Saints did pretty much everything but score against Dumbarton this afternoon - and ended up paying the penalty for it. 

Despite being on top for much of the game, Saints just couldn't find a way through, John Sutton in particular finding his luck was out in front of goal with a series of headers. Having been the dominant force, it was perhaps inevitable what was to happen next. 

The nature of Dumbarton's goal midway through the second half proved particularly painful and summed up the sort of season it has been. Saints goalie Jamie Langfield was under no real pressure when he played the ball straight to Joe Thomson, the Dumbarton man squaring for Garry Fleming to tap home what proved to be the only goal, despite Sutton and Ryan Hardie both hitting the bar late on. 

Sutton was back in the team at the expense of Lawrence Shankland, who dropped to the bench. There was a first ever senior start for youngster Kyle Magennis and only a second appearance of the season for fellow teenager Kyle McAllister. The fit again Gary MacKenzie started with with Kyle Hutton and Jack Baird benched. 

Saints made a bright start, David Clarkson firing over after collecting Gary Irvine's early throw and Sutton heading off target from Lewis Morgan's cross. The striker was getting a lot of aerial balls to work with, heading straight at goalkeeper Alan Martin from Stephen Mallan's delivery. The midfielder had the Buddies' next chance when he let fly from 25 yards, however his shot was always bending away from goal and Martin wasn't troubled. 

Saints continued to push, McAllister's ball over the top finding Morgan and the young winger switched to his right foot before shooting, Martin getting down to his near post to turn the ball behind. The corner provided another chance, Mallan finding Sutton and his header was inches past the post. The Sons defence seemed unable to deal with the big forward and it looked like he'd get the opener when Morgan provided another cross but Sutton wasn't able to get enough on it to force it home.

Dumbarton had barely threatened, Docherty shooting well over from miles out, with Saints enjoying most of the possession. Just before the break they had another chance, Martin unable to hold Magennis' shot from the edge of the box but he smothered the ball before the lurking Sutton could pounce.

Half Time: St Mirren 0-0 Dumbarton

Jamie Langfield had had little to do in the first half but that was quickly put right a few minutes after the break. A ball into the box caught the Saints defence off-guard and the unmarked Garry Fleming's header was superbly kept out by the Buddies keeper. 

The response was swift as Saints quickly won a corner, McAllister exchanging passes with Clarkson before lashing a shot over. Langfield was in action again when he saved Sam Stanton's shot before the hosts really should have been in front. Morgan hung a cross up at the back post and Jason Naismith charged in unmarked only to send a thumping header into the side netting.

Saints had been well on top but, as has been the case far too often this season, were about to prove architects of their own downfall. There seemed to be no danger when Langfield collected the ball but he kicked it straight to Joe Thomson at the edge of the box. The Dumbarton man couldn't believe his luck and, after composing himself, squared for Fleming to stroke the ball into the empty net. 

Instead of looking for a winner, Saints now found themselves desperately for an equaliser. Clarkson was replaced by Shankland before Sutton was denied once again, this time Martin saving his header from a corner. However, just before Ryan Hardie replaced McAllister, Fleming almost finished things off, his shot from the edge of the box finding the side netting when many Dumbarton fans thought it was in. 

Sutton's day was summed up 10 minutes from time when he rose highest to meet a corner, only to see his header hit the bar with no one able to force home the rebound. The final few minutes were to prove even more agonising for Saints fans. Shankland worked himself into some space on the left and crossed for Hardie to surely snatch a point, only for the on-loan Rangers man to hit the bar from just a few yards out. 

As Dumbarton scrambled the ball behind for a corner, Calum Gallagher - on for Ben Gordon - dinked a ball up for Shankland but he tamely headed at Martin and the Sons held out for the win. 

Full Time: St Mirren 0-1 Dumbarton

St Mirren: Langfield, Naismith, Gordon (Gallagher, 85), MacKenzie, Irvine, Mallan, Magennis, McAllister (Hardie, 76), Clarkson (Shankland, 64), Morgan, Sutton
Subs Not Used: Gallacher, Baird, Hutton, McLear

Dumbarton: Martin, Docherty, J.Thomson, Buchanan, Fleming (Stevenson, 82), R.Thomson, Stanton, Harvie, Barr, Smith, Stirling (Todd, 80)
Subs Not Used: Ewings, Pettigrew, McCallum, Wright

Referee: John McKendrick
Assistant Referee: Sean Carr
Assistant Referee: Chris Phillips

Attendance: 2,758

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

Match Gallery Pictures by John Millar - © millarpictures

Academy players Kyle Magennis and Kyle McAllister both start for St Mirren in today's match against Dumbarton as Jack Ross makes four changes from the team that lost to Morton on Tuesday night. 

Magennis and McAllister are joined by Gary MacKenzie and John Sutton in coming in in place of Jack Baird, Kyle Hutton, Tom Walsh and Lawrence Shankland. 

Magennis came on at half time in both of the last two matches and his cameo appearances have impressed Jack Ross enough to merit a start for the youngster. Meanwhie, his fellow Academy player McAllister played the full 90 minutes in the 1-0 win over Dumbarton back in February.

Kick off at the Paisley 2021 Stadium is at 3pm and we'll have all the action covered with live updates on our Twitter account @saintmirrenofficial 

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

Calling all Saints fans!

We want your help as we look to make some changes around the Paisley 2021 Stadium. 

In a bid to bring the players and supporters closer together and to create a sense of unity between the two, we are asking for your suggestions for what we can put above the tunnel area for the players to see right before they run on to the park.

The plan will be to have the slogan emblazoned on the area just above the tunnel exit on the inside of the stadium and have the exact same thing on the exits from all the vomitories throughout the stadium. 

We've all seen some of the iconic examples in football, such as the 'This is Anfield' sign that sits above the tunnel area at the home of Liverpool FC and we want to replicate that at our stadium. 

So send your ideas - whether it's a slogan or some artwork - to us on our Twitter or Facebook page or email james.hunter@stmirren.com and the best will be adorned throughout the stadium.

St Mirren play host to Dumbarton at the Paisley 2021 Stadium tomorrow afternoon with the Saints searching for their first league win of the season. 

Tomorrow's match begins a run of four consecutive home games for the Buddies, with league and cup action on the agenda. The Sons are the first side to visit the Paisley 2021 Stadium over a busy November month with Dunfermline due in two weeks time in the league also. Sandwiched between that is the IRN-BRU Cup quarter final against Ayr United, before the Saints round off the month with the Scottish Cup clash against Spartans.

Jack Ross has been in charge for around a month now and the new manager couldn't have picked a more difficult start to his managerial career at the Saints if he tried, with tough matches against Dundee United, Hibernian and Morton at the beginning of his tenure.

Saints come into this match with one win, one draw and three defeats from their last five matches. A 1-1 draw at the Paisley 2021 Stadium with Falkirk at the start of October was followed up with a 2-1 victory away to Hibernian in the IRN-BRU Cup before losses to Dundee United, Hibernian and Morton. Dumbarton's only win in the Ladbrokes Championship came back in August when they defeated Dundee United 1-0 at home with Mark Docherty scoring from the penalty spot. They've picked up two draws and two defeats from their last four league matches, coming from 2-1 down to draw 2-2 with Dunfermline last weekend.

The Sons were a difficult opponent for St Mirren last season, winning three of the four encounters. In the first clash, ex-Dumbarton midfielder Scott Agnew scored with a magnificent volley from outside the box for the Saints to level the scores on match day two of the 2015/16 season after Willie Gibson's deflected free kick had given the visitors a first half lead. However, a late penalty from Garry Fleming meant all three points were heading across the Clyde and back to Dumbarton. 

Garry Fleming was the scourge of St Mirren again when the two sides met in December 2015. His goal early in the second half was enough to seal victory for the home side and open up a five point gap over the Buddies. The roles were reversed come February though when Saints opened up a five point gap over Dumbarton with Lawrence Shankland netting the only goal just after the hour mark to give St Mirren their only win over Dumbarton last season. 

The final meeting of the two came in St Mirren's last away game of the season and saw Dumbarton make it three wins out of four over Saints to secure their status as a Championship club for another year.Calum Gallagher had given St Mirren the lead before an own-goal by Saints player of the season Keith Watson levelled the scores. But once again it was Garry Fleming who was the hero for Dumbarton as he scored the winner on 54 minutes. 

There has been one meeting between St Mirren and Dumbarton this season, with nothing to separate the two sides as they fought out a 1-1 draw at the Cheaper Insurance Direct Stadium in September. Andy Stirling put Dumbarton one ahead before loanee Ryan Hardie nodded home an equaliser for Saints just before half time. 

A win in tomorrow's game would take St Mirren level on points with Dumbarton who sit directly above Saints in the Ladbrokes Championship, while a win for the Sons would see them move six points clear. 

All the ticket information for tomorrow's game 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 Dumbarton, is a 48 pager with a £3 cover price.

The latest edition includes the following:

Front Cover – John Sutton.
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 Dundee United.
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 match against Hibernian at Easter Road.
Football, Bloody Hell – Alan Gallacher talks about the decline of Manchester United since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson.
The Opposition – Brian Corry gives the lowdown on Saturday’s visitors – Stephen Aitken's Dumbarton side.
Hall of Fame – David Cochran highlights the St Mirren career of Ludovic Roy.
Player Interview – Ben Gordon talks about being back at St Mirren after his spell out on loan with Alloa Athletic.
Action Shot (Centre Pages) – Striker John Sutton.
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 9 and 10 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 Dumbarton 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 Dumbarton, 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 Dumbarton and get voting with #SMFCMOM.

The St Mirren Under-20 side are back in action this coming Tuesday afternoon when they play host to their counterparts from Partick Thistle.

The SPFL Development League encounter between the young Buddies and Jags on Tuesday 8th November will take place at New Western Park in Renfrew and it will kick-off at 2:00pm.

For more news on the SPFL Development League please 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 in the Ladbrokes Championship.

As usual the St Mirren TV team will be presenting all the action from the Paisley 2021 Stadium when Dumbarton are the visitors on Saturday afternoon.

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

St Mirren v Dumbarton
Ladbrokes Championship
Venue: Paisley 2021 Stadium, Paisley
Date: Saturday 5th November 2016
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

St Mirren in the Community are delighted to confirm that the SMiSA Panda Club will be open as usual for Saturday’s Ladbrokes Championship fixture against Dumbarton at the Paisley 2021 Stadium.

The SMiSA Panda Club will open at 1:00pm on Saturday. Parents please note that you should pick up your kids after the final whistle from the community office at 5:00pm.

The cost is just £2 per child (aged 5-12) for those without a season ticket and completely FREE to our young season ticket holders (remember and bring your smartcard with you).

Panda Club details for Saturday’s game are as follows:

St Mirren v Dumbarton
Saturday 5th November 2016
1:00pm – 5:00pm

To find out more about the Panda Club click here