St Mirren rounded off their pre-season training camp in Northern Ireland with a 1-0 win over Linfield at Windsor Park.

Toyosi Olusanya scored the only goal early in the second-half with the game called early after a spectator took ill with around 15 minutes of the match remaining. 

Stephen Robinson's side were without Keanu Baccus who injured his calf in training this week, but Kieran Offord shook off a knock to return to the bench after missing Wednesday night's match against Glentoran. 

The Buddies started brightly with Alex Greive denied by a strong one-handed stop from the Linfield goalkeeper on seven minutes. Just a few minutes later, Greg Kiltie was inches away from giving us the lead when he just failed to connect on a dangerous Scott Tanser cross after sliding in at the back post.

But Saints were dealt a blow on 14 minutes when Richard Taylor had to come off with an injury to be replaced by Marcus Fraser. 

Zach Hemming was forced into his first save just before the half-hour mark when he pushed away Jon Robertson's powerful effort from the angle. 

The Buddies took the lead three minutes after the interval when Olusanya finished well beyond Johns after being slipped in by Fraser. The forward took it first time and lashed high into the net to score our first pre-season goal.

Kiltie tested the Linfield goalkeeper soon after in search for a second with a low strike from 25 yards that the stopper had to get down quickly to gather. 

Olusanya should have had a second just before the hour mark. Mark O'Hara's relentless pressing saw the skipper steal the ball on the edge of the Linfield box. He appeared to be fouled by the defender, but nothing was given as the ball landed at Olusanya's feet who fired over. 

A stoppage occurred around 75 minutes in when a spectator took ill in the crowd and required medical assistance. The referee rightly called time on the match as it finished 1-0. Everyone at St Mirren wishes those involved a speedy recovery.

Full-Time: Linfield 0-1 St Mirren

St Mirren: Hemming (Urminsky 60), Gallagher (Boyd-Munce 60), Dunne, R.Taylor (Fraser 14), Strain (Flynn 60), Kiltie (F.Taylor 60), Gogic, O'Hara (c), Tanser (Sutherland 77), Greive (Jamieson 60), Olusanya (Offord 60)
Subs Not Used: Gilmartin, Gaffney

St Mirren's 2023/24 preparations began with 0-0 draw against Glentoran in Belfast. 

Saints got valuable minutes in the legs against the NIFL Premiership side at the Blanchflower Stadium as part of the Marcus Kane Testimonial. 

The Buddies could have had two first-half penalties when Toyosi Olusanya was first fouled by the Glentoran goalkeeper on just four minutes and he was clipped in the box later in the half.

New signing Zach Hemming made a good save early on to hold a low Glentoran strike from the edge of the area on 13 minutes which was the hosts best chance of the half. Mark O'Hara went close when he glanced a header wide from a Lewis Jamieson cross, while Youth Academy player Ethan Sutherland was denied by the goalkeeper after a terrific solo run in the final minutes of the half. 

Manager Stephen Robinson made nine changes at half-time to give as many players minutes as possible. But the game felt like a typical pre-season game with little action until the closing stages when Saints would create a number of opportunities for a winner. Alex Greive twice went close with an effort that flew just over on 77 minutes before his strike from 20 yards went just inches wide four minutes later. 

Scott Tanser looked like he had won it for the Buddies on 84 minutes when he was found at the back post, but his volley was wonderfully saved by the Glentoran goalkeeper as the game finished goalless.

Full-Time: Glentoran 0-0 St Mirren

St Mirren First-Half XI: Hemming, Kenny, Gallagher, Dunne, Strain, Kiltie, Boyd-Munce, O'Hara, Sutherland, Olusanya, Jamieson
St Mirren Second-Half XI: Urminsky, Fraser, Gogic, R.Taylor, Flynn, Baccus, Boyd-Munce (Gaffney 71), F.Taylor, Tanser, Greive, Olusanya (Gilmartin 60)

The curtain came down on the 2022/23 with Saints beaten 3-0 by Rangers at The SMiSA Stadium. 

It had an end of season feel to it with both sides making changes to their starting eleven. Stephen Robinson handed first starts to Caolan Boyd-Munce and Lewis Jamieson, while Peter Urminsky made his first league start. Declan Gallagher also came into the side in place of Marcus Fraser.

Fraser would be subbed on with just eight minutes played to replace Ryan Strain went down with an injury and had to be taken off. 

Curtis Main had the Buddies' first opportunity on 16 minutes after he drove forward, but he lashed his effort from distance well over the bar. Rangers opened the scoring 10 minutes later when Fashion Sakala squeezed home from close-range. The Rangers forward ghosted in beyond Fraser to collect a through ball from Ridvan Yilmaz before weaving his way past two Saints defenders. He struck towards the far corner and it only just squirmed through the legs of Scott Tanser before rolling into the net. 

Saints reacted well though with Mark O'Hara's powerful header being held by Robby McCrorie on 29 minutes. Main was inches away from connecting with a low Jamieson cross just a few minutes later, but caught McCrorie late and was shown the first booking of the match. 

Jamieson had a decent opportunity not long after the break when Keanu Baccus' quick thinking saw him prod the ball through to the St Mirren Youth Academy graduate after the referee didn't give a foul for a challenge on Main. Jamieson cut in on his left foot but fired wide from 20 yards. And Rangers doubled their lead less than a minute later when Sakala picked up the ball deep in the Saints half and drove forward. He cut through the Saints defence and shot from 20 yards with the effort squirming underneath Urminsky to make it 2-0. 

The manager made a double change on the hour mark with Greg Kiltie and Kieran Offord introduced to the fray in place of Boyd-Munce and Jamieson. The substitutes combined within two minutes when Kiltie's low ball into the box picked out Offord. The forward took one too many touches though which allowed Rangers to snuff out the danger. Kiltie was involved again moments later when his dangerous corner wasn't dealt with by McCrorie who flapped at the ball. Richard Taylor was in at the back post but sliced his effort sending it wide. 

The visitors added a third with 12 minutes left with substitute Antonio Colak heading home from close range to finish the scoring. 

A disappointing result on the final day, but it won't overshadow what has been a good season for the Buddies. The players walked round the park following the final whistle to applaud supporters and mark our strongest top-flight finish since 1985.

Full-Time: St Mirren 0-3 Rangers

St Mirren: Urminsky, Shaughnessy (c), Gallagher, R.Taylor (Dunne 73), Strain (Fraser 8, Tait 73), Baccus, O'Hara, Boyd-Munce (Kiltie 60), Tanser, Jamieson (Offord 60), Main
Subs Not Used: Carson, Kenny, Gogic, F.Taylor,

Rangers: McCrorie, Tavernier (Devine 69), Souttar, Lundstram, Ridvan (Barisic 69), Jack, Cantwell, Raskin, Hagi (Arfield 69), Matondo (King 79), Sakala (Colak 69)
Subs Not Used: McGregor, Rice, King, Lowry, Wright

Referee: Matthew MacDermid
Assistant Referee: David Roome
Assistant Referee: Michael Banks
Fourth Official: Duncan Williams
VAR: Andrew Dallas
Assistant VAR: David Dunne

Attendance: 7,490

10-men Saints fell to a 3-0 defeat to Aberdeen at Pittodrie with Thierry Small shown a straight red card in the first-half following VAR intervention.

The result - coupled with Hibernian's win over Celtic - means the Buddies finish the season in sixth place. While there will be disappointment tonight, a historic season - in which we finished in the top six for the first time in this format - represents our highest top-flight finish since 1985. 

Despite doubts over the fitness of Small and Curtis Main both managed to make it and Stephen Robinson named the same starting eleven that drew 2-2 with Celtic on Saturday. 

Aberdeen took the lead on 14 minutes when Leighton Clarkson despatched a free-kick into the net from 20 yards.

Saints best chance for an equaliser came less than 10 minutes later when Alex Gogic rose to meet a Small cross. The Cypriot midfielder's header forced a good one-handed save from Dons goalkeeper Kelle Roos who tipped over. Gogic was first on to the resultant corner, but nodded wide. 

St Mirren's hopes of finding an equaliser were dealt a major blow when Small was shown red after a VAR check following a foul on Bojan Miovski who had to be stretchered off. Initially the loanee was shown yellow, but referee Don Robertson consulted the monitor and upgraded to red which Saints could have no complaints about.

Aberdeen almost hit Saints on the counter with 10 minutes of the half remaining. Duk ran clear but had his effort saved by Carson. The Saints goalkeeper couldn't gather at the first attempt and had to be quick to deny the follow-up. 

The Dons did double their lead on 42 minutes with Graeme Shinnie heading home to make it two-nil. Carson had to push away Joe Shaughnessy's deflection of a Marley Watkins' cross, but the ball spun up in the air which allowed Shinnie to nod into the net. 

Shinnie added his second and Aberdeen's third just four minutes into the second-half. The Dons midfielder met a low ball in from Ylber Ramadani and forced under Carson.

Saints first opportunity of the second-half came just after the hour mark when a strong run from half-time substitute Kieran Offord saw the young forward fouled 25 yards from goal. Strain stepped up to take the free-kick but Roos was down well to gather. 

Main could have pulled one back with just over 20 minutes of time remaining when he raced on to a Gogic ball over the top and went one-on-one with Roos. The forward's effort was powerful but the Dons keeper stayed big to block. Mark O'Hara was next to test Roos with a long-range drive that Roos had to get both hands behind to push away. That was to be the last opportunity for either side as the Dons picked up the points. 

Full-Time: Aberdeen 3-0 St Mirren

St Mirren: Carson, Fraser, Shaughnessy (c), R.Taylor (Tanser 46), Strain (Gallagher 75), Baccus (Offord 46), O'Hara, Gogic, Small, Kiltie (F.Taylor 80), Main (Jamieson 75)
Subs Not Used: Urminsky, Kenny, Dunne, Boyd-Munce

Aberdeen: Roos, McCrorie, Pollock, McDonald, Scales, Shinnie, Ramadani (Barron 71), Hayes, Clarkson, Duk (Bavidge 75), Miovski (Watkins 34)
Subs Not Used: Lewis, MacKenzie, Morris, Coulson, Duncan, Richardson

Referee: Don Robertson
Assistant Referee: Steven Traynor
Assistant Referee: Paul O'Neill
Fourth Official: Chris Fordyce
VAR: Euan Anderson
Assistant VAR: Sean Carr

St Mirren picked up what could prove to be a valuable point as a Curtis Main double saw us draw 2-2 at Celtic Park.

The striker's first-half double had us ahead at the break, but a late equaliser from Celtic captain Callum McGregor saw the Scottish Premiership Champions rescue a point. 

There were two changes to the side that drew with Hearts at The SMiSA Stadium last weekend. Thierry Small and Keanu Baccus came in for Scott Tanser and the injured Alex Greive. The manager elected for the same shape despite the absence of Greive and that saw Greg Kiltie pushed up alongside Main as the front two. 

Saints got off to the perfect start to silence the capacity crowd at Celtic Park. Anthony Ralston collided with Tomoki Iwata which allowed Main to run on to a long kick from Trevor Carson. The striker broke into the box and took a touch to cut inside of Ralston who was trying to recover before firing into the net to put us ahead on just four minutes.

Curtis Main put us ahead on just four minutes (Image: Allan Picken)

Celtic equalised 10 minutes after the opener though when Reo Hatate threaded a ball through for Kyogo Furuhashi who rifled high into the net to make it 1-1. 

Saints' reaction was good and the Buddies looked to restore the advantage almost immediately with Main firing over the bar from 20 yards. 

The home side were seeing more of the ball as you would expect and Carson was was forced into a smart stop on 19 minutes when he pushed away Matt O'Riley's low shot before Hatate sent a swerving effort over the bar from distance two minutes later.  

St Mirren - as they have done on many occasion this season - were making life difficult for the hosts and forced a couple of corners in quick succession just after the half-hour mark. Richard Taylor didn't get the connection he'd have hoped for after being first on to a Kiltie header which allowed Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart to gather. 

The hosts almost took the lead in fortuitous fashion on 35 minutes when O'Riley's effort deflected off Baccus and nearly sneaked in at the near post. Carson was down quickly to block. 

But it was Saints who would go back ahead when Main grabbed his second of the afternoon on 39 minutes. Celtic couldn't deal with the initial danger and Main was there to meet O'Hara's header back into the box. A lengthy VAR check for offside ensued, but the forward was played onside by McGregor. That goal came just a minute after Saints should have retaken the lead when Ryan Strain knocked wide from just a few yards after being first on to a parry from Hart. 

The Buddies took a lead into half-time and started the second-half quickly with Main agonisingly close to his hat-trick just a few minutes after the restart. He rose the highest to meet a Strain cross, but nodded inches wide of target. The striker then had another good opportunity for his - and Saints' - third just before the hour mark when he once again was first to a Strain ball from the right only to head over this time. 

Celtic almost levelled with 20 minutes of the game remaining when a deep cross from Ralston met Daizen Maeda at the back post. It looked like the Celtic forward was going to sweep into the net, but he miscued and stuck the effort wide. 

Saints again came so close to killing the match on 79 minutes when Main pounced on Iwata's mistake and drove into the box. The forward had a go from the angle and his effort cannoned off the far post. 

And how frustrating that would prove to be when Celtic equalised on 81 minutes. McGregor's strike from 20 yards found its way into the bottom left corner to restore parity and rescue a point for the hosts. 

Full-Time: Celtic 2-2 St Mirren

St Mirren: Carson, Fraser, Shaughnessy (c), R.Taylor, Strain (Gallagher 83), O'Hara, Gogic (Jamieson 90), Baccus, Small (Tanser 61), Kiltie, Main
Subs Not Used: Urminksy, Dunne, Kenny, Boyd-Munce, F.Taylor, Offord

Celtic: Hart, Ralston, Starfelt, Iwata, Taylor, McGregor (c), Hatate (Haksabanovic 72), O'Riley (Oh 72), Jota, Maeda (Abada 72) Kyogo
Subs Not Used: Bain, Bernabei, Kobayashi, Turnbull, Forrest, Summers

Referee: David Munro
Assistant Referee: Ross Macleod
Assistant Referee: David Doig
Fourth Official: Mike Roncone
VAR: Steven Kirkland
Assistant VAR: Andrew McWilliam

A late Hearts equaliser left St Mirren sickened with Saints having to settle for a point in the cinch Premiership following Lawrence Shankland's injury-time penalty. 

The Buddies led 2-0 at half-time thanks to first-half goals from Joe Shaughnessy and Ryan Strain, but Josh Ginnelly pulled a goal back with just over 15 minutes remaining. Hearts were then reduced to 10 men when Peter Haring was shown a straight red card on 77 minutes. The drama didn't end there though with the visitors awarded a spot-kick in the final minute which Shankland slammed down the minute to grab a share of the spoils. 

Stephen Robinson made two changes from the side that lost narrowly at Hibernian last weekend. Joe Shaughnessy and Richard Taylor came in for Declan Gallagher and Charles Dunne. 

Saints made a bright start to the game with Strain firing into the arms of Zander Clark from distance after a neat spell of play on 19 minutes before Alex Greive saw an effort brilliantly blocked by Hearts defender Toby Sibbick on 25 minutes. Two minutes later, Alex Gogic had the ball in the net when he finished off from a flick-on, but the linesman's flag denied Saints the opener with Greive offside when Strain's free-kick was swung in. 

The opener would come for Saints though as we took the lead on 36 minutes when Joe Shaughnessy scored his first goal of the season. The captain was on hand to steer home Gogic's header to the delight of the home support. 

Joe Shaughnessy put us ahead with his first goal of the season (Image: Allan Picken)

Saints were in control and should have added a second with two minutes of normal time remaining in the first-half. Greive sprang the offside trap and charged forward before sliding in Curtis Main whose powerful strike was beaten away by Clark. But the second would come before the interval with Strain firing in direct from a free-kick from 25 yards after Mark O'Hara had been fouled by James Hill. 

After an uneventful start to the second-half in which Hearts were seeing far more of the ball, but not creating anything, Saints came agonisingly close to a third just after the hour mark when a blistering strike from Strain was expertly pushed over the bar by Clark. The Jambos goalkeeper was to the rescue for the away side again less than a minute later when he made another super stop to push away a Greg Kiltie header. 

Those missed opportunities would come back to bite the Buddies when Hearts pulled a goal back on 73 minutes. Josh Ginnelly was at the back post to knock Nathaniel Atkinson's low ball in from the right into the net to make for a nervous finish to the match. 

Hearts were reduced to 10 men four minutes after their goal when Peter Haring was shown a straight red after he scythed down O'Hara as the Saints midfielder looked to break. The visitors were furious at the decision from referee David Dickinson despite a VAR check confirming the sending off. 

Substitute Thierry Small came close to wrapping up the points when he was slipped in by fellow sub Lewis Jamieson, but once again Clark was there to make a big save with his feet. 

And the misses would prove costly when Hearts won a penalty in the final minute of injury time when Ginnelly went down in the box under a challenge from Ryan Flynn. Shankland stepped up and slammed down the middle to secure his side a point and leave Saints gutted. 

Full-Time: St Mirren 2-2 Hearts

St Mirren: Carson, Fraser, Shaughnessy (c), R.Taylor (Dunne 46), Strain, Kiltie (Jamieson 84), O'Hara, Gogic, Tanser (Small 84), Greive (Baccus 55), Main
Subs Not Used: Urminsky, Gallagher, Small, Flynn, Boyd-Munce, Offord

Hearts: Clark, Hill (Kio 75), Sibbick, Rowles, Haring, Devlin (Grant 61), Halliday (Atkinson 46), Oda (Forrest 81), McKay, Shankland, Ginnelly
Subs Not Used: Stewart, Neilson, Tait, Wilson, Kuol

Referee: David Dickinson
Assistant Referee: Gordon Crawford
Assistant Referee: Gary Hilland
Fourth Official: Graham Grainger
VAR: Alan Newlands
Assistant VAR: Graham McNeillie

Attendance: 7,238

St Mirren were defeated 2-1 by Hibernian in the first post-split fixture with an Alex Greive strike not enough for Saints to take anything against the Edinburgh outfit.

Two early first-half goals had the Hibees in control though Saints pulled one back in the second-half through New Zealand forward Greive. The Buddies pressed for an equaliser but couldn't find it and left a rain-soaked Easter Road empty-handed.

There were three changes to the side that lost to Kilmarnock before the split with Declan Gallagher, Greg Kiltie and Alex Greive in for Joe Shaughnessy, Keanu Baccus and Tony Watt. 

The home side got themselves off to the ideal start when Elie Youan put them ahead on four minutes. It was a cheap goal to concede from a Saints perspective as Marcus Fraser couldn't control Charles Dunne's throw-in in the middle of the park which allowed Youan to gather before racing clear and slotting low beyond Trevor Carson.

Hibernian were buoyed by their early goal, but it was Saints who'd go close to levelling on 12 minutes when Mark O'Hara sent an effort just over the bar after being first on to an Alex Greive header.

The hosts doubled their lead on 24 minutes and it was another disappointing goal for the Buddies to lose. Will Fish was unmarked at the back post after Joe Newell's corner had missed everyone initially before finding the Hibees defender on his own at the back stick to nod into the net and make it 2-0.

Both sides had a chance within the space of a minute with 10 minutes of the first-half remaining. Ryan Strain's long-range strike was held by David Marshall before Hibs went up the other end of the park in search of a third with Carson making a terrific save with his feet to deny Youan at the near post. 

Stephen Robinson responded to the first-half showing by making a change at the break with Keanu Baccus coming on for Declan Gallagher.  

Saints started the second-half better but hadn't created any real chances within 10 minutes of the restart. And it was Hibs who had the best chance to increase their lead when Kevin Nisbet met Chris Cadden's low cross, but knocked over from close-range. 

The Buddies should have had a goal back just after the hour mark when Strain's cross deflected into the path of the unmarked Curtis Main. Had the striker managed to get a proper connection on the ball it would have found the net, but he could only get the faintest of touches which allowed Hibs goalkeeper Marshall to hold. 

However, St Mirren would pull one back four minutes later with Main the provider as he flicked Carson's long kick on for Greive who burst through and knocked through Marshall's legs to reduce the deficit. 

Saints pressed for an equaliser with Lewis Jamieson coming on for goalscorer Greive and the St Mirren Youth Academy graduate was close to drawing us level in the final few minutes when he drilled an effort into the side-netting on 89 minutes. 

It wasn't to be for the Buddies who return to action at The SMiSA Stadium next Saturday against Hearts. 

Full-Time: Hibernian 2-1 St Mirren

St Mirren: Carson, Fraser, Gallagher (Baccus 46), Dunne, Strain, Kiltie, O'Hara (c), Gogic, Tanser, Greive (Jamieson 82), Main
Subs Not Used: Urminsky, Shaughnessy, R.Taylor, Kenny, Flynn, Boyd-Munce, Offord

Hibernian: Marshall (c), Hanlon, Fish, Egan-Riley, Cadden (Miller 90), Jeggo, Doyle-Hayes (Campbell 30), Newell, Stevenson, Youan (Hoppe 90), Nisbet
Subs Not Used: Johnson, Cabraja, Devlin, Henderson, McKirdy, Rocky

Referee: Matthew MacDermid
Assistant Referee: Calum Spence
Assistant Referee: Stuart Stevenson
Fourth Official: Chris Fordyce
VAR: Euan Anderson
Assistant VAR: Daniel McFarlane

Attendance: 16,334

Header image by Kenny Ramsay

It's not often that a team loses a crunch game and yet the afternoon ends with their fans in party mode – but that's exactly what happened in Paisley this afternoon.

Saints knew a point against Kilmarnock – a team that hasn't won away from home all season – would be enough to secure their best league finish since 1985. But why do things the easy way when you can do them the St Mirren way?

As much as the Buddies wanted to secure a coveted top six spot under their own steam, they also knew results elsewhere would do the job if they lost to the Ayrshire side. Unfortunately, first half goals from Liam Donnelly and Kyle Vassell meant the Paisley faithful were hoping for favours elsewhere far earlier than they'd have liked – Thierry Small's second half red card pretty much ending hopes of a comeback.

Given what was at stake for both sides, it wasn't too surprising that the opening 10 minutes or so were slightly nervy. Saints goalie Trevor Carson saved easily from David Watson, while at the other end Alex Gogic headed Scott Tanser's corner well over. Kyle Vassell then had a shot across goal that went out for a throw, however next time around he brilliantly held the ball up before sliding it through the defence for the on-rushing Liam Donnelly to thump past Carson.

Saints looked for a quick response, Keanu Baccus being flattened inches outside the box as he shaped to shoot. The free-kick was taken short to Gogic who hammered it towards goal but it was blocked by the Killie defence. The visitors were pushing for a second, Carson saving from Vassell before the forward headed wide after a throw in had been flicked on. Instead, it was his strike partner who doubled the lead, Daniel Armstrong hanging up a cross for Christian Doidge whose header hit the post before finding the net.

The home support were stunned and desperately needed something to cheer, Tony Watt eventually blazing over after Killie failed to deal with Joe Shaughnessy's long throw as a disappointing first half came to a close. It was little surprise that boss Stephen Robinson decided to ring the changes at the break, Greg Kiltie and Thierry Small coming on for Baccus and Scott Tanser.

However, Killie almost added a third within seconds of the restart, Watson crossing for Rory McKenzie who met it perfectly only for Carson to pull off a tremendous save. Former Saint Alan Power then shot wide from distance before visiting goalie Sam Walker was finally called into meaningful action, saving easily from Ryan Strain after the fullback had got the better of his man.

An injury to Charles Dunne brought his afternoon to a premature end, the Saints boss switching things up replacing him with Alex Greive, but it was one his fellow subs who would have a meaningful impact – and not in a good way. Small was frustrated that a throw in decision went against him and threw the ball down in disgust, earning himself a booking. After Killie took the throw, the on loan fullback then hauled back Watson, leaving ref Willie Collum with little option but to show him his second yellow card in the space of 14 seconds.

Scott Robinson, who'd replaced the injured Vassell, thought he'd added the third only for team-mate Armstrong to get in the way of his shot. The final throw of the Saints dice saw Watt and Gogic replaced by Kieran Offord and Declan Gallagher before former Saints loanee Jordan Jones curled a shot wide as Killie looked to remove any lingering doubts about where the points were headed.

It was a day with little for the home support to cheer – but with five minutes left it was party time. News came through that Dundee United had doubled their lead against Livingston and the pressure was off. Barring a ridiculous turnaround at Tannadice – which thankfully never came – Saints' place in the top six was secure. Normally, the final whistle in a 2-0 defeat would be greeted by boos but this time around - in front of a record capacity crowd of 7,937 at the SMiSA Stadium - there were cheers – and even a lap of honour from the players. 

Full-Time: St Mirren 0-2 Kilmarnock

There was a record crowd of 7,937 at the SMiSA Stadium this afternoon (Image: Jeff Holmes)

St Mirren: Carson, Fraser, Shaughnessy (c), Dunne (Greive 63), Strain, Baccus (Kiltie 46), O'Hara, Gogic (Gallagher 81), Tanser (Small 46), Watt (Offord 81), Main
Subs Not Used: Urminsky, R.Taylor, Flynn, Boyd-Munce

Kilmarnock: Walker, Mayo, A. Taylor, Chambers, Armstrong, Donnelly, Power (c), Watson, McKenzie (Jones 76), Vassell (Robinson 72), Doidge (Lyons 70)
Subs Not Used: Hemming, Dorsett, Albeiosu, Alston, McInroy

Referee: William Collum
Assistant Referee: Daniel McFarlane
Assistant Referee: Graham McNeillie
Fourth Official: Stewart Luke
VAR: Steven Kirkland
Assistant VAR: Jonathan Bell

Attendance: 7,937 

A Mark O'Hara brace wasn't enough for Saints to take anything at Ibrox as three late Rangers goals gave the hosts all three points.

O'Hara struck twice either side of half-time to bring us level, but two goals in two minutes from Alfredo Morelos in the final 10 minutes as well as a Scott Arfield finish gave Rangers the win. 

Boss Stephen Robinson made two changes to the side that defeated Hearts 2-0 at Tynecastle last weekend. Keanu Baccus dropped out of the squad altogether with a niggling knee injury to be replaced by Greg Kiltie, while Scott Tanser started in place of Thierry Small. 

Rangers were awarded a penalty kick with just four minutes on the clock. Alex Gogic was penalised for a trip on Nicolas Raskin and referee Steven McLean pointed to the spot. The Ibrox side had been awarded penalties in both their previous games with the Buddies this season with James Tavernier scoring on both occasions, but this time the Rangers captain was denied by a brilliant Trevor Carson save. The Saints stopper dived to his right to push away the effort and despite a check for a retake none was forthcoming. 

Saints forced a succession of corners a couple of minutes later but nothing came of them other than a 20 yard effort from Greg Kiltie that went well over. 

The home side were dominating the bulk of the possession and had their best chance on 26 minutes when Fashion Sakala managed to wriggle clear of Marcus Fraser and get his shot away, but Carson did well to beat away the effort. The hosts would take the lead a minute later though when Todd Cantwell knocked Tavernier's low ball from the right in off the bar. There was a VAR check for offside but the goal stood. 

The Buddies passed up a brilliant opportunity to go level when Kiltie robbed Ben Davies of the ball and drove forward but the Saints midfielder couldn't pick out Curtis Main who would have been one-on-one with Allan McGregor. Saints had another decent chance three minutes later when Kiltie shot straight at McGregor from 20 yards. 

Charles Dunne made a brilliant last-ditch challenge to deny Rangers a second with five minutes of the half remaining. The hosts had players queuing up at the back post to meet Sakala's low ball across from the right, but the Saints defender got in just ahead of those waiting to pull the trigger. 

Saints drew level in first-half stoppage time when Mark O'Hara scored his 11th goal of the season with a stunning volley. The midfield man controlled Kiltie's cross and it sat up beautifully for him to lash a super strike into the top corner via the post. 

Mark O'Hara celebrates in front of the away support after drawing us level at Ibrox (Image: Allan Picken)

Rangers retook the lead just three minutes after the restart when Sakala headed home a Borna Barisic free-kick. Carson was then called into action twice in the space of a few minutes when he punched away a Tavernier free-kick that was heading for the top corner before clawing away Raskin's 20 yard effort. 

The manager made two changes on 63 minutes when he introduced Small and Alex Greive in place of Tanser and Tony Watt. Two minutes later Saints were level a second time and once again it was O'Hara who got the equaliser. Small fed the ball wide to Strain whose cross was deflected high into the air. The Rangers defence couldn't clear their lines and O'Hara was on hand to finish from just inside the Gers box to make it 2-2.

Rangers made a triple substitution as Glen Kamara, Ianis Hagi and Scott Arfield entered the fray on 77 minutes. And the changes gave the hosts added impetus with Morelos netting twice in quick succession to take the game away from Saints. Arfield then got himself on the end of a Cantwell pass on 86 minutes to end the afternoon. 

Saints' top six hopes go to the final game before the split with Kilmarnock the visitors to the SMiSA Stadium next Saturday. 

Full-Time: Rangers 5-2 St Mirren

St Mirren: Carson, Fraser, Shaughnessy (c), Dunne, Strain, Kiltie (Boyd-Munce 90), O'Hara, Gogic (Flynn 87), Tanser (Small 63), Watt (Greive 63), Main (Offord 87)
Subs Not Used: Urminsky, Gallagher, R. Taylor, Jamieson

Rangers: McGregor, Tavernier (King 89), Souttar, Davies (Kamara 77), Barisic, Lundstram, Raskin (Hagi 77), Cantwell, Sakala (Matondo 62), Tillman (Arfield 77), Morelos
Subs Not Used: McLaughlin, McCausland, Lyall, Rice

Referee: Steven McLean
Assistant Referee: Alan Mulvanny
Assistant Referee: David Dunne
Fourth Official: Alan Newlands
VAR: Andrew Dallas
Assistant VAR: Graeme Leslie

Attendance: 48,703

Saints made it back-to-back cinch Premiership victories with our first win at Tynecastle since 2013. Two goals in the space of five second-half minutes from Curtis Main and Alex Gogic gave Stephen Robinson's men a deserved 2-0 win in the capital and moved Saints to within a point of the Jambos. 

The manager named the same starting eleven that defeated Livingston 3-0 at the SMiSA Stadium last week and, as they did last week, Saints began brightly with the first chance of the game on nine minutes when captain Joe Shaughnessy glanced wide from a Thierry Small corner.

Hearts had their first real opportunity on 17 minutes when their skipper Lawrence Shankland saw an effort deflected just wide of the target. 

But still Saints had the better of the opening period with Gogic coming close twice in the space of two minutes for the Buddies with headers from two Small corners. The first - on 24 minutes - came closest when the Cypriot headed into the ground and it bounced over before his second came off the side-net. 

The hosts' best chance of the half came in the final minutes before the interval when Andy Halliday rose to meet a Stephen Kingsley cross from the left, but saw his header come back off the post. 

The second-half got off to a fast start with Carson making a big save at the start of the second-half to deny Michael Smith opening the scoring for the home side on his 200th appearance. But it was Saints who started with more intent and when Main opened the scoring on 52 minutes it had felt like it had been coming. Keanu Baccus fired over from inside the area, Gogic nodded wide and Tony Watt saw an effort saved by Ross Stewart all in the space of two minutes before the goal. The goal then came after Main got on to a long-range pass from Gogic and held off Kye Rowles before lashing home from 20 yards to score his seventh goal of the season. 

Five minutes later it was 2-0. Mark O'Hara looked like he'd scored his fifth goal in four games and his 11th of the season but his strike from inside the box found the net via a deflection off Gogic who was credited with the goal. 

Alex Gogic celebrates after deflecting O'Hara's effort into the net for the second goal (Image: Craig Brown)

Saints were in control of the match and the home side's slim hopes of getting back into the match were dampened when veteran midfielder Robert Snodgrass was given his marching orders with a second yellow card after a late challenge on Main. 

The Buddies were comfortable and saw the game out with no issues to go on to 44 points - matching last season's tally - and move within a point of Hearts in fourth.

Full-Time: Hearts 0-2 St Mirren

St Mirren: Carson, Fraser, Shaughnessy (c), Dunne (Gallagher 75), Strain, Baccus (Kiltie 90), O'Hara, Gogic (Flynn 90), Small (Tanser 46), Watt (Greive 75), Main
Subs Not Used: Urminsky, R.Taylor, Boyd-Munce, Offord

Hearts: Stewart, Smith (Cochrane 59), Hill, Rowles, Kingsley, Halliday (Humphrys 59), Devlin (Haring 76), Grant, Snodgrass, Forrest (McKay 76), Shankland (c)
Subs Not Used: Stone, Kio, Sibbick, Kuol, Oda

Referee: Matthew McDermid
Assistant Referee: David Roome
Assistant Referee: Paul O'Neill
Fourth Official: Calum Scott