• St Mirren ease through after dominant win over Kelty Hearts

• Alex Greive scored his second in two games, while Greg Kiltie netted a brace

• Jordan Jones scores pick of the bunch to get his first goal in Black and White

St Mirren cruised into the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup with a comprehensive victory over Kelty Hearts.

Alex Greive, Jordan Jones and a Greg Kiltie double saw Saints book their place in the last eight of the competition. 

Jim Goodwin named the same starting eleven that defeated St Johnstone midweek with Alex Greive leading the line once again after scoring his first Saints goal on Wednesday.

The visitors started in bright fashion with Kevin Thomson wanting his side to take the game to the Buddies. Joe Cardle won a free-kick in a good area early on just 20 yards from goal. Kelty captain Michael Tidser blazed well over. Cardle will feel he should have done better on 12 minutes when he was picked out by Kallum Higginbotham, but his effort was blocked by Joe Shaughnessy.

Saints took the lead with just 15 minutes on the clock when Greive netted his second goal in two games. Richard Tait's initial effort was pushed into the air by Kelty goalkeeper Darren Jamieson with the New Zealand forward the first to react as he headed home. 

Alex Greive heads Saints in front with his second goal in as many games (Image: Allan Picken)

A tame Greive effort from the edge of the area on 30 minutes and a long-distance strike from Connor Ronan which flew over the bar 10 minutes later were all the game really had to show in the remainder of what was an uneventful first-half. 

Jim Goodwin made two changes at the break with Scott Tanser returning from injury in place of Marcus Fraser, while Ryan Flynn replaced Richard Tait.

Jordan Jones doubled Saints' advantage five minutes into the second-half with a stunning goal to open his St Mirren account. The ball was worked back to the Northern Ireland international on the left-hand side of the box and he whipped it into the far right corner of the net to put us two ahead. 

Jordan Jones celebrates after scoring his first goal for the Saints (Image: Allan Picken)

Jones was instrumental in our third goal nine minutes later. The winger played a wonderful ball through to Kiltie with the outside of his foot. Kiltie swivelled and fired low into the bottom left to extend the advantage. 

Saints were well on top and heading through to the last eight but Kelty still searched for a consolation goal with substitute Alfredo Aygeman forcing Jak Alnwick into a good stop. 

In the end though it would be Jim Goodwin's men that would further extend their lead when a bit of calamitous defending from Kelty allowed Kiltie to slam home his second of the day and round off a good afternoon's work. 

Greg Kiltie celebrates after netting a brace (Image: Allan Picken)

Full-Time: St Mirren 4-0 Kelty Hearts

St Mirren: Alnwick, Fraser (Tanser 46), Shaughnessy (c) (McCarthy 68), Dunne, Tait (Flynn 46), Power (Erhahon 68), Gogic, Ronan, Kiltie, Jones (Henderson 73), Greive
Subs Not Used: Lyness, Urminsky, Millar, Erwin

Kelty Hearts: Jamieson, Philip, Forster (McNab 69), O'Ware, Ngewnya, Barjonas, Tidser, Black (Reilly 52), Cardle (Agyeman 52), Higginbotham, Austin (Biabi 64)
Subs Not Used: Donaldson, Cameron

Referee: Andrew Dallas
Assistant Referee: Frank Connor
Assistant Referee: Andy Milne
Fourth Official: Kevin Clancy

Attendance: 3,398

St Mirren move into top half of the cinch Premiership after narrow win.

Alex Greive scored his first St Mirren goal to give Saints all the points.

The Perth Saints had taken the lead when Callum Hendry scored a penalty kick. Jim Goodwin's side were level before half-time thanks to a penalty from Connor Ronan - his sixth goal of the season. New Zealand forward Greive netted from close range to secure the points for the Paisley Saints.

The Buddies started well with three decent opportunities in the opening 10 minutes. Good footwork from Greive saw the striker drag the ball away from Liam Gordon before having his effort deflected wide. Two minutes later Greg Kiltie dragged a shot inches by the left-hand post. Jordan Jones - searching for his first St Mirren goal - was next to go close with St Johnstone goalkeeper Zander Clark getting two hands on his strike to turn it away. 

The best of the chances came on 14 minutes when Jones' super delivery met the head of Kiltie just a few yards out. The midfielder was on the stretch and headed wide. 

The visitors grew into the game after a good start from Jim Goodwin's men. Jak Alnwick was forced into his first save of the match as he had to be alert to palm Ali Crawford's long-range effort over on 15 minutes. The Buddies goalkeeper was made to work again five minutes later when he got two strong hands on Cammy MacPherson's curling effort from 20 yards. 

St Johnstone took the lead just before the half-hour mark when Callum Hendry scored from the penalty spot. Saints could have no complaints about the decision as Marcus Fraser dragged Glenn Middleton down in the box. Hendry netted but was forced to re-take. He made no mistake with the second attempt either to put the Perth side ahead. 

Ex-Saint MacPherson almost doubled the visitors' lead on 38 minutes when he forced a terrific save from Alnwick.

Saints were awarded their own penalty kick when Greive went down under the challenge from Jamie McCart. Ronan sent Clark the wrong way to score his third goal in four and draw the Buddies level. 

Connor Ronan scored from the penalty spot to draw us level (Image: Allan Picken)

Jim Goodwin's side were ahead just four minutes into the second-half when Greive scored his first goal in the black and white. The New Zealander was on hand to sweep home Kiltie's ball to the far post to put the Saints in-front. 

Alex Greive scores his first goal from St Mirren (Image: Allan Picken)

Charlie Gilmour fired just wide from 20 yards with 15 minutes remaining as St Johnstone searched for an equaliser. But it was the Paisley Saints who had the best chance to score the final goal of the game in injury time. A quick break saw Greive lay the ball to Kiltie who smashed high and wide from just inside the box. 

Two goals were enough as Jim Goodwin's men made it four wins from five in the cinch Premiership and move into the top half of the table.

Full-Time: St Mirren 2-1 St Johnstone

St Mirren: Alnwick, Fraser, Shaughnessy (c), Dunne, Tait (Flynn 74), Power, Gogic, Ronan, Kiltie, Jones, Greive
Subs Not Used: Lyness, Urminsky, McCarthy, Millar, Erhahon, Erwin

St Johnstone: Clark, Sang (Brown 59), McCart (Butterfield 59), Cleary, Gordon, Gallacher (May 86), Davidson (Bair 59), MacPherson (Gilmour 65) Crawford, Middleton, Hendry
Subs Not Used: Parish, Northcott, Craig, Hector-Ingram

Referee: David Dickinson
Assistant Referee: Calum Spence
Assistant Referee: Colin Drummond
Fourth Official: Duncan Williams

Attendance: 4,286

Connor Ronan's fifth goal of the season gives Saints first win at Easter Road since 2016.

Jim Goodwin's side have won three of their four cinch Premiership matches of 2022.

St Mirren's unbeaten run in 2022 continued as Connor Ronan's second-half goal saw Saints defeat Hibernian at Easter Road.

The Irishman scored his fifth goal of the season just after the hour mark to make it four wins from five for Jim Goodwin's side and move us to within a point of top six.

The manager made one change for the side that drew with Motherwell midweek. Alex Greive, back from international duty with New Zealand, came in for his first start in place of the injured Eamonn Brophy. 

The New Zealand forward was almost the recipient of a dangerous looking ball across from Jordan Jones with just eight minutes played, but the cross had too much on it for Greive to get proper contact. 

New Zealand international Alex Greive made his first start for Saints (Image: Craig Brown)

Saints pressed and harried the hosts in the opening exchanges forcing them into mistakes and frustrating the Easter Road crowd. Richard Tait was given an abundance of time and space to curl wide from 25 yards on 17 minutes before Jones blasted over from the same sort of range a minute later. 

Greive was sent away on the counter on 22 minutes with Lewis Stevenson hesitant to close the ball down. Greive drove forward but with no support he had a go from an angle which Kevin Dabrowski managed to push away. 

The Buddies defence was called into action a few minutes later with Joe Shaughnessy and Richard Tait making a vital goal-saving block to deny Hibernian's American forward Chris Mueller. It was end-to-end stuff with neither goalkeeper really having much to do in the first half-hour. 

Saints finished the half the stronger of the two sides with Connor Ronan in two opportunities in the final minutes of the opening 45. The Irishman dragged wide from 20 yards on 41 minutes. Two minutes later Ronan showed great feet to work his way by a couple of challenges before rolling into the path of Jay Henderson whose effort with the outside of his boot was palmed away by Dabrowski. 

Hibernian manager Shaun Maloney made a change at the break with Ewan Henderson replacing Christian Doidge and the substitute almost put the home side in front on 52 minutes. He was found well by Kevin Nisbet in the centre of the box, but Jak Alnwick was out to brilliantly block. 

The Saints goalkeeper had to be at his best to deny Henderson again four minutes later. Once again it was Nisbet who set it up for Henderson whose attempt 15 yards out was tipped over by Alnwick. 

Despite a slow start to the second-half, Jim Goodwin's men would take the lead just after the hour mark. Ronan robbed ex-Saint Jake Doyle-Hayes of the ball 20 yards from goal and slammed into the roof of the net after breaking into the box. 

Hibernian almost immediately found themselves level with Alnwick at full stretch to just claw Nisbet's close-range effort by the post. 

Jak Alnwick kept his third clean sheet of 2022 (Image: Craig Brown)

Greive was inches away from scoring his first Saints goal and doubling our lead with around 20 minutes of play remaining. Jones caught the Hibernian defence out with his low ball across the box with Greive just unable to connect. 

The home side had the majority of the pressure in the final stages as they searched for an equaliser. But they couldn't trouble Alnwick or the Saints defence which ensured all the points are heading back to Paisley.

Full-Time: Hibernian 0-1 St Mirren

Saints applaud the travelling support at full-time (Image: Craig Brown)

St Mirren: Alnwick, Fraser, Shaughnessy (c), Dunne, Tait, Power (Erhahon 70), Ronan, J.Henderson (Flynn 62), Kiltie, Jones (Millar 78), Greive (Main 70)
Subs Not Used: Lyness, McCarthy, Erwin

Hibernian: Dabrowski, Cadden, Bushiri, Porteous, Stevenson (Doig 81), Mitchell (Scott 81), Doyle-Hayes (Allan 82), Campbell (Jasper 70), Mueller, Doidge (E. Henderson 46), Nisbet
Subs Not Used: Macey, McGinn, Wright, McGregor

Referee: Greg Aitken
Assistant Referee: Alan Mulvanny
Assistant Referee: Daniel McFarlane
Fourth Official: Dan McFarlane

Attendance: 13,227

An injury-time equaliser from Motherwell denied St Mirren a fourth win from four in 2022. 

Debutant Alex Gogic looked to have won the points when he headed Saints in front with less than 10 minutes remaining. But Ross Tierney scored in the first minute of added time to give the Steelmen a share of the spoils. 

Saints were forced into two changes to the side that defeated Aberdeen last week. In came Richard Tait - who has just agreed a new deal at the Buddies - as well as new signing Jordan Jones. They replaced Scott Tanser - who missed out due to injury - and Jamie McGrath who departed for Wigan on deadline day. 

The Buddies were dealt a major blow when Eamonn Brophy pulled up with an injury on 23 minutes and had to be replaced by Gogic.

While Saints failed to create anything of note in the first 30 minutes, Motherwell were looking the more likely with Sean Goss having three opportunities for the Steelmen. The first saw the Englishman drive an effort just wide from 25 yards, before twice forcing saves from Jak Alnwick. 

St Mirren's best chance of the half came five minutes before the interval. Connor Ronan's ball to the far post met Gogic who had his half-volley deflected wide by a Motherwell defender. 

The Buddies went agonisingly close to going in front two minutes before the hour mark when Jones' beautiful cross found Tait at the far post. The Saints defender looked like he was going to put Jim Goodwin's men ahead only for Liam Kelly to pull off a magnificent save to claw it off the line.  Alnwick was then called upon for Saints on 72 minutes when he made an important block to deny Kevin Van Veen. 

With only 10 minutes of the match remaining the game really sprung into life as Gogic put us ahead. Substitute Ryan Flynn saw a ferocious effort from the edge of the box tipped over the bar by Kelly. From the resulting corner, Gogic leapt above the Motherwell defence to power home a header which cracked off the post on its way into the net.

Gogic celebrates after scoring on his debut for Saints (Image: Jeff Holmes)

That looked like it would be enough to make it four wins from four for Jim Goodwin's men, but Tierney struck in the dying minutes to see Motherwell take a point away from Paisley.

Full-Time: St Mirren 1-1 Motherwell

St Mirren: Alnwick, Fraser, Shaughnessy (c), Dunne, Tait, Power, Ronan (Erhahon 87), Henderson (Erwin 59), Kiltie, Jones (Flynn 69), Brophy (Gogic 23)
Subs Not Used: Lyness, Millar

Motherwell: Kelly, O'Donnell, Solholm, Mugabi, Carroll, McGinley (Roberts 83), Goss, Donnelly, Slattery (Woolery 73), Shaw (Tierney 40), Van Veen
Subs Not Used: Fox, Ojala, Amaluzor, Efford, Grimshaw, Nirennold

Referee: Euan Anderson
Assistant Referee: Drew Kirkland
Assistant Referee: Colin Drummond
Fourth Official: Matthew MacDermid

Attendance: 4,987 

St Mirren made it three wins from three in 2022 as Connor Ronan's fourth goal of the season gave us all three points against Aberdeen. 

It was a moment of quality from the Irishman in a game that didn't have much of it with Saints making the perfect return from the winter break so far. 

Jim Goodwin made three changes to the side that defeated Ayr United in the Scottish Cup on Saturday with Alan Power, Jamie McGrath and Eamonn Brophy coming in for Ethan Erhahon, Kyle McAllister and Kristian Dennis. 

A bright start from the Buddies saw an early penalty appeal after Greg Kiltie had nutmegged Scott Brown and sent a dangerous ball across the face of the box inside the first 30 seconds. David Bates cleared with his head but the nearby Saints players were adamant it came off his hand. The resulting corner saw Jay Henderson fires a half-volley over the bar from the edge of the area. Two minutes later Saints came close again from another when Marcus Fraser headed inches by the post. 

Aberdeen's grew into the game but didn't create anything to trouble Jak Alnwick until the final minute of the opening 45. While Lewis Ferguson had gone close when let fly from 20 yards with a vicious strike which curled just by the far post, it was Calvin Ramsay's effort just before the break that forced the Saints goalkeeper to tip over.  

The Dons started the second-half the stronger with captain Brown curling over from 20 yards early into the second 45. Brown was involved again a few minutes later when he looked to take advantage of a mix-up in the Saints defence but Scott Tanser was able to clear off the line.

Saints were sparked into life just after the hour-mark when Ronan slammed home the opener. It looked like the chance was gone when Kiltie's ball across the box missed everyone but Ronan was able to recover the ball before shifting on to his right foot and firing into the far corner with a beautiful curling strike. 

Connor Ronan slams home the winner (Image: Jeff Holmes)

In a match of few chances one goal would be enough to secure the points for Jim Goodwin's men as they moved to within three points of the top six. 

Full-Time: St Mirren 1-0 Aberdeen

St Mirren: Alnwick, Fraser, Shaughnessy (c), Dunne, Tanser, Power, Ronan (Erhahon 78), Henderson, Kiltie, McGrath, Brophy (Greive 72)
Subs Not Used: Lyness, Tait, Flynn, Reid, McAllister, Dennis, Erwin

Aberdeen: Lewis, Ramsay (Kennedy 78), McCrorie, Bates, Campbell, Ojo, Brown, Ferguson, Jenks (McLennan 73), Hedges (Emmanuel-Thomas 62), Ramirez
Subs Not Used: Woods, Gallagher, McGeouch, Barron, Milne

Referee: Grant Irvine
Assistant Referee: Graeme Stewart
Assistant Referee: Steven Traynor
Fourth Official: William Collum

Attendance: 4,829

St Mirren will face Kelty Hearts in the Fifth Round of the Scottish Cup after a routine win over Ayr United at Somerset Park.  

Kyle McAllister and Greg Kiltie scored first-half goals to secure Saints' place in the next round to face a Kelty side that defeated last season's Scottish Cup winners St Johnstone. 

Despite a bright start from the hosts that saw James Maxwell drag wide with only 30 seconds on the clock, it was Jim Goodwin's side who took the lead. McAllister headed home after being met by at the back stick by Scott Tanser. 

Saints took a grip on the match and we were well on top in the opening exchanges as they searched for a second. It nearly came on 17 minutes when skipper Joe Shaughnessy got on the end of a dangerous Kiltie ball across the face of the box, but the home side managed to scramble clear for a corner. A minute later Connor Ronan was a whisker away from making it two with a half-volley from range. 

The Buddies would double their lead on 24 minutes when Kiltie netted his first goal for the Saints. The midfielder - who was unlucky to see one disallowed in Tuesday's win against Dundee United - raced on to a lovely pass from Jay Henderson and made his way into the box before slotting beyond Aidan McAdams. 

Greg Kiltie slotted home his first goal for the Saints to put us 2-0 up (Image: Allan Picken)

A dominant first-half performance saw us go into the break 2-0 ahead and the second-half was similar stuff as Goodwin's men looked to stretch their lead. McAdams made two good stops in the space of four minutes just after the hour mark to deny Ronan and Kiltie.

Those two opportunities were the first of four in a 10 minute spell of relentless Saints pressure. Shaughnessy should have scored when he was found unmarked in the box by Henderson, but bulleted the header over from close-range and then, in his final act of the game before being substituted, Kiltie drove a strike inches by the far post from an angle. 

Ayr United introduced Fraser Bryden and Tomi Adeloye as they looked to find a way back into the match but couldn't muster up anything to worry the Buddies who will face League Two league leaders Kelty Hearts in the Fifth Round. 

Full-Time: Ayr United 0-2 St Mirren

St Mirren: Alnwick, Fraser, Shaughnessy (c), Dunne, Tanser, Henderson, Ronan, Erhahon (Flynn 54), Kiltie (Power 68), McAllister, Dennis (Greive 62)
Subs Not Used: Lyness, Tait, Millar, Reid, Erwin, Brophy

Ayr United: McAdams, Muirhead, McGinty (c), Baird, Houston, Murdoch, Maxwell (O'Connor 46), Reading, Gondoh (Bryden 72), McKenzie, Moffat (Adeloye 72)
Subs Not Used: Albinson, Ecrepont, Fjortoft, McAllister, Chalmers, Afolabi

Referee: David Dickinson
Assistant Referee: David Doig
Assistant Referee: Jonathan Bell

St Mirren got 2022 off to a winning start as goals from Jay Henderson and Eamonn Brophy saw Saints defeat Dundee United at Tannadice.

It was a first win in 12 for Jim Goodwin's men as they won for the first time since October. 

Saints were dealt an early blow when Kristian Dennis, who was due to start up-front on his own, had to pull out during the warm-up and had to be replaced by Brophy, while Jamie McGrath was left out of the squad. 

But the Buddies started brightly with Greg Kiltie having the first real chance of the match on 10 minutes. The 25-year-old shot from distance but saw his strike beaten away by United goalkeeper Benjamin Siegrist who got both his hands behind the effort. 

Saints good start was rewarded on 15 minutes when Jay Henderson gave Jim Goodwin's men the lead in spectacular fashion. The St Mirren Academy graduate played a lovely one-two with Kiltie before rifling into the top corner from 20 yards to score his first goal for the Buddies. 

Jay Henderson scored his first senior goal in style to put St Mirren ahead (Image: Jeff Holmes)

It looked like birthday boy Kiltie had doubled Saints lead just five minutes later when he drilled low beyond Siegrist, but a late flag from the linesman denied Kiltie a first St Mirren goal. The midfielder was onside and it can only be assumed that the linesman believed that Brophy - who may have been in an offside position - had blocked the view of the United goalkeeper.

Jak Alnwick showed great reactions with around 10 minutes of the half remaining when he kept Charles Dunne's wayward clearance out of the net. Dylan Levitt's ball across from the right was first met by Charlie Mulgrew before Dunne swiped a foot at it which took it goalward. The Saints goalkeeper threw both hands at it to push away with the Buddies manage to get it clear.

Saints claims for a penalty were denied in the final minute of the first-half when Kiltie went down under a challenge from Jeandro Fuchs with referee Alan Muir unmoved. 

After a good opening 45 for the Buddies, it was the home side who started the second-half the stronger of the two. Alnwick was a full stretch early after the restart to push away a Mulgrew free-kick from 25 yards. 

Alnwick again did well to deny Mulgrew on 55 minutes when he saved from close-range to keep the Buddies ahead. Saints were given a let-off when United were denied a penalty after the ball appeared to strike the arm of Alan Power in the box.

After handling the United pressure, the Buddies doubled their lead on the hour mark when Brophy scored his sixth goal of the season from close-range. The striker was laid it on a plate when Kiltie rolled the ball across the face of goal for Brophy to knock into the net. 

Eamonn Brophy doubled Saints lead (Image: Jeff Holmes)

United pulled a goal back on 73 minutes when Power scored an own-goal as he turned substitute Kieran Freeman's low cross beyond Alnwick.

The momentum was with the home side as they searched for an equaliser. Alnwick made a terrific stop all full stretch to turn Freeman's effort away while Mulgrew sent an effort just over from 35 yards out in the closing minutes. But Saints saw it out to ensure all three points head back to Paisley.

Full-Time: Dundee United 1-2 St Mirren

St Mirren: Alnwick, Fraser, Shaughnessy (c), Dunne, Tanser, Power, Erhahon, Henderson (McAllister 90), Kiltie (Greive 88), Ronan, Brophy (Flynn 83)
Subs Not Used: Lyness, Urminsky, Tait, Millar, Erwin

Dundee United: Siegrist, Mulgrew, Neilson (Freeman 68), Edwards (c), McMann, Fuchs (Clark 68), Levitt, Harkes, Niskanen (Watt 59), Pawlett (Glass 82), McNulty
Subs Not Used: Eriksson, Sporle, Butcher, Mochrie, Appere

Referee: Alan Muir
Assistant Referee: David Roome
Assistant Referee: David Doig
Fourth Official: Grant Irvine

St Mirren were defeated in the final game of 2021 as the Buddies lost 2-0 to Rangers at Ibrox.

Scott Wright and Alfredo Morelos scored in the first-half to give the league leaders all three points as we head into the winter break. 

Jim Goodwin was able to welcome Jak Alnwick, Ryan Flynn, Alan Power, Ethan Erhahon and Jamie McGrath back into the squad after missing the midweek draw with Celtic.

But Rangers dominated early with Ianis' Hagi's strike deflected on the edge of the area an Alnwick was brave to gather the spinning ball ahead of Morelos. The Colombian striker headed over from close range six minutes later after getting on the end of a Borna Barisic cross from the left.

Rangers early pressure told with the Ibrox side taking the lead on 14 minutes when Wright headed home following James Tavernier's corner. Alnwick got a hand on it but could only claw away after the ball had crossed the line. 

Tavernier almost turned from provider to goalscorer on 20 minutes when his deflected strike went inches by the post on 20 minutes.

Saints had a good opportunity on 24 minutes when Curtis Main was fouled by Connor Goldson on the edge of the Rangers box with the Light Blues defender going into the book for his challenge. McGrath stepped up to take for the Buddies but had his effort blocked by the defensive wall.

Rangers doubled their advantage three minutes later when Morelos slammed home from close range. The striker had seen his header well saved by Alnwick, but he was the quickest on the follow-up to put the home side 2-0 in front. 

The Saints goalkeeper was forced into another powerful stop from Morelos with less than 10 minutes of the half remaining as Rangers continued their pressure. It was the first of two saves in a minute for Alnwick with the stopper down to save from Joe Aribo 60 seconds later. Morelos almost scored his second when he headed Ryan Kent's cross just wide as the first-half drew to a close. 

Saints won their first corner of the match early in the second-half but couldn't make use of the rare opportunity. Tanser's ball in was headed clear and Rangers went on the counter with skipper Joe Shaughnessy booked for pulling back Wright. Barisic stepped up to take the resultant free-kick and curled into the side-netting. 

The home side almost added a third just after the hour mark when Wright cracked the post from inside the area before Barisic fired the follow-up over from the edge of the area. 10 minutes later Alnwick made a good save to push away a powerful Tavernier strike from 20 yards. 

The game fizzled out with Rangers' two first-half goals enough to see them take the points.

Full-Time: Rangers 2-0 St Mirren

St Mirren: Alnwick, Fraser, Shaughnessy (c), Dunne, Henderson, Flynn (Offord 80), Power, Erhahon, Tanser, McGrath (Kiltie 74), Main (Dennis 56)
Subs Not Used: Lyness, Millar, Reid, Erwin

Rangers: McGregor, Tavernier, Goldson, Bassey, Barisic, Kamara, Aribo, Hagi (Sakala 68), Wright, Kent (Arfield 68), Morelos
Subs Not Used: McLaughlin, Simpson, Patterson, Davis, Bacuna

Referee: Steven McLean
Assistant Referee: Alan Mulvanny
Assistant Referee: Graham McNeillie
Fourth Official: Colin Steven

A valiant St Mirren display saw Jim Goodwin's severely depleted side take a point against Celtic. 

Despite missing several players and requesting a postponement from the SPFL, the match went ahead. Saints were without Jak Alnwick, Jamie McGrath, Conor McCarthy, Richard Tait, Connor Ronan, Ethan Erhahon, Alan Power, Ryan Flynn, Kyle McAllister, Kristian Dennis, Lee Erwin and Eamonn Brophy.

17-year-old Kieran Offord made his debut, while 16-year-old Dylan Reid made just his third start for the Buddies. Jay Henderson also made his first appearance since August with Dean Lyness coming in as goalkeeper for his first league appearance since February. 

St Mirren Academy Graduate Kieran Offord made his first-team debut (Image: Allan Picken)

Lyness would probably have been expecting a busy evening against Ange Postecoglou's side and so it would prove to be for the Saints goalie in the opening stages of the match. He made a terrific save to deny Michael Johnston on eight minutes after the Celtic winger evaded a number of challenges as he jinked into the Buddies box. His strike was pushed away by the strong hands of Lyness. 

Four minutes later Lyness brilliantly turned away a long-range Nir Bitton free-kick. The Celtic midfielder fired towards the keeper's right-hand post with the stand-in at full stretch to get a hand on it.

Saints grew in confidence as the half worn on. The Buddies couldn't force home through a ruck of bodies and from the resultant corner Charles Dunne skinned Liel Abada and Tom Rogic before slamming into the side net. 

Celtic had the vast majority of the ball in the second-half but weren't really troubling Lyness in the Saints net. The visitors were restricted to Johnston volleying into the arms of the Saints goalkeeper on 48 minutes while Callum McGregor's curling effort for distance was gathered at the second attempt on 65 minutes. 

Joe Shaughnessy had to clear off the line on 68 minutes, but Saints best chance of the game came less than 60 seconds later on the counter. Henderson broke forward and slipped the ball to Curtis Main who fired low into the arms of Celtic goalkeeper Scott Bain. 

The visitors would go close again with Abada failing to get on to a McGregor ball across the box before substitute Josip Juranovic curled a free-kick just wide. But the Buddies held on to take a share of the spoils heading into Christmas. 

Full-Time: St Mirren 0-0 Celtic

St Mirren: Lyness, Fraser, Shaughnessy (c), Dunne, Millar, Henderson, Reid, Kiltie, Tanser, Offord (McManus 88), Main
Subs Not Used: Urminsky, Taylor, Jack, MacDonald, Kenny

Celtic: Bain, Ralston, Welsh, Carter-Vickers, Scales (Taylor 89), Bitton (Shaw 80), McGregor (c), Johnston, Rogic, Moffat (Juranovic 61), Abada
Subs Not Used: Hazard, McCarthy, Henderson, Montgomery

Referee: David Munro
Assistant Referee: Ralph Gordon
Assistant Referee: Jonathan Bell
Fourth Official: Lloyd Wilson

Attendance: 6,596

When Saints and Hibs met in September, Joe Shaughnessy scored a late goal to give the Buddies a point. Fast forward three months and the Saints skipper repeated the trick at a wet and windy SMiSA Stadium.

The first half was rather forgettable aside from Hibs' Kevin Nisbet twice heading straight at Saints goalie Jak Alnwick. Early in the second half the visitors opened the scoring, Josh Campbell in the right place to pounce after Martin Boyle's shot had been blocked by Marcus Fraser.

That looked like being enough to give the visitors victory, but with just a few minutes to go Shaughnessy popped up to convert Scott Tanser's cross and earn the Buddies a draw.

Curtis Main was chosen to lead the Saints attack following the injury to Eamonn Brophy with Greg Kiltie coming in for Connor Ronan. It was no surprise to see changes to the Hibs side after ex Saints boss Jack Ross left during the week, red cards for Paul Hanlon and former Buddie Paul McGinn ruling them out. Lewis Stevenson, Alex Gogic, Chris Cadden and former Paisley favourite Darren McGregor all started.

Hibs threatened early on when a mistake from Charles Dunne allowed Nisbet to send Jamie Murphy racing through, his shot being turned behind by Alnwick. The corner that followed led to a bit of a scramble before Nisbet's header was easily saved by the Saints goalie. We then had to wait the best part of 20 minutes for the next – and final – meaningful attempt of the half. It was rather similar to the previous one too as Nisbet again headed straight at Alnwick.

Saints perked up after the break but fell behind from a counter attack. Murphy found Boyle in space and while his shot was cut out by Marcus Fraser, the ball sat up perfectly for Josh Campbell and he slammed it home to the delight of the travelling fans behind the goal. The Buddies forced a corner as they looked for a quick equaliser, however Joe Shaughnessy at the back post put it well wide.

Anyone hoping that brief flurry of excitement would continue was sadly mistaken as penalty box action returned to being rare. Saints fans were given hope of a goal a quarter of an hour from the end when McGregor fouled sub Kristian Dennis just outside the box, however McGrath sent his free-kick well over. A few minutes later came a great Buddies chance when Tanser's found the unmarked game in the box but Matt Macey got down to turn it behind.

With less than five minutes to go Tanser delivered another tremendous ball from the left and this time the end result was far more satisfying, Shaughnessy arriving to fire past Macey and draw Saints level. The visitors tried to restore their lead with Alnwick doing well to tip behind a drive from Christian Doidge. In stoppage time Saints thought they should have had a penalty when Dennis went down under Gogic's challenge, however the officials were unmoved and the points were shared.

Full-Time: St Mirren 1-1 Hibernian

Joe Shaughnessy celebrates after earning Saints a point (Image: Allan Picken)

St Mirren: Alnwick, Fraser, Shaughnessy (c), Dunne, Millar (McAllister 65), Flynn (Dennis 60), Power, Tanser, Kiltie (Ronan 60), McGrath, Main
Subs Not Used: Lyness, Tait, Erhahon, Erwin

Hibernian: Macey, Cadden, Porteous, McGregor, Stevenson, Gogic, Campbell, Newell (c), Boyle, Murphy (Wright 72), Nisbet (Doidge 83)
Subs Not Used: Dabrowksi, Doig, Gullan, Allan, Scott

Referee: Kevin Clancy
Assistant Referee: Graeme Leslie
Assistant Referee: Steven Traynor
Fourth Official: Scott Lambie

Attendance: 4,698