St Mirren were beaten by Motherwell at Fir Park after a quick start from the hosts gave the Buddies too much to do to take anything from the game. 

Stephen Robinson made one change from the side that lost to Celtic in the Scottish Cup on Saturday with Tony Watt making his first Saints start in place of the injured Alex Greive. Motherwell were led by interim manager Stuart Kettlewell following the sacking of Steven Hammell at the weekend. 

The home side took an early lead when Kevin Van Veen opened the scoring after just eight minutes. Blair Spittal slid the ball through with the Motherwell forward beating Richard Taylor to it and holding off the defender to slide beyond Trevor Carson. 

Saints fell two behind a little over 10 minutes later to a sensational Max Johnston effort. The Motherwell winger got on to a ball over the top and fired over Carson into the top corner from a tight angle to double the Steelmen's lead.

But St Mirren did pull a goal back on 24 minutes when Strain netted his third goal of the season. Watt did well down the left-hand side and cut the ball back into the area where it looked like Keanu Baccus would knock home. He fluffed his lines but it fell invitingly for his countryman Strain who reduced the deficit. Strain wasn't far away from drawing us level on 33 minutes when he volleyed wide from 20 yards. 

Ryan Strain scored his third goal of the season to reduce the deficit (Image: Jeff Holmes)

Saints knew the next goal would be vital and started the second-half quickly with Main blasting over from a tight angle just 20 seconds after the restart. Nine minutes later Watt saw an effort deflected over after a good bit of play down the right-hand side. 

Stephen Robinson made a change on 57 minutes with Alex Gogic making way for Greg Kiltie as we looked for a way back into the match. Saints dominated the possession but were limited to strikes from 20 yards from Strain and O'Hara - both of which were gathered with ease by Liam Kelly. Leiws Jamieson and Ryan Flynn then entered the fray as we headed into the final 10 minutes. 

Motherwell passed up a big chance to put the game beyond doubt with a little over five minutes remaining when their substitute Jack Aitchison fired wide from close-range. It almost proved costly as Saints went straight up the park and had the ball in the net but referee John Beaton had blown for a foul which saw us end the night in defeat.

Full-Time: Motherwell 2-1 St Mirren

St Mirren: Carson, Fraser, Gallagher, R.Taylor, Strain (Flynn 79), Baccus, O'Hara (c), Gogic (Kiltie 57), Tanser (Small 31), Watt (Jamieson 79), Main
Subs Not Used: Urminsky, Shaughnessy, Dunne, F.Taylor, Offord

Motherwell: Kelly (c), Johnston, Casey, McGinn, Furlong (O'Donnell 90), Butcher, Goss, Cornelius, Spittal (Slattery 84), Van Veen (Aitchison 78), Obika
Subs Not Used: Oxborough, Crankshaw, Danzaki, McKinstry, Tierney, Dunachie

Referee: John Beaton
Assistant Referee: Alastair Mather
Assistant Referee: Gordon Crawford
Fourth Official: Dan McFarlane
VAR: Euan Anderson
Assistant VAR: Andrew McWilliam

St Mirren exited the Scottish Cup with defeat at Celtic Park, but the 5-1 scoreline was harsh on Saints who - for 75 minutes - competed well with Celtic until a red card for Richard Taylor. 

Taylor was one of two changes made by manager Stephen Robinson as he replaced Charles Dunne who dropped out with a hamstring injury. Declan Gallagher came in for Greg Kiltie in the other change from last weekend's 1-0 loss to Hibernian.

Trevor Carson was called into action early on with the Saints stopper making a strong two-handed save to push away Jota's effort on two minutes after the Portuguese winger has jinked his way into the St Mirren box.

Saints looked to hit Celtic on the counter on a couple of occasions early on, but it was Celtic who came closest to the opener in the first 10 minutes when Daizen Maeda's attempted cross sailed over the head of Carson, but came back off the post. 

The home side were forced into an early change when Kyogo was came off with an injury to be replaced by Liel Abada. That saw Maeda moved to centre-forward and that shift of position would pay dividends for the the hosts as the Japanese forward put them ahead on 16 minutes. Maeda was on hand just six yards from goal to slide home from Aaron Mooy's low ball across the face of the box. 

Saints almost levelled just two minutes later when Greive did well to turn Carl Starfelt in the box and his effort looked like it was heading for the far corner of the net, only for Cameron Carter-Vickers to head clear the danger. Carter-Vickers was the man alert again for the hosts on 33 minutes when his vital interception denied Greive the chance to go one-on-one with Joe Hart in the Celtic goal. 

St Mirren were also forced into a change a few minutes before half-time when Greive couldn't continue after going down with an ankle injury. He was replaced by Tony Watt. Alex Gogic had a go from 20 yards in the final minutes of the half, but his effort flew over while Celtic had a big chance for a second before the interval only for Jota to flick Mooy's cross over.

Celtic almost grabbed a second six minutes into the second-half when a low Alastair Johnston ball across from the right came off Marcus Fraser and crashed off the post before Saints managed to clear. 

Saints were making it difficult for Celtic and almost had a big opportunity to level just after the hour mark when Keanu Baccus broke forward and slipped in Watt down the left-side. The forward cut into the box but had his shot blocked. 

The game completely changed with 15 minutes remaining when Saints were reduced to 10 men and Celtic were awarded a penalty following a lengthy VAR check. Taylor was shown a red card for a handball in the box and Reo Hatate stepped up to score from 12 yards. 

Celtic added a third five minutes later when substitute Oh scored from close-range. Carson had initially saved Callum McGregor's effort but the ball fell to Oh who knocked home from just a few yards out. 

Saints didn't give up and pulled a goal back on 87 minutes from the penalty spot. Greg Kiltie was fouled by Carl Starfelt and O'Hara slammed home from the spot. But Celtic would add to the scoring with Matt O'Riley and Hatate scoring stunning efforts in the final few minutes to put a harsh reflection on the final scoreline. 

Mark O'Hara pulled a goal back for Saints from the penalty spot (Image: Allan Picken)

Full-Time: Celtic 5-1 St Mirren

St Mirren: Carson, Fraser, Gallagher, R.Taylor, Strain (Flynn 77), Baccus (Kiltie 71), O'Hara (c), Gogic, Tanser (Small 71), Greive (Watt 41), Main (Shaughnessy 77)
Subs Not Used: Urminsky, Kenny, Offord, Jamieson

Celtic: Hart, Johnston, Starfelt, Carter-Vickers, Taylor, Mooy (Hatate 63), McGregor (c), Turnbull (O'Riley 63), Jota (Oh 63), Kyogo (Abada 14), Maeda (Haksabanovic 78)
Subs Not Used: Bain, Kobayashi, Iwata, Forrest

Referee: Steven McLean
Assistant Referee: Douglas Ross
Assistant Referee: Alastair Mather
Fourth Official: Graham Grainger
VAR: Colin Steven
Assistant VAR: Gary Hilland

Saints' 12 game unbeaten home run came to a disappointing end with defeat to Hibernian.

It looked as if neither team would score on a difficult day for playing football but the visitors found a way through with less than 15 minutes left. Élie Youan gathered up a great pass from Ewan Henderson and held off his marker before slamming the ball past Trevor Carson via the post. In the process, he ensured Hibs would be the first team to leave Paisley with all three points since Motherwell back in July.

Saints boss Stephen Robinson had stuck with the side that saw off Aberdeen during the week, Curtis Main once again being joined in attack by Alex Greive with goal hero Declan Gallagher on the bench alongside new signings Tony Watt and Thierry Small. Lewis Stevenson made a record breaking 450th appearance for the visitors, who replaced the injured Kevin Nisbet with Harry McKirdy.

Hibs controlled the early stages, Trevor Carson doing well to get down to turn away Élie Youan's low shot before Josh Campbell had a long range shot deflected wide. Campbell had the visitors' next attempt, his effort looking goal-bound before Mark O'Hara helped it wide. Scott Tanser was first to test David Marshall at the other end but the veteran goalie saved easily.

The wind and rain were making it difficult for both teams with chances at a premium. Aiden McGeady had a threatening run brought to an abrupt end by Tanser just outside the box. The veteran winger's free-kick was so good that for a few seconds the visiting fans behind the opposite goal thought he had curled it into the top corner rather than narrowly off target. Moments later Curtis Main saw his low drive palmed away by Marshall as Saints enjoyed their first real spell of pressure, the striker then pouncing on some slack play from McGeady to burst forward before blazing over.

The poor conditions continued after the break as Marshall gathered a cross-come-shot from Greg Kiltie. CJ Egan-Riley volleyed wide after Will Fish had headed down a Hibs free-kick before Tanser hooked a shot over from O'Hara's cross. Midway through the half Youan had a go at providing a spectacular opener, his acrobatic effort from sub Chris Cadden's cross not far wide of goal. Youan then slid a ball through for Matthew Hoppe, who had replaced the injured McKirdy early on, but his shot was no problem for Carson.

There was little the keeper could do a few minutes later as Hibs made the break through. A tremendous cross-field pass from sub Ewan Henderson found Youan and he held off the challenge of his defender before firing home with some help from the post, to the delight of the Hibs fans behind the goal. Saints had the best part of a quarter of an hour to find an equaliser but created nothing of note, Marshall having little to do to ensure he kept a clean sheet and his side took all three points.

Full-Time: St Mirren 0-1 Hibernian

St Mirren: Carson, Fraser, Gogic, Dunne, Strain, Baccus, Kiltie (Small 80), O'Hara (c), Tanser (Offord 81), Greive (Watt 67), Main
Subs Not Used: Urminsky, R.Taylor, Gallagher, Flynn, F.Taylor, Gilmartin

Hibernian: Marshall, Egan-Riley, Fish, Hanlon, Stevenson, Jeggo, Newell (Henderson 69), Campbell, McGeady (Cadden 57), Youan, McKirdy (Hoppe 18)
Subs Not Used: Johnson, Miller, Cabraja, Jair, MacIntyre, O'Connor

Referee: Matthew MacDermid
Assistant Referee: Steven Traynor
Assistant Referee: Chris Rae
Fourth Official: Barry Cook
VAR: William Collum
Assistant VAR: John McCrossan

Attendance: 7,253

St Mirren picked up a well-deserved first league win at Pittodrie since 2011 thanks to a double from Curtis Main and Declan Gallagher's first goal for Saints. 

Deadline day signings Thierry Small and Tony Watt were named on the bench with Keanu Baccus returning to the starting line-up in place of Ethan Erhahon following the latter's move to Lincoln City. Other than that Saints remained unchanged from Saturday's 1-0 win over Motherwell. 

The game got off to a dramatic start when Aberdeen were reduced to 10 men after just seven minutes following a VAR check. Ross McCrorie caught Charles Dunne with an elbow and was shown a red card after referee Grant Irvine's check at the monitor.  

Saints were seeing the majority of the ball, but neither side really created anything in the opening 30 minutes, save for a blocked Alex Greive effort on 25 minutes. Matty Kennedy dragged an effort wide from the edge of the area on 32 minutes in what was the home side's first decent opportunity of the match. 

The game sparked to life on 35 minutes when Dunne was late with his challenge on Aberdeen captain Graeme Shinnie and received a yellow card. The challenge caused tempers to fray with Duk, Ylber Ramadani and Greive all going into the book after a stramash. 

Saints should have taken the lead on 38 minutes after good work from O'Hara saw the stand-in skipper drive into the box from the left-side and roll the ball into a dangerous area. Curtis Main slid in to get a toe to it with the goal gaping but knocked it agonisingly wide of the right-hand post. 

Heading into the final five minutes of the second-half, Trevor Carson was called into action for the first time when he tipped over a cross from the left-side as it looked like it might creep under his bar. 

Stephen Robinson made a change at the break with Declan Gallagher on to replace Dunne. 

Saints were dominating possession and took the lead a little over 10 minutes into the second-half when Main scored his second goal in as many weeks. The forward was on hand at the front post to meet Strain's free-kick from the left and bulleted home a header to put us in-front. 

Buoyed by the goal, the Buddies went in search of a second with Main twice having shots blocked inside the area while Baccus forced a brilliant save from Joe Lewis. With 20 minutes remaining it was Greg Kiltie who was agonisingly close to making it 2-0 was his header came off the bar and Strain's follow-up deflected wide by Shinnie.

Frustratingly, Aberdeen would get themselves level against the run of play on 74 minutes when Bojan Miovski scored from the penalty spot. Marcus Fraser was adjudged to have fouled Duk as the Aberdeen man broke into the box and referee Grant Irvine pointed to the spot with Miovski equalising. 

Main put St Mirren back in front with nine minutes of normal time remaining with a super finish inside the box. The forward picked up a brilliant ball from Baccus and spun before brilliantly firing into the bottom corner.

The Buddies put the seal on the victory in stoppage time when Gallagher scored his first St Mirren goal. The defender rose highest to meet a Small corner and despite not initially being given, a VAR check confirmed it crossed the line and Saints ensured they'd be leaving Aberdeen with all the points. 

Declan Gallagher scores the third in win over Aberdeen (Image: AFC Media)

Full-Time: Aberdeen 1-3 St Mirren

St Mirren: Carson, Fraser, Gogic, Dunne (Gallagher 46), Strain, Baccus, O'Hara (c), Kiltie (Flynn 90), Tanser (Small 76), Greive (Watt 72), Main
Subs Not Used: Urminsky, R.Taylor, Small, Flynn, F.Taylor, Jamieson, Offord

Aberdeen: Lewis, McCrorie, Pollock, MacDonald, Kennedy, Ramadani, Clarkson (Watkins 83), Shinnie, Hayes, Miovski, Duk (Markanday 83)
Subs Not Used: Ritchie, Barron, Myslovic, Coulson, Duncan, Bavidge, Roberts

Referee: Grant Irvine
Assistant Referee: Jonathan Bell
Assistant Referee: David Dunne
Fourth Official: Ross Hardie
VAR: Gavin Duncan
Assistant VAR: Graeme Leslie

Attendance: 13,014

Saints recorded their first league win of 2023 thanks to Curtis Main's first half goal against Motherwell. 

The Steelmen are the only visiting side to have won in Paisley in the league this season and hadn't lost at Greenhill Road since May 2015. Back then, a late Stevie Mallan screamer proved the difference and while Main's close range effort wasn't as spectacular, it was just as effective as it proved enough for all three points despite a late scare.

Saints boss Stephen Robinson rang the changes against his old side with Greg Kiltie taking over from the suspended Keanu Baccus and Ethan Erhahon returning to midfield as Alex Gogic dropped back into defence at the expense of Declan Gallagher, while Alex Greive replaced Jonah Ayunga upfront. Former Buddie Paul McGinn started in defence for the visitors.

Scott Tanser threatened early on for Saints after Gogic's long ball caused problems in the visiting defence, the Cypriot international then needed at the other end to block Stuart McKinstry's shot  following some some neat passing play. It was an even better ass that led to the opener, a throw in finding Ryan Strain in space and Curtis Main forced his way in front of his man to poke the low cross past Liam Kelly.

Curtis Main scores the only goal of the game (Image: Allan Picken)

There were worries the lead wouldn't last for long after some wrestling between Charles Dunne and Ricki Lamie at a Motherwell corner was followed by a VAR check but for once the normally inevitable penalty wasn't awarded. A foul on Erhahon just outside the box gave Saints a chance to double their lead but Strain's free-kick was straight at 'Well keeper Liam Kelly. The only other chance of note in a drab opening 45 minutes came when Marcus Fraser skipped down the right and delivered a decent cross but Tanser couldn't find the target.

Motherwell looked to make a quick start to the second half, Lamie not far away with a header from a corner. There was plenty of endeavour from both sides but action in the final third,  Fraser doing well  to snuff out the threat of Ollie Crankshaw as the visitors tried to break from a Saints free-kick. Saints goalie Trevor Carson was finally called into action with a good save to deny Max Johnston's low drive, then getting up quickly to smother the loose ball before the lurking Kevin van Veen could force it home, the keeper receiving a dunt for his efforts that required some treatment before he could continue.

The same, unfortunately, could not be said for Jonah Ayunga. The forward had replaced Greive but was unable to continue after coming off worse in a challenge with Shane Blaney, paving the way for youngster Kieran Offord to make his first appearance following his return from Alloa. Chances remained at a premium, Main dragging a shot wide, before some drama in stoppage time.

The injuries and substitutions led to six minutes of injury time and midway through them Motherwell almost drew level. A cross from the Motherwell left caused Saints problems and McKinstry looked set to equalise only to be denied by a tremendous save from Carson, Saints players then flinging themselves in the way to keep out Callum Slattery's follow up and ensure the points stayed in Paisley.

Full-Time: St Mirren 1-0 Motherwell

St Mirren: Carson, Fraser, Gogic, Dunne, Strain (Gallagher 87), Kiltie (Flynn 87), Erhahon, O'Hara (c), Tanser, Greive (Ayunga 60, Offord 79), Main
Subs Not Used: Urminsky, R.Taylor, Kenny, F,Taylor, Jamieson

Motherwell: Kelly, Johnston, Blaney, Lamie, McGinn, Spittal (Crankshaw 56), Slattery, Goss (Cornelius 89), Shields (Tierney 56), Van Veen, McKinstry 
Subs Not Used: Oxborough, O'Donnell, Johansen, Dunachie, Ross

Referee: John Beaton
Assistant Referee: Calum Spence
Assistant Referee: David Doig
Fourth Official: Colin Steven
VAR: Grant Irvine
Assistant VAR: Alan Mulvanny

St Mirren secured their place in the Fifth Round of the Scottish Cup after a penalty shoot-out win over Dundee. 

It wasn't a pretty spectacle with the two sides playing out a stalemate 120 minutes that had to be decided from 12 yards. Trevor Carson was the hero for Saints - saving all three of Dundee's spot-kicks to send us into the hat for the next round. 

Marcus Fraser returned from suspension and Mark O'Hara was back in the starting eleven after recovering from the injury he suffered at Tynecastle last Friday. They came in for Joe Shaughnessy and Ethan Erhahon. 

The game suffered a significant early delay when Dundee's Tyler French had to be stretchered off after a collision with Alex Gogic. The Dark Blues defender received treatment on the park for over five minutes before being replaced by Max Anderson. 

There was little in the game during the opening 25 minutes with the best of it for Saints being Ryan Strain and Mark O'Hara having efforts from distance held by Dundee goalkeeper Adam Legzdins. Strain had another opportunity when he whipped a free-kick just over on 27 minutes on the left-side around 20 yards out after Jonah Ayunga had been felled. 

Dundee's best chance came on 35 minutes when Jordan McGhee headed just wide from a corner after Scott Tanser had make a good challenge to deny Max Anderson. The visitors were forced into another change just before half-time with Cammy Kerr going down injured and having to be replaced by Lyall Cameron. 

The Dark Blues would come closest to a first-half goal with substitute Cameron denied by a brilliant Carson save. The Saints goalkeeper was down well to turn away Cameron's half volley from inside the box. 

Stephen Robinson responded to the first-half by making two changes at the interval with Ethan Erhahon and Alex Greive introduced in place of Declan Gallagher and Jonah Ayunga. Greg Kiltie also entered the fray for Keanu Baccus on 58 minutes. The changes looked to have given Saints a bit more life and Greive had the ball in the net just before the hour mark but was denied by the linesman's offside flag. 

But in truth the second-half was playing out much like the first with very little quality in front of goal. Ex-Saint Alex Jakubiak fired over after doing well to turn the St Mirren defence, while Cameron probably should have given the visitors the lead on 72 minutes when he got on the end of a Josh Mulligan cut-back. The Dundee substitute turned and shot, but it came off a Saints defender which took the sting out of it for Carson to gather. 

After finishing goalless after 90 another 30 minutes of extra-time was required to find a winner with replays scrapped in this season's Scottish Cup.

Saints almost took the lead immediately after the extra-time restart. Legzdins couldn't hold Gogic's first effort and the Cypriot tried to prod over the line but couldn't thanks to some last-ditch defending from Ashcroft. It came back out to O'Hara whose strike was blocked. 

Carson made a big save to keep it level 10 minutes into extra-time with the goalkeeper down well to push away Kwame Thomas' header. 

30 minutes of extra-time couldn't separate the sides and we headed to penalties. 

Eamonn Brophy stepped up first for St Mirren but had his attempt saved by Legzdins. Thankfully, Carson saved from Zak Rudden which allowed O'Hara to put us ahead with his spot-kick. Carson saved again from Thomas and Greive put us 2-0 in front. Cameron was the third Dundee player to have his penalty saved by Carson which allowed Kiltie to score the winning penalty. 

Greg Kiltie scores the winning penalty (Image: Allan Picken)

Full-Time: St Mirren 0-0 Dundee (St Mirren win 3-0 on penalties)

St Mirren: Carson, Fraser, Gallagher (Erhahon 46), Dunne, Strain (Shaughnessy 106), Baccus (Kiltie 58), O'Hara (c), Gogic, Tanser (Flynn 98), Ayunga (Greive 46), Main (Brophy 82)
Subs Not Used: Urminsky, R.Taylor, Offord

Dundee: Legzdins, Kerr (Cameron 42), Ashcroft, Sweeney (c), Marshall, McGhee (Robertson 95), French (Anderson 12), Mulligan, McCowan (Rudden 90), McMullan (Sheridan 65), Jakubiak (Thomas 65)
Subs Not Used: Sharp

Referee: Colin Steven
Assistant Referee: Gordon Crawford
Assistant Referee: David Doig

Attendance: 4,254

St Mirren were beaten 4-0 by league leaders Celtic at Celtic Park. 

Liel Abada and Kyogo Furuhashi goals had the hosts 2-0 up at the interval with Kyogo adding a third in the second-half before a late David Turnbull strike rounded off the match. 

Manager Stephen Robinson made four changes to the side that lost narrowly at Tynecastle on Friday. Charles Dunne and Ethan Erhahon returned from suspension, while Ryan Strain and Jonah Ayunga also came into the starting 11. Richard Taylor, Mark O'Hara, Ryan Flynn and Alex Greive dropped out.

It was Saints who had the ball in the net first when Curtis Main found his way on to an Alex Gogic header to flick beyond Joe Hart, but the linesman's flag was raised. A VAR check confirmed the forward was marginally offside.  

Celtic took the lead on 15 minutes when Abada opened the scoring. A corner from the right was met by the head of Carl Starfelt whose header was beaten away by Saints goalkeeper Trevor Carson. It landed at Yuki Kobayashi's feet and he then cracked the post before it was eventually smashed home by Abada. 

The Buddies reacted well to going behind and almost drew level just two minutes later but for a wonderful save from ex-England international Joe Hart. Jonah Ayunga - making his first start of 2023 - drove inside from the right and fired towards the far corner only for the Celtic goalkeeper to get a hand on it to push behind. Ayunga was then gifted the ball by Starfelt a few minutes later but had his effort from 20 yards blocked by Kobayashi. 

Celtic doubled their lead on 35 minutes when Kyogo broke the offside trap to meet a pass from Reo Hatate and the Japanese forward lifted the ball over Carson to make it 2-0. It was subject to a quick VAR check to determine whether the striker had been offside but the goal stood. The hosts could have added a third moments later when a ball from the right was almost turned home at the back post by Jota, but he somehow knocked wide from just a few yards out with Saints two behind going into half-time.

The hosts added a third eight minutes after the restart when Kyogo got in between the Saints defence to meet a low cross from Matt O'Riley and knocked beyond Carson. It was initially flagged as offside but a VAR check saw the goal given. 

Stephen Robinson made a triple substitution just after the hour mark with Richard Taylor, Greg Kiltie and Alex Greive replacing Charles Dunne, Keanu Baccus and Jonah Ayunga.

Declan Gallagher wasn't far away from pulling a goal back on 65 minutes when he rose highest to meet a Strain cross but his header came off the cross bar and went over with Hart at full-stretch. 

Celtic thought they had made it 4-0 with a little over 15 minutes remaining when Kyogo charged forward and laid it on a plate for substitute James Forrest to knock home from just a few yards. The offside flag was raised and VAR confirmed it was indeed offside. 

The hosts would add a fourth with substitute David Turnbull firing home from 25 yards in the final few minutes to round off the game for Celtic. Saints did almost grab a consolation a minute later, but Gogic's volley was well clawed away by Hart. 

Attention now turns to the Scottish Cup with Saints hosting Dundee at the SMiSA Stadium on Saturday. 

Full-Time: Celtic 4-0 St Mirren

St Mirren: Carson, Gallagher, Shaughnessy (c), Dunne (R.Taylor 61), Strain (Flynn 84), Baccus (Kiltie 61), Erhahon, Gogic, Tanser, Ayunga (Greive 61), Main
Subs Not Used: Urminsky, Kenny, F.Taylor, Olusanya, Brophy

Celtic: Hart, Johnston, Kobayashi, Starfelt, Juranovic, O'Riley (Turnbull 70), McGregor (c), Hatate (Mooy 70), Abada (Forrest 70), Jota (Haksabanovic 79), Kyogo (Maeda 79)
Subs Not Used: Bain, Welsh, Ralston, Iwata

Referee: Steven McLean
Assistant Referee: Calum Spence
Assistant Referee: Graham McNeillie 
Fourth Official: Iain Snedden
VAR: Andrew Dallas
Assistant VAR: Sean Carr

St Mirren's six-match unbeaten run came to an end at Tynecastle as the Buddies were narrowly beaten by Hearts. 

Stephen Robinson will be scratching his head as to how his side didn't take at least a point after a strong performance in the capital. 

The manager had to contend with suspensions to Marcus Fraser, Charles Dunne and Ethan Erhahon while Ryan Strain couldn't recover in time after his injury against Hearts on Saturday. There was a first start for January signing Richard Taylor with Declan Gallagher returning from a back spasm that ruled him out of last weekend's draw. Ryan Flynn also came into the side.

Saints had the first real chance of the game on 12 minutes when Curtis Main shot into the arms of Zander Clark. A Saints corner was only cleared to the edge of the box where Mark O'Hara headed back in. Two Hearts players collided as they looked to clear and it fell to an unmarked Main who turned and curled towards the far corner with Clark managing to gather.  A minute later Keanu Baccus fired wide 20 yards from goal after spinning away from the Hearts defence. 

Hearts had their first opportunity on 16 minutes with their captain Lawrence Shankland seeing a header saved by Trevor Carson. Shankland was fouled on the edge of the area by Declan Gallagher and it was the Hearts skipper who got his head on the end of Robert Snodgrass' ball in, but Carson was equal to the effort. 

Baccus was first to go into the book when referee David Munro said the Australian had caught Snodgrass on the halfway line. It was a harsh booking for the Saints midfield man as it looked like he didn't touch the former Scotland international. 

The home side took the lead just before the half-hour mark with Barrie McKay opening the scoring for Robbie Neilson's men. The Jambos winger started the move with a nice one-two before Andy Halliday received the pass from McKay and laid it back to the winger who fired into the corner of the net.

Saints were immediately dealt another blow as O'Hara picked up an injury and had to be replaced by Greg Kiltie. The substitute had a chance to restore parity on 36 minutes when he received the ball 20 yards from goal, but under pressure from the Hearts defence he fired wide. 

Taylor - on his first start for the Buddies - made a terrific challenge to deny Hearts a second a few minutes before the interval when Shankland had looked to get his shot away after finding space in the box. 

Hearts started the second-half well as they looked for a quick second to put the game beyond Saints. Andy Halliday will have felt he should have done better on 56 minutes when scooped over from 15 yards. Two minutes later, Taylor made another brilliant block from Josh Ginnelly. 

Snodgrass then went into the book for Hearts after catching Baccus late in the middle of the park. VAR checked for a potential red card but it remained a yellow. 

Saints were having a decent spell after the hour mark with Kiltie lashing inches over the bar on 65 minutes. Flynn's low cross was cleared only as far as Kiltie and the midfielder steadied himself before firing over from the edge of the area. 

Stephen Robinson made two changes on 67 minutes when he replaced Baccus and Alex Greive with Dylan Reid and Jonah Ayunga. The latter almost got the Buddies level just four minutes after coming on. The forward went on a brilliant driving run and had a go from 20 yards with Clark touching onto the post and behind for a corner. Main headed just over from the resulting corner. 

Jonah Ayunga almost made an instant impact after coming on as a sub with his effort coming off the post (Image: Craig Brown)

Saints should have drawn level with eight minutes of normal time remaining but for two great saves from Clark in the Hearts goal. The ex-St Johnstone man first denied Kiltie before he was quickly up to push away Main's strike. Hearts couldn't clear the danger with Ayunga then blasting into the side net. 

The Buddies had a strong appeal for a penalty turned down when Kye Rowles looked to have handled Scott Tanser's cross. VAR had a look but controversially said no penalty. 

Hearts almost grabbed a second on the counter as we headed into added time. Substitute Garang Kuol sent Stephen Humphrys one-on-one with Carson but the Jambos man somehow knocked wide. 

Saints kept pushing for an equaliser and were inches away from earning a point in the final seconds when Main dragged agonisingly wide on 95 minutes.

Full-Time: Hearts 1-0 St Mirren

St Mirren: Carson, Gallagher, Shaughnessy (c), R.Taylor (Brophy 85), Flynn, Baccus (Reid 67), O'Hara (Kiltie 33), Gogic, Tanser, Greive (Ayunga 67), Main
Subs Not Used: Urminsky, Campbell, Kenny, F.Taylor, Olusanya

Hearts: Clark, Hill, Sibbick, Rowles, Smith, Halliday (Forrest 87), Snodgrass, Cochrane (Devlin 60), McKay (Kuol 77), Ginnelly (Humphrys 77), Shankland (c)
Subs Not Used: Stewart, Grant, Kio, Atkinson, Oda

Referee: David Munro
Assistant Referee: Drew Kirkland
Assistant Referee: Andy Milne
Fourth Official: Graham Beaton

St Mirren and Hearts played out an entertaining draw in Paisley that featured some late VAR drama as Saints extended their unbeaten home run to 10 matches.

Saints were well on top in the first half but only had one goal to show for their efforts, Ryan Strain's deflected free-kick giving them the lead inside five minutes. A goal early in the second half drew the visitors level, Robert Snodgrass' cross-come-shot deceiving everyone as it sailed into the net. That moment seemed to transform the sluggish Jambos who enjoyed the better of the second half.

It looked like the points would be shared but Saints sensed one last change when they were awarded a stoppage time free-kick. However, VAR intervened and eventually deemed that not only had Marcus Fraser committed the foul, but he had done so seriously enough to merit a red card. His team-mates were untroubled in what little time remained as the spoils were shared.

It was a much changed Saints team to the one that drew with Kilmarnock on Monday. Mark O'Hara swapped places on the naughty step with Ethan Erhahon, while Joe Shaughnessy replaced Declan Gallagher at the back. There were also starts for Alex Gogic and Alex Greive, Greg Kiltie and Eamonn Brophy having to make do with the bench. Lawrence Shankland, who spent two spells on loan in Paisley what feels like a lifetime ago, led the Jambos attack.

There was a minute's applause ahead of kick-off in honour of Saints legend Frank McGarvey, who sadly passed away on New Year's Day, before his old club took the lead after just a few minutes. When Keanu Baccus' charge forward was abruptly brought to a halt, it give Saints a free-kick in a dangerous position. Strain stepped up to take it and his effort deflected off Tony Sibbick in the the wall, sending it spinning past Zander Clark into the bottom corner.

Ryan Strain curls home a free-kick from 25 yards (Image: Allan Picken)

Unfortunately, Strain's afternoon wouldn't continue much longer. The wingback was clearly in a lot of pain when he went down with no one near him and he had to be replaced with Ryan Flynn. Just before that, we'd had the first VAR check of the afternoon to see if a Shankland shot had been blocked by an arm, with ref Chris Graham eventually told he could get on with things.

Despite the loss of Strain, Saints looked the more likely to score next. Some neat passing play gave Curtis Main a sight of goal and his dragged shot almost turned into a great pass to Greive, the Kiwi just unable to get on the end of it. A long throw from Shaughnessy then caused problems for the Hearts defence, who could only head it back out to the lurking Flynn. His fierce shot looked goalbound but it hit off Greive, who hadn't been able to get out the way, and went wide.

The Hearts fans had had little to get excited about but a Robert Snodgrass free-kick gave them some hope, however Kye Rowles couldn't connect properly and headed wide. Saints were appealing for a penalty when Baccus collected Main's tremendous cross before going down under a challenge from a Hearts defender, however Mr Graham decided the Aussie midfielder had gone down too easily and booked him for simulation instead. Main curled one over the bar a few minutes later before Greive had two great chances to extend the lead in stoppage time, first volleying over Flynn's cross then failing to connect with a great ball across goal from Main.

Kiltie replaced the booked Baccus at the break before some silky play from Main saw him sting the palms of Clark. The next ball into the Hearts box caused chaos – but not as much as a cross at the other end. The home defence dealt with the initial Jambos corner but the ball was worked back to Snodgross, whose delivery was missed by everyone (despite Shankland trying to claim it) and bounced into the net.

Mark O'Hara curled a free-kick wide after Kiltie was fouled by Rowles as Saints tried to restore their lead before Hearts almost went in front, Barrie McKay being given far too much time to find Alan Forrest who shot into the side netting. Hearts were enjoying plenty of space on the Saints left, Michael Smith delivering a tempting cross for Shankland but he headed straight at Trevor Carson. His next header went over the bar, at which point the expected VAR check for a possible handball by Gogic failed to materialise.

Saints had struggled since the equaliser but began to come into things, Main forcing his way through the Hearts defence before he stabbed a shot at Clark. The goalie denied Main again when he turned his shot away at the end of a slick counter attack before Kiltie shot wide from the edge of the box. Another counter saw Olutoyosi Olusanya – who had replaced Greive – sent away but he shot wildly over when he should perhaps have passed.

VAR had had a relatively quiet day, but that changed deep into stoppage time when Saints were awarded a free-kick. After a long wait, Mr Graham was eventually told to have a look at the monitor, which he duly did for a good few minutes before deciding his clear and obvious error had been not sending Marcus Fraser off.

Full-Time: St Mirren 1-1 Hearts

St Mirren: Carson, Fraser, Shaughnessy (c), Dunne, Strain (Flynn 18), Baccus (Kiltie 46), Gogic, O'Hara, Tanser, Greive (Olusanya 78, R.Taylor 90), Main
Subs Not Used: Urminsky, Campbell, Reid, F.Taylor, Brophy

Hearts: Clark, M.Smith, Rowles, Sibbick, Cochrane, Devlin (Grant 81), Forrest (Humphrys 69), McKay Ginnelly, Snodgrass, Shankland
Subs Not Used: Stewart, Kio, Atkinson, Neilson, Henderson, C.Smith

Referee: Chris Graham
Assistant Referee: David McGeachie
Assistant Referee: Gordon Crawford
Fourth Official: Mike Roncone
VAR: Colin Steven
Assistant VAR: Daniel McFarlane

Attendance: 7,249

St Mirren began 2023 with a hard-earned point away to Kilmarnock with Saints having to play over 85 minutes with 10 men following Ethan Erhahon early red card.

Stephen Robinson's men battled throughout the 90 minutes and were well worthy of at least a point that in front of a travelling support of almost 1500 Buddies.

The manager was forced into two changes from the side that started in Wednesday's 1-1 draw at Livingston. Mark O'Hara missed out through suspension, while Jonah Ayunga was ruled out due to a knock. That meant Greg Kiltie and Eamonn Brophy came into the starting eleven. 

Saints were up against it early on with Erhahon shown a straight red card on seven minutes after catching Rory McKenzie on the face with his arm. The manager made a change in response to going down to 10 men with Alex Gogic coming on in place of Brophy. 

Despite playing with a man less the Buddies were coping well and had the first real opportunity of the match with Curtis Main firing wide on 21 minutes after a neat passage of play. 

Trevor Carson was called into action for the first time just before the half hour mark when he made a terrific save to turn Blair Alston's effort round the post. A minute later Saints weren't too far away with Keanu Baccus flashing a volley wide from 20 yards. 

Saints fought away well in the opening 10 minutes of the second 45 with Kilmarnock goalkeeper Sam Walker blocking well with his feet to turn away Ryan Strain's low ball in from the right. A minute later Baccus passed up a big opportunity after being found by Main in the middle of the Killie box, but he got the shot wrong and sclaffed wide. 

The game was very much in the balance and Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes responded by bringing on ex-Saint Jordan Jones in place of Blair Alston on 63 minutes.

The home side were seeing more of the ball as they looked to capitalise on the man advantage but Carson was relatively untested heading into the final 15 minutes. Stephen Robinson brought Ryan Flynn on for Kiltie on 78 minutes. 

Carson was called into action with less than 10 minutes remaining with the Northern Ireland international making a brilliant two-handed save to push Christian Doidge's header over the bar from point blank range. 

Trevor Carson made a point-blank save to deny Christian Doidge (Image: David Henderson)

Another two changes were made with Joe Shaughnessy and Alex Greive entering the fray for Saints on 84 minutes and heading into the final moments it was the latter who could have won it for the Buddies. Scott Tanser's corner was cleared but Marcus Fraser got the ball back into the area where it found substitute Alex Greive, but the New Zealand forward blazed inches over the bar. 

Full-Time: Kilmarnock 0-0 St Mirren

St Mirren: Carson, Fraser (c), Gallagher, Dunne, Strain (Shaughnessy 84), Baccus, Kiltie (Flynn 78), Erhahon, Tanser, Brophy (Gogic 15), Main (Greive 84)
Subs Not Used: Urminsky, R.Taylor, Reid, F.Taylor, Olusanya

Kilmarnock: Walker, Mayo, A.Taylor (c), Wright (Murray 75), Chrisene, Armstrong, Alston (Jones 63), Polworth, McKenzie, Robinson (Shaw 90), Doidge
Subs Not Used: Hemming, Stokes, Waters, McInroy, Lyons, Wales

Referee: Grant Irvine
Assistant Referee: Drew Kirkland
Assistant Referee: Andy Milne
Fourth Official: Stewart Luke
VAR: Gavin Duncan
Assistant VAR: Gary Hilland

Attendance: 7,008 (1,476 St Mirren supporters)