This coming Saturday afternoon, St Mirren go head to head with Lowland League side Spartans in the 3rd Round of the William Hill Scottish Cup at The Paisley 2021 Stadium

Tickets for this tie are now on sale at the St Mirren Ticket Office and the Online Ticket Shop.

For this cup tie we are offering a special family ticket for £18 which consists of 1 adult and 3 under 12 tickets. This ticket cannot be bought online, it can either be purchased at the Ticket Office in person or over the phone.  This offer is available for all stands and to both sets of fans.

Following the success of the mixed family section we hosted at last season's Scottish Cup tie against Partick Thistle, we are going to do this again for this tie.

The deadline has now passed for Season Ticket holders to be guaranteed their seats for this match so all remaining available seats will now be sold on a first come first served basis.

The match and ticket details are as follows:

St Mirren v Spartans
William Hill Scottish Cup, 3rd Round
Venue: Paisley 2021 Stadium, Paisley
Date: Saturday 26th November 2016
Kick-off: 3:00pm

Season Tickets ARE NOT valid for this cup tie.

Ticket Prices

St Mirren Ticket Office hours for the remainder of this week are as follows:

21/11/2016 - 10:00am to 2:00pm
22/11/2016 - 10:00am to 2:00pm
23/11/2016 - 10:00am to 2:00pm
24/11/2016 - 10:00am to 2:00pm & 5:00pm to 7:00pm
25/11/2016 - 10:00am to 2:00pm
26/11/2016 - 10:00am to 3:15pm

Jack Ross gives us his thoughts after the 1-0 loss to Dunfermline in the Ladbrokes Championship.

Saints' search for a first league win of the season continued as they were edged out 1-0 by Dunfermline at the Paisley 2021 Stadium.

Nicky Clark's first half goal proved to be enough for the Pars, as a combination of poor finishing and an inspired display by visiting keeper Sean Murdoch made it a frustrating evening for the Buddies.

It's a result that leaves Saints seven points adrift at the bottom of the table and manager Jack Ross is still waiting for his first league win since taking charge at the beginning of October.

The team was along similar lines to the one that beat Ayr United last week, the only change being Ben Gordon replacing the injured Gary MacKenzie.Youngsters Kyle McAllister and Kyle Magennis both impressed in that game and kept their places. Paul McMullan, who spent the first half of last season on loan at Saints, was on the Dunfermline bench with manager Allan Johnston showing his attacking intent by starting Nicky Clark, Farid El Alagui, Kallum Higginbotham and Michael Paton.

Saints started well, Jason Naismith's early burst forward allowing him to get a shot in that took a deflection on its way through to Pars keeper Sean Murdoch before Lewis Morgan was unlucky not to open the scoring, the youngster heading wide from McAllister's cross. Clark found the target with his header from Higginbotham's free-kick but it was straight at Saints keeper Scott Gallacher.

Just before the half hour mark the goalie was left rather exposed from Rhys McCabe's free-kick. Lee Ashcroft looked likely to score after getting in behind the defence but made a mess of his chance, however before Saints could breath a sigh of relief the ball trickled past Gallacher and across to Clark who slammed it into the unguarded net to put the visitors in front.

The Buddies pushed to find an equaliser and while they got themselves into decent positions, the final ball was lacking. Dunfermline were able to get a few efforts in, although Gallacher was untroubled by the attempts from El Alagui and Paton. Just before the break Murdoch was finally called into meaningful action, Stevie Mallan's sliding a pass through to McAllister whose shot was well turned over by the visiting goalie. Sutton went even closer soon after, Murdoch somehow tipping away the striker's header from McAllister's cross before the Pars defence scrambled the ball clear.

Half Time: St Mirren 0-1 Dunfermline

Saints had finished the half strongly but almost fell further behind as the game resumed, El Alagui heading wide from Higginbotham's dangerous free-kick. Lawrence Shankland replaced David Clarkson as Saints looked for a way back into the game, Mallan seeing his long range shot parried by Murdoch before the keeper pounced on the loose ball.

It hadn't been too lively a game and some end to end action just after the hour mark was just what the doctor ordered. First, Gary Irvine and Ben Gordon got in each other's way trying to deal with a bouncing ball allowing Dunfermline to send Clark through on goal, however Gallacher stayed tall and blocked the shot. Saints immediately attacked and Naismith fired a ball across goal that just needed the merest touch to level the scores but the stretching Shankland couldn't connect. With the ball not properly cleared, it was played back to Naismith who smashed a shot into the side netting.

Murdoch was having a terrific game, Morgan the next to be denied when he let fly from 20 yards. This time the keeper wasn't able to react quickly enough to prevent more danger and Sutton slid in, only to watch in agony as the ball rolled the wrong side of the post. The frustration increased further when Shankland hit the deck at the edge of the box and was promptly booked for his troubles. Paton's last involvement saw him stroll forward and shoot widely off target just before he was replaced by McMullan with Saints introducing Ryan Hardie at the expense of Gordon. McMullan almost sealed things only for his shot to be parried by Gallacher, Lewis McLear replacing Magennis for the last 10 minutes.

Saints threw what they could at the visitors in the dying minutes. A deflected Shankland shot bounced narrowly wide with McLear also going close. Five minutes of stoppage time provided some hope but McAllister was unable to take the best chance, the ball sitting up nicely for the youngster who sliced his shot wide. As Saints pushed, Dunfermline almost added to their lead in the dying seconds as Michael Moffat – on for El Alagui – hit the post and Clark's attempt to force the ball home was kept out by Gallacher. It was the last action of a frustrating evening as the Saints remain bottom. 

Full Time: St Mirren 0-1 Dunfermline

St Mirren: Gallacher, Naismith, Baird, Gordon (Hardie, 76), Irvine, Mallan, Magennis (McLear, 82), McAllister, Clarkson (Shankland, 51), Morgan, Sutton
Subs Not Used: Langfield, Gallagher, Hutton, Stewart

Dunfermline: Murdoch, Talbot, Martin, Ashcroft, Herron, Fordyce, McCabe, Clark, El Alagui (Moffat, 90), Paton (McMullan, 77), Higginbotham
Subs Not Used: Hutton, Cardle, Duthie, Galloway, Smith

Referee: Nick Walsh
Assistant Referee: Brian Templeton
Assistant Referee: Steven Strang
Fourth Official: Colin Steven

Attendance: 2,126

Match report pictures by Allan Picken – © Allan Picken Photography.

Match Gallery Pictures by John Millar - © millarpictures

St Mirren have been forced into one change from the side that defeated Ayr United 2-1 on Sunday. 

Gary MacKenzie misses out after picking up a muscular injury and is replaced by Ben Gordon who couldn't play in last weekend's win.

Youngsters Kyle Magennis and Kyle McAllister keep their place in the side as they continue to impress. 

While John Sutton will be looking for a repeat of the two goals he scored last time the two teams met. 

Kick off is at 5:15pm as the Saints look for their first league win of the season.

St Mirren XI: Gallacher, Naismith, Baird, Gordon, Irvine, Mallan, Magennis, McAllister, Clarkson, Morgan, Sutton
St Mirren Subs: Langfield, Stewart, Hutton, Gallagher, McLear, Hardie, Shankland

A weekly round-up of all the main stories that have appeared on the website this week:

St Mirren's 2-1 win over Ayr United on Sunday sent the Saints through to the semi-final of the IRN-BRU Cup. The draw on Monday paired the Buddies with Welsh opposition with the game scheduled to take place on the weekend of 18/19 February 2017. You can watch the goals on our YouTube page along with what the manager and John Sutton had to say after the match.

Scott Gallacher started the match in goals and talked about how he wants to take advantage of his opportunity to become the Saints number one goalkeeper. 

Meanwhile, midfielder Stephen Mallan said it was great for the team to give the supporters something to cheer about with the win over Ayr and hopes the side can take confidence heading into the match against Dunfermline. 

Speaking of the match against Dunfermline, you can read the match preview here and find all the match day information here. 

While Jack Ross spoke to stmirren.com today with his thoughts ahead of that match.

The club recently appointed Fiona Dainty as the new Football Development and Community officer. She sat down with stmirren.com to discuss her role, how she has settled in and some of her plans to take things forward including the idea of a St Mirren women's football team. 

Jack Ross believes that last weekend's win over Ayr United has given the players a lift ahead of tomorrow's match against Dunfermline Athletic in the Ladbrokes Championship.

Saints are still looking for their first league win of the season, but a good performance and result against Ayr United in the IRN-BRU Cup has given the players a boost according to the manager.

Speaking to stmirren.com, Jack admitted that the last couple of weeks have been encouraging as the team head into a big match against the team sitting directly above in the league.

I think it's natural that they have a lift from achieving a positive result," he said. "I spoke post-Dumbarton about how the reaction in training had been from a good performance in the main so the last two weeks have been really encouraging in that sense. There's definitely been an increase in quality in training which has been encouraging as well. 

"I think that the players are beginning to adjust to the way we would like them to try and play," he continued. "That required a certain change in tempo at training and I think they've adjusted to that. I think now they are starting to see the rewards from playing that way, all be it that the Dumbarton result didn't go our way, but the performance deserved a better result.

"We showed a lot of analysis post that game that reinforced that so I've been really pleased with the last two performances because I think we've dominated those games. We still want to get even better particularly in the final third and we've worked a lot on that in training. But they go into the game in a good frame of mind and they've been really buoyant in training and they've been really responsive to what we've wanted them to do."

While the manager understands the importance of tomorrow's match, he believes every match is significant at the moment as Saints look to start climbing the table. However he doesn't downplay the impact that a positive result could have on the team.  He said: "Every game is hugely important for us because of the position we find ourselves in.

I don't think the fact that [Dunfermline are directly above us] makes it any more important, I just think they're all hugely important for us and every game for us now is of massive importance. I think the benefits of a positive result can't be ignored because we know that will take us closer to the team that are immediately above us and those teams are our first target if you like.

So from that sense we know what kind of reward there is if we win the game. It's not to say that we don't think it's of huge importance because it is but every game is of huge importance. It doesn't matter who the opposition is, there needs to be this motivation and desire to go and win every game.

Jack expects a tough match against a side he believes has "quality" in key areas though feels that if Saints performance the way they can, and have done in the last few weeks, then they will have a good chance of getting a positive result.

I think they're a team who, perhaps like ourselves, will feel like they've underachieved this season in terms of some of the quality that they have in their squad," he said. "I've been fortunate with how our fixtures have panned out that I have managed to see them a couple of times personally which has been helpful. I'm familiar with a lot of their players anyway and we know they have a lot of quality in the forward areas that can provide a goal threat like we seen in the reverse fixture at East End Park. We are confident if we play in the manner we have done in the last few games we can create and cause problems for them as well."

Goalkeeper Scott Gallagher came into the side for the win over Ayr United last week and the manager said he was happy with his performance and hopes he can go from strength to strength.

I was pleased with him," he said. "I think we played well as a team so we limited the work he had to do, but I thought what he did do was really positive. Considering it's been a difficult season for him personally with the way it's panned out with the goalkeeping situation it was a good starting point for him mentally and in terms of performance level. We believe he can kick on from that. 

Saints will have almost a full squad to choose from tomorrow though the manager believes that the game has come too early for Andy Webster and Rocco Quinn who both returned to training.

"They're both joining in training today for the first time but obviously tomorrow will be too soon for them. With no reaction they'll train tomorrow with the 20's and train with us from next week. We have one slight doubt but hopefully he'll be alright."

St Mirren are back in league action tomorrow as they take on Dunfermline Athletic in the Ladbrokes Championship. The game kicks off at 5:15pm due to BBC Alba coverage as the Buddies take on the team sitting directly above in the league. 

Saints come into this game having defeated Ayr United 2-1 in the IRN-BRU Cup quarter-final on Sunday. It was Jack Ross' first win as St Mirren manager and ended a run of four straight defeats for the Buddies. Dunfermline come into this match on the back of consecutive 1-0 losses at the hands of Dundee United in both the Championship and IRN-BRU Cup. They picked up a point at the start of the month when they drew 0-0 at home against rivals Raith Rovers, but haven't won a league match since defeating St Mirren back in September. 

That match in September was the last time the Buddies faced Dunfermline as they travelled to East End Park to take on the Fife side for the first time in league competition since the 2011/12 season. Allan McManus took charge as caretaker manager for the first time and was unlucky to see his Saints side edged out in the seven goal thriller, with a double from John Sutton and a wonder strike for Ryan Hardie not enough to prevent St Mirren losing 4-3. 

Dunfermline, meanwhile, are making their first trip to Paisley this season. Despite being in the league below last season, they did visit the Paisley 2021 Stadium once in the 2015/16 campaign as the two sides met in the Challenge Cup. Though Allan Johnston's men were flying high in League One at the time, Saints ran out comfortable winners with Stephen Mallan scoring twice to add to goals from Calum Gallagher and Scott Agnew to give the home side a 4-0 win. 

Indeed the Pars have yet to win at the Paisley 2021 Stadium since it opened back in 2009. In the four visits they've made to the ground Saints have ran out winners on three occasions with the other one ending in a thrilling 4-4 draw. 

There has been very little between the two teams in their last five league encounters. Both have won a game apiece while the other three games have ended in draws, with both teams scoring 10 goals each in those matches.

Ryan Hardie and Ben Gordon return to the squad after missing out on the win over Ayr United though the game comes too soon for Andy Webster and Rocco Quinn who have made their returns to training. 

This could prove to be a massive game in the Saints season. A first league win of the season would bring them to within two points of Dunfermline in the quest to start climbing up the table, while Dunfermline too will be looking to kickstart their season and could potentially leapfrog Dumbarton in eighth if results go their way earlier in the day. 

All the matchday info can be found here

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 Dunfermline Athletic, is a 48 pager with a £3 cover price.

The latest edition includes the following:

Front Cover – David Clarkson.
The Gaffer - St Mirren manager Jack Ross with his pre match message for the fans.
Matchday Gallery – A gallery of pictures from the post-match presentations in the corporate suite after the recent home game against Dumbarton.
Buddies News Update – News of the latest happenings in and around the Paisley 2021 Stadium.
Last Time Out – A look back at last week’s IRN-BRU Cup tie against Ayr United at the Paisley 2021 Stadium.
Football, Bloody Hell – Alan Gallacher explains why going back to previous managers wasn't right for St Mirren and that Jack Ross was the right appointment.
The Opposition – Brian Corry gives the lowdown on Saturday’s visitors – Allan Johnston's Dunfermline Athletic side.
Hall of Fame – David Cochran highlights the St Mirren career of Davie Lapsley.
Player Interview – Stuart Gillespie talks to St Mirren midfielder Stephen Mallan.
Action Shot (Centre Pages) – Striker David Clarkson.
St Mirren Supporters Trust – John White brings us up to date with the latest happenings at SMiSA.
Fans Corner – Ticket prices, travel clubs update, match info and dates for fans to keep in their diary.
Championship Round-Up – Kyle Gunn’s run down on weeks 11 and 12 of the Ladbrokes Championship season.
Saints in the Community – A catch-up with the latest happenings at St Mirren in the Community.
The Academy – A look at the under-20 side’s recent outings in the SPFL Development League.
Kit Sponsors 2016/17.
Marketing Matters – Commercial Manager, Campbell Kennedy brings us up to date with all the commercial activities within the Club.
St Mirren Fixtures & Results 2016/17 – 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 2016/17 season click HERE.

Paisley Panda will be a busy mascot once again at this Saturday’s match against Dunfermline with match day competitions ‘Bung a Baw’ and 'Spot Prizes'.

To take part in ‘Bung a Baw’ fans need to purchase a small foam ball which is numbered and they will then have a chance to throw their 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 with the winner being confirmed over the PA system.

The competition is sponsored by The Linwood Farm Restaurant who are supplying a family meal voucher as the prize for the contest winner.

Each ball will cost £1 to buy. The balls will be available from sellers 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.

Paisley Panda reports that ‘Bung a Baw’ has been very busy the last few home games so he advises that you get in early tomorrow to purchase your ball to take part.

Paisley Panda has also teamed up with the St Mirren Club Shop so you will be able to buy hats and scarves for the game from the 'Bung a Baw' stands.

'Spot Prizes' puts all Season Ticket holders and anyone who buys a ticket for Saturday’s match against Dunfermline, before the St Mirren Ticket Office closes on Friday, into a prize draw.

On the 30th and 60th minute of the match a seat will be selected at random which will be displayed on the scoreboard with the winners each receiving a family munchy box (4 slush puppies, 4 hot dogs, 4 ice creams and 6 packets of traditional sweets) from Tasty Treats of Bridge of Weir.

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 MALLAN’.

With 10 minutes of the game remaining all the votes will be counted then Stadium Announcer Phil Clark 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.

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