mightily close for Pars on 51 minutes when his effort from the edge of the box whistled just beyond Craig Samson's post.

Nicky Clark will feel he should have done better on 63 minutes when he was found unmarked by Jason Talbot's cross but he sent his header wide. 

A minute later saw the game's second big controversial moment when Craig Charleston awarded Dunfermline a penalty as Ryan Williamson fell under the challenge of Adam Eckersley. The Saints team were angered at the award as it looked like Williamson had dived anticipating contact. The referee consulted with his linesman and came to the conclusion that no penalty should be awarded with Williamson picking up a yellow card for simulation. 

Dunfermline were having a lot of pressure but weren't creating many clear cut chances. Substitute Fraser Aird would have been desperately disappointed he didn't get them level with just a few minutes remaining when he was picked out in the box. The Canadian had time and space but blootered the ball over the bar. 

In the end St Mirren held out to pick up another vital three points in their quest for promotion and move to the top of the league following the abandonment of Dundee United's match away to Queen of the South.

Full Time: St Mirren 1-0 Dunfermline

St Mirren: Samson, L. Smith, Baird, Davis, Eckersley, McGinn, McShane, Magennis, C.Smith (MacPherson 88), Morgan, Reilly (Mullen 75)
Subs Not Used: Stewart, Buchanan, MacKenzie, Kirkpatrick, Sutton

Dunfermline: Murdoch, Williamson, Talbot, Morris, Ashcroft, Higginbotham (Paton 82), Shiels, Wedderburn, Cardle (Aird 82), McManus, Clark
Subs Not Used: Gill, Martin, Mvoto, Ryan, Callum Smith

Referee: Craig Charleston
Assistant Referee: Gordon Crawford
Assistant Referee: Scott Leslie

Attendance: 3665

Ahead of tomorrow's match against Dunfermline at the Paisley 2021 Stadium, we would like to inform fans of the SPFL Regulations on the use of mobile phones and smartphones during matches. 

18. MOBILE TELEPHONES, SMARTPHONES and other similar mobile telephonic devices ("Mobile Devices"), excluding cameras which are not part of and subsidiary to a Mobile Device, are permitted within the Ground, PROVIDED THAT, (i) they are used for personal and private use only, which, and by way of example only, shall not include the capturing, logging, recording, transmitting, playing, issuing, showing, or any other communication of any material ("Capturing), for any commercial purpose; and (ii) no material that is Captured by a Mobile Device or other device may be published, communicated, transmitted, sent, broadcast and/or otherwise made available by any means to any third party including, without limitation, social networking sites or any other means of communication and/or transmission.

19. Save as provided in paragraph 18 above, NO PERSON (other than a person who holds an appropriate licence) MAY RECORD, TRANSMIT, PLAY, ISSUE. CAPTURE, LOG, BROADCAST, SHOW OR OTHERWISE COMMUNICATE ANY MATERIAL including and/or comprising any audio, visual or audio-visual Material or any information or data, by digital or other means, in relation to a Match taking place in the Ground, any players or other persons present in the Ground and/or the Ground, nor may they bring into the Ground or use within the Ground (or provide to, facilitate or otherwise assist another person to use within the Ground) any equipment or technology which is capable of capturing, logging, recording, transmitting, playing, issuing, showing or otherwise communicating (by digital or other means) any such Material as described above. Any person failing to comply with these restrictions is deemed to be liable to have such equipment, technology and Material in whatever form, confiscated without compensation by the Club/Event Organiser. Copyright, Database Rights and any other intellectual property rights in any such unauthorised recording or transmission is assigned (by way of present assignation or assignations of future rights) to the relevant Football Authority organising the Match in its relevant Competition. You further agree (if and whenever required to do so by said relevant Football Authority to promptly execute all instruments and do all things necessary to vest the right, title and interest in such rights to said relevant Football Authority absolutely and, where legally permissible, with full title guarantee.