St Mirren were handed just a third league defeat in 2020 as the Buddies were beaten 5-0 by league leaders Celtic. 

Leigh Griffiths scored twice in the first-half to have the Hoops in control at the break. Odsonne Edouard added a third for Celtic nine minutes into the second-half before Griffiths nabbed his hat-trick with 16 minutes remaining. Callum McGregor rounded off a poor afternoon for Saints when he netted from the penalty spot in the final minute.

Jim Goodwin made three changes to the side the drew 0-0 with St Johnstone on Wednesday night. Cammy MacPherson, Tony Andreu and Junior Morias were brought in in place of Ross Wallace, Ilkay Durmus and Alex Jakubiak.

Celtic enjoyed the lions share of possession as was probably to be expected but Saints looked to make any opportunities count in the early goings. With eight minutes played Calum Waters did brilliantly down the left-side before sliding the ball across the box. It had looked primed to fall to the feet of Morias, but somehow missed the forward who would have had a brilliant chance to put the Buddies 1-0 in front had it fallen to him. 

MacPherson forced Fraser Forster into a save on 14 minutes with a free-kick from 25 yards. The midfielder got the ball over the wall and creeping in towards the goalkeeper's left-hand post but the Englishman was down quickly to gather. 

Four minutes later Celtic would open the scoring through Griffiths. From just inside the box on the left-hand side, Edouard clipped the ball over the Saints defence to meet Leigh Griffiths who swept home from close range. It was a cheap goal to give away with the Celtic forward completely unmarked at the back post as he put the home side ahead.

The Hoops could have doubled their lead just two minutes later with Vaclav Hladky making a tremendous double save to keep Edouard and James Forrest at bay. Hladky was being made to work by Celtic and the Czech goalkeeper again denied Forrest on 27 minutes, holding the winger's curling shot from the edge of the area.

Saints were still very much in the match at this point, thanks to Hladky, and more good work from Waters saw the left-back knock the ball beyond Forrest allowing him to charge into the penalty area only for his ball across to be cleared by the Celtic defence. A few minutes later, Tony Andreu had a dig from 20 yards but his effort was easy enough for Forster to hold.

Hladky again kept Celtic out when he got two hands to a Tom Rogic strike from 18 yards.  

With the game ebbing towards half-time Griffiths added his and Celtic's second on 44 minutes. The forward dribbled his way through the Saints defence, exchanging a one-two with Rogic before sliding the ball beyond Hladky to double his and Celtic's tally.

Celtic stretched their lead further just nine minutes into the second-half when Edouard added his name to the score-sheet. 

St Mirren looked to pull a goal back with Andreu curling into the arms of Forster on 56 minutes, while Obika sent an effort just wide seven minutes later. 

But with 16 minutes remaining it was Celtic who would stretch their lead further. Griffiths grabbed his hat-trick as he slammed home from the edge of the box.

Celtic put the icing on the cake in the final minute when Callum McGregor netted from the penalty spot after Sam Foley had brought down Hatem Elhamed. 

Up next for Saints is a vital home match as the Buddies face bottom side Hearts at the Simple Digital Arena on Wednesday night.

Full-Time: Celtic 5-0 St Mirren

St Mirren: Hladky, Hodson, McCarthy, Foley, Famewo, Waters, MacPherson, McGrath (McAllister 74), Andreu, Morias (Jakubiak 63), Obika (Chabbi 69)
Subs Not Used: Lyness, Wallace, Durmus, Mullen

Celtic: Forster, Jullien, Bitton, Ajer (Elhamed 81), Forrest, Brown (c), Rogic (Christie 73), McGregor, Taylor, Edouard (Elyounoussi 76), Griffiths
Subs Not Used: Gordon, Frimpong, Hayes, Bayo

Referee: Gavin Duncan
Assistant Referee: Frank Connor
Assistant Referee: Calum Spence
Fourth Official: Euan Anderson

Attendance: 58,998

Gallery pictures by Allan Picken © - Allan Picken Photography

St Mirren picked up what could be a crucial point after a 0-0 draw with 10 man St Johnstone at the Simple Digital Arena.

The Buddies will be frustrated they didn't pick up all three points in the battle of the Saints, especially with Hamilton Academical and Hearts both picking up midweek wins.

Alex Jakubiak caused the St Johnstone defence trouble in the opening 15 minutes. His first was a shot from outside the box. The striker then went on two driving runs, wining corners on both occasions.

The hosts very nearly came close to opening the scoring when Jon Obika clipped the inside of Zander Clark’s post and trickling along the goal line but there were no black and white shirts to tap it in.

The first chance of the second half fell the way of the visitors. Anthony Ralston broke forward and received the ball inside the Buddies’ box but Hladky was there to make the save. Jakubiak had another chance to break the deadlock. He twisted and turned his way into the St Johnstone box bit is shot was straight at the keeper.

The game sparked into life for the last 15 minutes. Drey Wright played an inviting ball into the box but Lee Hodson was there to put the ball out for a corner. Jason Kerr hit the crossbar from the resulting corner.

St Johnstone then went down to ten men as Liam Craig was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Tony Andreu.

Jamie McGrath delivered a good cross from a wide area and substitute, Seifedin Chabbi, saw his header go agonisingly past the post.

Jon Obika had a terrific chance to grab a late winner. He held the ball up strongly in the box before turning and getting a shot away but Clark had to dive low to his left hand side to tip it round the post.

The Buddies threw everything they had at St Johnstone for the entire five minutes of stoppage time but the Buddies were unable to find a way through the wall of defenders. 

Full-Time: St Mirren 0-0 St Johnstone

St Mirren: Hladky, Hodson, McCarthy, Famewo, Waters, McGrath, Foley (c), Wallace (Chabbi 84), Durmus (Morias 75), Jakubiak (Andreu 67), Obika
Subs Not Used: Lyness, MacPherson, McAllister, Mullen

St Johnstone: Clark, Ralston, Kerr (c), McCart, Booth, Wright, McCann, Craig, Wotherspoon (O'Halloran 65), Kane (Butcher 83), May (Swanson 75)
Subs Not Used: Parish, Gordon, Holt, Tanser 

Referee: Euan Anderson
Assistant Referee: Drew Kirkland
Assistant Referee: Gordon Crawfored
Fourth Official: Steven Reid

Attendance: 4,287

Gallery pictures by Allan Picken © - Allan Picken Photography

Saints' hopes of a trip to Hampden and Scottish Cup glory came to an end when they lost to Aberdeen.

It was a pretty forgettable 90 minutes, one of the few moments of genuine quality producing an early goal as Lewis Ferguson scored a tremendous strike with the outside of his foot. Curtis Main thought he'd headed his side further in front after the break but it was ruled out for offside before Sam Cosgrove sealed victory with a late penalty on a disappointing evening for Saints fans and neutrals watching at home on BBC Scotland.

Saints with the side that secured a late win at Fir Park on Tuesday night, the in-form Jon Obika once again being partnered by Alex Jakubiak. Main led the Aberdeen attack with the prolific Cosgrove only on the bench.

The big forward headed wide from Dean Campbell's free-kick before the Dons took an early lead. Matty Kennedy's through ball found Ferguson at the edge of the box and he used the outside of his boot to produce a wonderful finish that Vaclav Hladky had no chance of stopping.

Anyone hoping that early flurry of excitement was to be the start of an exciting cup tie similar to Saints' defeat of Motherwell in the previous round was to be left sorely disappointed as both sides found it difficult to get going. While not entirely to blame, the wind and rain also wasn't doing anybody any favours - although it did nearly help Lee Hodson's cross loop into the net. The fullback's next cross forced a corner which Akin Famewo headed well wide.

There was some relief at the other end when Hladky failed to hold a Kennedy free-kick before his defence bailed him out – only fair since the goalie has done similar for his team-mates so often during his time with the club. There looked to be more trouble when Niall McGinn won the ball from Cammy MacPherson and bore down on goal, however ref Don Robertson felt the Saints youngster had been barged aside and gave a foul. In the final minute of a dire half MacPherson's free-kick caused problems in the Aberdeen box but Conor McCarthy couldn't quite dig the ball out from under his feet and Joe Lewis was able to gather it.

Jakubiak was replaced by Kyle McAllister at the break as Saints looked for an equaliser, an Obika header being turned behind for a corner. McAllister tried to thread the ball through for the striker but Lewis was able to gather it, however in attempting to keep pace with Obika Scott McKenna had pulled a muscle and had to be replaced by Mikey Devlin.

That blow didn't seem to disrupt the Dons too much and they looked to have doubled their lead when Main stooped to head Kennedy's cross past Hladky, however the flag was up for offside. The visitors seemed happy to sit deep and let Saints have plenty of possession but they didn't look too penetrating with it, a rare chance coming when Jamie McGrath stung the palms of Lewis from long range.

In a bid to change things, Saints boss Jim Goodwin handed Seifedin Chabbi his much anticipated Saints debut at the expense of MacPherson with Tony Andreu then coming on for Ilkay Durmus. Chabbi just failed to get onto the end of a McAllister cross, while Main didn't get quite enough on the end of a teasing delivery from McGinn. The striker was replaced by Craig Bryson before Cosgrove – who'd early replaced Campbell – found himself in a great position to finish the game off but could only fire wide.

It didn't matter as he made amends in stoppage time. As Cosgrove burst into the box, he was pushed by Saints skipper Foley and Mr Robertson wasted little time in pointing to the spot. Hladky may have a great record at saving penalties and he did guess correctly, however Cosgrove slotted it right into the bottom corner to seal his side's progress to the semi-finals.

Full-Time: St Mirren 0-2 Aberdeen

St Mirren: Hladky, Hodson, McCarthy, Famewo, Waters, McGrath, Foley (c), MacPherson (Chabbi 72), Durmus (Andreu 83), Jakubiak (McAllister 45), Obika
Subs Not Used: Lyness, Wallace, Mullen, Morias

Aberdeen: Lewis, Logan, Taylor, McKenna (Devlin 52), Considine, Ojo, Campbell (Cosgrove 74), Ferguson, Kennedy, McGinn, Main (Bryson 87)
Subs Not Used: Cerny, McGeouch, Anderson, Hernandez

Referee: Don Robertson
Assistant Referee: Graeme Stewart
Assistant Referee: Kylie Cockburn
Fourth Official: John McKendrick

Attendance: 4,479

Gallery pictures by Allan Picken © - Allan Picken Photography

St Mirren struck late through Ilkay Durmus to grab an important three points in the Ladbrokes Premiership as the Buddies came from behind to defeat Motherwell at Fir Park.

Liam Donnelly opened the scoring early on from the penalty spot, but second-half goals from Jon Obika and Durmus saw the Saints take all three points back to Paisley.

The home side started the brighter with on-loan winger Rolando Aarons caused the Buddies problems down the right side. Aarons had the first real opportunity of the match when he smashed wide after finding space inside the box on seven minutes.

And it was the winger's trickery that would see Motherwell win a penalty on 12 minutes after being was brought down by Akin Famewo inside the area after trying to break clear. Referee David Munro pointed to the spot and Liam Donnelly, who missed during last week's penalty shoot-out, made no mistake from 12 yards to give the home side the lead.

Saints almost found an instant response less than two minutes later. Good work from Jamie McGrath in the midfield saw the Irishman switch it wide to Durmus. The left-winger burst into the Motherwell area and fizzed a powerful, dipping drive just inches over the bar. 

Vaclav Hladky was called into action on 18 minutes as he made a brilliant double save to keep the scoreline down. Motherwell were awarded a free-kick on the right hand touchline after Calum Waters was booked for a foul on Aarons. 'Well swung the ball into the back post where it met the head of Declan Gallagher with Hladky down low to push away. The danger wasn't cleared though allowing Tony Watt an opportunity with the Czech goalkeeper blocking from close range.

A couple of dangerous looking balls across the box from Durmus caused panic inside the Motherwell box and yielded a couple of corners but the Saints failed to capitalise from any of them. 

It was still the home side who were creating more clear cut chances in the first-half with Hladky having to do well to save from Watt, before a long-range Liam Polworth drive looked like it may have nestled in the back of the net after a wicked deflection. 

A disappointing first-half came to a close with Motherwell only having one goal to show for their efforts. 

Saints showed more intent after the break and found themselves level on 50 minutes. Lee Hodson did brilliantly well on the right-hand side to turn the Motherwell defence inside out before sending a tremendous low ball across the face of goal where Obika finished from close range. 

The Buddies almost doubled their lead a few minutes later with Motherwell goalkeeper Mark Gillespie making a terrific diving save to claw away Durmus' low drive from 20 yards. 

For all the opportunities Motherwell created in the first 45 minutes, they failed to create anything to really trouble Hladky in the second-half with only a Watt header with less than 10 minutes to go forcing the goalkeeper to make a save and even then it was straight at him.

With 87 minutes on the clock Saints would finish a winner with Durmus showing great composure to put St Mirren into the lead. Substitute Tony Andreu swung the ball into the box where it drifted to the left side to meet an unmarked Durmus. The Turkish winger took a touch to steady himself before slamming high into the top corner to send the 600 strong travelling support wild.

Junior Morias could have added the icing on the cake in the dying embers as he shot wide from 15 yards, but in the end it didn't matter as Durmus' strike sealed a first league win of 2020 for Jim Goodwin's men who closed the gap on ninth placed Ross County to four points. 

Full-Time: Motherwell 1-2 St Mirren

St Mirren: Hladky, Hodson, McCarthy, Famewo, Waters, McGrath (Wallace 75), MacPherson, Foley, Durmus, Jakubiak (Andreu 71), Obika (Morias 90)
Subs Not Used: Lyness, K.McAllister, Mullen, Chabbi

Motherwell: Gillespie, Tait, Hartley, Gallagher, Donnelly, Campbell (Turnbull 71), O'Hara (MacIver 56), Polworth, Aarons, Hylton (Seedorf 83), Watt
Subs Not Used: Carson, Grimshaw, Mugabi, Ilic

Referee: David Munro
Assistant Referee: David Roome
Assistant Referee: Stuart Hodge
Fourth Official: David Dickinson

Attendance: 3,636 (601 St Mirren fans)

Gallery pictures by Allan Picken © - Allan Picken Photography

St Mirren progressed to the quarter-finals of the William Hill Scottish Cup with a dramatic penalty shoot-out win over Motherwell at Fir Park.

An incredible first-half performance saw the Buddies deservedly 4-1 ahead at the interval and all but through to the last eight. 

Unbelievably, Motherwell scored three goals in 17 second-half minutes to take the game to extra-time and ultimately penalties. 

Jamie McGrath, Kyle McAllister and Jon Obika all netted from 12 yards while Motherwell's Liam Donnelly had his saved by Vaclav Hladky with Tony Watt and Jermaine Hylton also missing to see Saints set up a last eight clash with either Aberdeen or Kilmarnock who face each other tomorrow night.

Jim Goodwin's side started on the front foot and took the lead on 14 minutes when Saints number nine Obika grabbed his ninth goal of the season. Cammy MacPherson fed the ball out to the left to Ilkay Durmus who whipped in a stunning ball to meet Obika with the forward getting in between the Motherwell central defence to sweep home from close range.

Saints could have added a second 10 minutes later through Jamie McGrath. Alex Jakubiak did brilliantly to hold off two Motherwell players deep in the Well half. He slid a beautiful ball through to the Irishman who beat the offside trap but smashed at Well goalkeeper Mark Gillespie from a tight angle. 

And just three minutes afterwards Motherwell found themselves level. An Allan Campbell shot from the edge of the St Mirren box was deflected by for a corner. Liam Polworth took but the Saints defence could only clear as far as the midfielder who was allowing to cut into the box before slamming a low drive beyond Vaclav Hladky to level. 

The game would turn on its head again when the Buddies would score two goals in two minutes just after the half-hour mark. Obika scored his and Saints' second of the game on 31 minutes as the striker once again drifted in ahead of the static Well defence to side-foot home MacPherson's free-kick. 

Saints barely had time to celebrate their second before stretching the lead further. Obika did so well on the counter to carry the ball from his own half to the edge of the Motherwell box. His attempt was blocked but fell kindly for stand-in skipper Sam Foley who had bust a gut to match Obika's run. Foley's shot was blocked by the feet of Gillespie but cannoned off Peter Hartley and into the net to make it 3-1. 

Only a super stop from Gillespie denied St Mirren a fourth on 37 minutes when the Steelman goalkeeper got done to brilliant push away McGrath's effort from inside the box. But the fourth would come just before half-time as Foley got himself on the scoresheet. A low Durmus cross was only cleared as far as the midfielder who cut into the box and drilled home from 16 yards out to put St Mirren in dreamland heading into the break.

Motherwell started the second-half the stronger as they looked for a route back into the game and they found a goal 12 minutes into the second-half to make it 4-2 as Tony Watt scored his first for the Steelmen. The striker got the better of Conor McCarthy and Akin Famewo to knock beyond Hladky from close range.

The goal seemed to briefly awake St Mirren after a slow start to the second-half with Obika having a shot from the edge of the box deflected wide, before MacPherson's fizzing long-range effort was pushed away by Gillespie. 

Motherwell were coming closer to a third and hit the post with 20 minutes remaining while Hladky had to make a good save to deny Polworth on the follow-up. 

The warning signs were there for Saints and Motherwell made their pressure pay on 73 minutes when they added a third. Rolando Aarons' low cross from the right evaded everyone and somehow found its way into the back of the Buddies net. 

And then, 60 seconds later, the unthinkable happened as Motherwell drew level. Campbell's attempted cross from the right took a deflection off Foley and sailed over the head of Hladky to make it 4-4. 

The Steelmen continued to have the majority of the pressure as the game ticked towards extra-time with MacIver backheeling wide while a shot was blocked inside the Saints box with just over five minutes left. 

In truth neither side did enough in extra-time to win the match with Durmus curling a free-kick into the arms of Gillespie while Hladky had to be alert to turn behind a Hylton shot at his near post. The Buddies could have snatched it in the final moments when substitute Tony Andreu beat the on-rushing Gillespie to the ball. It fell to Kyle McAllister who lobbed over the stranded goalkeeper only for Liam Donnelly to head off the line. 

After 120 minutes it would take penalties to separate the two. McGrath netted the first for Saints, with Donnelly seeing his penalty saved by Hladky.

Saints failed to make it 2-0 in the shoot-out when Andreu smashed his penalty well over, but Tony Watt missed his penalty as the Buddies maintained their advantage. 

MacPherson, who took the captain's armband following Foley's substitution, also missed from 12 yards as he was denied by Gillespie, while Motherwell levelled as Rolando Aarons scored.

McAllister and Polworth scored their penalties meaning it was 2-2 heading into the fifth penalty. Obika coolly stroked his spot-kick home meaning Hylton had to keep Motherwell in the match. The winger put his penalty over the bar allowing a relieved away support to celebrate.

Saints will now meet the winners of Aberdeen/Kilmarnock at the Simple Digital Arena on Saturday 29th February.

Full-Time: Motherwell 4-4 St Mirren (St Mirren win 3-2 on penalties)

St Mirren: Hladky, Hodson, McCarthy, Famewo, Waters, McGrath, MacPherson, Foley (McAllister 103), Durmus (Andreu 97), Jakubiak (Morias 63), Obika
Subs Not Used: Urminsky, Mullen, Chabbi

Motherwell: Gillespie, Grimshaw (Hylton 62), Hartley (Tait 46), Mugabi (O'Hara 45), Carroll, Campbell, Donnelly, MacIver (Manzinga 102), Polworth, Aarons, Watt
Subs Not Used: Carson, Seedorf, Manzinga, Ilic

Referee: Gavin Duncan
Assistant Referee: David McGeachie
Assistant Referee: David Doig
Fourth Official: Kevin Glancy

Attendance: 4,534 (918 St Mirren fans)

Gallery pictures by Allan Picken © - Allan Picken Photography

St Mirren were consigned to just a second loss in 2020 as the Buddies were beaten 2-1 by Livingston. 

Jim Goodwin made one change to the side that drew 1-1 against Motherwell on Saturday with Junior Morias coming in in place of Jamie McGrath, while Saints were boosted by the news that Lee Hodson had shaken off the injury he suffered in Saturday's Scottish Cup tie.

Both sides had opportunities in the opening couple of minutes of the contest. Jon Obika was a toe away from scoring into an empty net with just three minutes on the clock. The striker looked to latch on to a long ball over the top from Morias. Both Obika and Livingston goalkeeper Robby McCrorie seemed to hesitate before the goalie got in just ahead of the striker to clear. 

Immediately from the clearance it was the home side's turn to attack with Saints having to clear a Jon Guthrie header off the line. Guthrie was involved again ten minutes later when he met a knock-down from Ciaron Brown but hooked over from close range. 

Saints had a great chance to go one-on-one with McCrorie after a quick counter. Alex Jakubiak had peeled away from the defence in acres of space but Obika over-hit the pass sending it straight to the goalkeeper.

And how the Buddies would rue passing up that opportunity when Livingston would take the lead less than two minutes later. Lyndon Dykes went down inside the box under the challenge from Conor McCarthy. It seemed a controversial decision with very little contact appearing to take place between the defender and the striker. But referee David Munro awarded the spot-kick and Steven Lawless made no mistake from 12 yards as he sent Hladky the wrong way to open the scoring. 

That was the difference at the interval and the Buddies couldn't have gotten the second-half off to a worst start if they tried. Despite taking kick-off, the Buddies lost the ball with half-time substitute Keaghan Jacobs finding Lyndon Dykes who ran clear of the Saints defence and slotted home from close range just 20 seconds after the restart.

A difficult task had been made even tougher but the Buddies didn't let the heads go down and pulled a goal back on 50 minutes. A nice passage of play culminated in Cammy MacPherson sliding the ball through to Obika who showed good composure to knock beyond McCrorie to score his eighth goal of the season and half the deficit.

Saints put the pressure on and could have been level two minutes later only for Obika to head just over from inside the box. 

With 30 minutes remaining Hladky was forced into action as he made a brilliant save to keep the scoreline down after Scott Robinson had found himself in the clear. The forward charged into the box but was denied by the Czech goalkeeper's foot. Dykes almost added his second and Livingston's third on 65 minutes when he headed off the post from a corner.

The Buddies continued to search for an equaliser heading into the closing minutes with McCarthy going agonisingly close with a header that was deflected wide. Then, in stoppage time, Calum Waters sent a terrific ball into the box to meet the head of Obika who nodded over. 

Full-Time: Livingston 2-1 St Mirren

St Mirren: Hladky, Hodson, McCarthy, Famewo, Waters, Morias (McAllister 74), MacPherson, Foley (c), Durmus (Mullen 84), Jakubiak (McGrath 79), Obika
Subs Not Used: Lyness, Wallace, Andreu, Cooke

Livingston: McCrorie, McMillan (Lawson 80), Taylor-Sinclair, Brown, Guthrie, Bartley (Jacobs 46), Pittman, Sibbald, Lawless, Robinson (Menga 73), Dykes
Subs Not Used: Schofield, Crawford, Souda, Lamie

Referee: David Munro
Assistant Referee: Graeme Stewart
Assistant Referee: Sean Carr
Fourth Official: Kevin Graham

Attendance: 1,263

Saints and Motherwell will have to do it all again after drawing 1-1 in the Scottish Cup.

Ilkay Durmus hit the post in the first few minutes and Saints had a fair number of chances in the opening 45 minutes yet somehow found themselves behind at the break – Mark O'Hara hammering home after Vaclav Hladky had saved from Chris Long.

The Steelmen were arguably the better side after the interval but Saints drew level when Kyle McAllister teed up Alex Jakubiak to score his first Buddies goal. Both sides had chances to win it after that but in the end had to settle for a replay that both managers could probably do without.

Jakubiak started for the first time since arriving on loan from Watford with Jon Obika back in the side, Tony Andreu and Felipe Morias dropping to the bench. That wasn't the end of the changes with Lee Hodson coming in for the injured Ryan Flynn – although the fullback would end up going off injured himself. New Motherwell signing Tony Watt was among the away side's subs.

The Buddies kicked into the fierce wind in the first half and almost had the lead inside five minutes. Obika intercepted the ball and passed to Sam Foley and he in turn found Durmus who cracked the post from close range. Soon after, Jakubiak outmuscled his man and had a shot saved by Mark Gillespie, although the whistle had already gone for a foul. Rolando Aarons had the first chance for Motherwell as he cut in from the right before seeing his shot parried away by Hladky, while at the other end Obika turned and shot a few yards over from the edge of the box.

The game was fairly open as both sides pushed for an opener, Jermaine Hylton's shot finding Hladky's arms after taking a couple of deflections. A loose pass from Cammy MacPherson then let Aarons in but a tremendous tackle by McCarthy just outside the area stopped the on-loan Newcastle man in his tracks, the large away support behind the goal claiming furiously for a foul. Gillespie dropped Waters' free-kick before blocking Jamie McGrath's go from the follow-up, then Durmus dragged a shot wide after good hold-up play from Jakubiak.

All that was missing from the frantic opening quarter was a goal but Motherwell soon put that right. A break of the ball after a Hodson tackle saw Long clean through and while Hladky did well to save his shot, the ball popped up for O'Hara to thump into the unguarded net and put the Steelmen in front. Long went close to doubling the lead a few minutes later as his shot was juggled up in the air by Hladky before the goalie eventually gathered it.

Saints were desperately unlucky not to draw level when Durmus found Jakubiak with a low cross but his shot was blocked by the legs of Gillespie, a penalty appeal for handball in the aftermath being turned down by ref Andrew Dallas. Obika saw a tame effort deflected into the Motherwell goalie's grasp just before Hladky had to get down to a Long shot behind. Just before the break Saints had another chance when Obika set up but Durmus but his shot was headed away.

The visitors nearly increased their advantage early in the second half as Aarons' cross threatened to dip under the bar before Hladky tipped it over. The second half wasn't quite as end-to-end as the first with chances for both teams few and far between but an opening did come Saints' way when Hodson got to the byline and pulled the ball across ball, Obika unable to reposition himself in time to turn it home. Long sclaffed a shot wide before a great tackle from McCarthy stopped the striker adding his second.

An ambitious shot from MacPherson was always going wide just as Kyle McAllister replaced McGrath – which proved to be an inspired move as he soon created the equaliser. Hodson made use of his time and space to find the winger on the right and when he played it into the box Jakubiak slotted past Gillespie with the help of a deflection.

Liam Donnelly fired narrowly wide from long range as Motherwell looked to go back in front, O'Hara sending a low shot beyond both Hladky and the far post. Saints had been on the back foot since dragging themselves level but showed they weren't done for the day when Durmus stung Gillespie's palms from distance, MacPherson's dipping shot going narrowly over from the resultant corner. It was to be the last real chance for either side, meaning the sides will now meet twice at Fir park within the space of a few days.

Full-Time: St Mirren 1-1 Motherwell

St Mirren: Hladky, Hodson (Morias 81), McCarthy, Famewo, Waters, MacPherson, Foley (c), McGrath (McAllister 69), Durmus, Jakubiak, Obika (Andreu 77)
Subs Not Used: Lyness, Henderson, Cooke, Mullen

Motherwell: Gillespie, Gallagher, Hartley (c), Grimshaw, Carroll, Donnelly, O'Hara (Watt 80), Polworth, Long, Aarons (Campbell 73), Hylton
Subs Not Used: Carson, Tait, Manzinga, Mugabi, Ndjoli

Referee: Andrew Dallas
Assistant Referee: David McGeachie
Assistant Referee: David Doig
Fourth Official: Kevin Glancy

Attendance: 4,232

Ilkay Durmus' 73rd minute free-kick salvaged a point for St Mirren as the Buddies drew their third Ladbrokes Premiership match in a row.

Saints found themselves behind to a 25th minute David Templeton strike in a lacklustre first-half showing for Jim Goodwin's side.

But a better second-half performance saw Saints grab a point with Durmus curling home from 20 yards after Ryan Flynn had been fouled.

By the manager's own admission the Buddies were not at the races in the first 45 minutes and Hamilton capitalised with 25 minutes on the clock. A long ball forward from Accies captain Brian Easton found Mickel Miller who beat Calum Waters to head the ball into the path of Templeton who slammed home from 25 yards out to give the visitors the lead. 

It was a controversial opener given Accies goalkeeper Luke Southwood had clearly handled outside his box just 20 seconds earlier while Waters was on the ground with a head knock after clashing with Miller.

Saints tried to bounce back in a positive fashion with Durmus heading wide from a decent area inside the box after meeting Morias' cross.

But two minutes later Templeton was just inches away from adding his and Accies' second when he flashed just wide from 20 yards.

And with seven minutes remaining of the half, Vaclav Hladky kept the scoreline down as the game ebbed towards half-time when he got the slightest touch on Marios Ogkmpoe's ferocious effort from 25 yards to touch it on to the bar.

The Czech goalkeeper also managed to gather on the line after a scramble inside the Saints penalty area following a Hamilton corner on 43 minutes.

In truth Saints were lucky to only be 1-0 down at the break, but started the second-half the brighter of the two sides. Lee Hodson, who replaced Jamie McGrath at half-time, played a low ball across the face of the box with less than two minutes of the second-half played where it met Cammy MacPherson. But the Saints midfielder scooped the ball over from 15 yards.

Tony Andreu was presented with a wonderful opportunity as the ball fell to him inside the box on 68 minutes but the Hamilton defence did well to block and deflect narrowly over. 

With just over 15 mintues remaining Saints would find themselves level. A really poor challenge from Mickel Miller on Ryan Flynn saw Saints awarded a free-kick right on the edge of the area. After a delay which saw Flynn receive treatment before being substituted, Durmus stepped up to confidently curl home into the top corner to equalise. 

St Mirren would have hoped to kick on in the final stretch of the match to try and find a winner but were dealt a major blow just two minutes later when Hamilton were awarded a penalty kick. Hodson's flailing leg brought down the forward who had nipped in just ahead of the Northern Ireland international. It was Miller who grabbed the ball to take the spot-kick, but despite Hladky diving the wrong way, the striker sent his effort wide from 12 yards. 

Saints were denied their own penalty in stoppage time when substitute Alex Jakubiak appeared to be hauled down in the box, but referee Alan Newlands was unmoved. 

Full-Time: St Mirren 1-1 Hamilton

St Mirren: Hladky, Flynn (Jakubiak 73), McCarthy, Famewo, Waters, Foley (c), MacPherson, McGrath (Hodson 45), Andreu, Durmus, Morias (Obika 63)
Subs Not Used: Lyness, K.McAllister, Mullen, Cooke

Hamilton: Southwood, McMann, Easton (c), Hunt, Want, McGowan, Gogic, Templeton (Smith 65), Martin, Miller (Alston 83), Ogkmpoe (Moyo 59)
Subs Not Used: Gourlay, Woods, Davies, Dales

Referee: Alan Newlands
Assistant Referee: Andrew McWilliam
Assistant Referee: Gary Hilland
Fourth Official: William Collum

Attendance: 4,537

Saints had to settle for a point after Hibernian battled back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Easter Road.

Two goals in four minutes from Conor McCarthy and Tony Andreu had St Mirren deservedly ahead inside the first 20 minutes.

But Hibernian hit back before half-time thanks to goals from Scott Allan and in-form Christian Doidge. 

The Buddies started strongly in the capital and earned their reward on 14 minutes when McCarthy scored his first St Mirren goal to put Saints ahead. The Irish defender was presented with a free header inside the Hibees box to bullet home from a Cammy MacPherson corner kick.

Saints were worthy of their lead but the home side looked to respond quickly with Martin Boyle forcing Vaclav Hladky into a decent stop at his near post on 17 minutes.

But just a minute later Saints doubled their lead. McCarthy send a terrific cross-field pass to Ilkay Durmus who brought the ball down well and raced away from David Gray to make his way into the Hibernian box. The winger laid the ball back to Tony Andreu with the Frenchman sliding home to make it 2-0.

Hibernian pulled a goal back on 25 minutes through Scott Allan. The midfielder drove forward into the Saints half before switching wide to Boyle on the right side. Allan continued his run into the box to meet Boyle low ball across to stroke home.

The Buddies were still looking strong with Durmus firing over from range on the half-hour mark, while Hibs goalkeeper Ofir Marciano had to be alert to push away a MacPherson free-kick and a low ball in from Morias. Andreu shot over after the latter's opportunity fell to him on the edge of the area.

Frustratingly, Hibernian found a leveller just two minutes before the interval. Saints couldn't clear their lines allowing Stephane Omeonga to flight the ball into Doidge who headed beyond Hladky from close range.

St Mirren could have gotten the second-half off to the perfect start when, just six minutes in, Marciano spilled a Durmus cross into the feet of Andreu but the Frenchman couldn't get the shot away with the Hibernian goalkeeper managing to gather.

Jim Goodwin made a double substitution on 64 minutes when Jamie McGrath & Alex Jakubiak came on in place of Andreu & Morias. It came just seconds after Morias had nodded agonisingly wide from a MacPherson free-kick.

Hibernian substitution Paul McGinn, who yesterday completed his move from Saints to the Hibees, almost came back to haunt the Buddies on 70 minutes when he rose the highest to head a free-kick goal-ward with Hladky doing well to push wide.

Hibernian were almost gifted a goal with 15 minutes remaining when Sam Foley's attempted header to Hladky was pounced upon first by Boyle, but the Saints defence did well to get back and deflect the forward's effort wide.

Three minutes later Allan almost grabbed his second directly from a corner. The midfielder's ball in from the left looped over Hladky but crashed off the Saints bar.

That was the closest either side would come in the final stages of the match with Saints taking a point back to Paisley.

Full-Time: Hibernian 2-2 St Mirren

St Mirren: Hladky, Flynn, McCarthy, Famewo, Waters, Foley (c), MacPherson, Morias (Jakubiak 64), Andreu (McGrath 64), Durmus (Hodson 79), Obika
Subs Not Used: Lyness, K.McAllister, Mullen, Cooke

Hibernian: Marciano, Gray (McGinn 46), McGregor, Hanlon, Stevenson, Omeonga, Newell (Docherty 52), Boyle, Allan, Horgan (McNulty 59), Doidge
Subs Not Used: Bogdan, James, Hallberg, Murray

Referee: David Munro
Assistant Referee: Calum Spence
Assistant Referee: Ross MacLeod
Fourth Official: Don Robertson

Attendance: 16,325 (552 St Mirren fans)

Gallery pictures by Craig Brown © 

Pretty football was rarely on display in Paisley as Saints and Aberdeen played out a goalless draw.

The Dons had the better of the first half and could have had a penalty when Conor McCarthy appeared to pull back Sam Cosgrove at the edge of the box. Despite the visitors being on top, it was the Buddies who should have been in front at the break as Jon Obika intercepted a slack backpass only to hit the post.

Saints improved after the break with Ilkay Durmus and Tony Andreu going closest with Aberdeen chances few and far between as the spoils ended up being shared.

Durmus and Andreu were back in the team in place of Paul McGinn and Kyle Magennis, the latter out for the season after he suffered a horrific knee injury against Rangers during the week. There was some good news on the bench though with Kirk Broadfoot returning to the squad after recovering from injury. Cosgrove led the attack for the visitors, who handed a debut to new signing Matty Kennedy.

Junior Morias had an early shot blocked for the Buddies, with Ash Taylor heading wide from a corner at the other end. Buddies keeper Vaclav Hladky is normally pretty reliable with his feet but sold Akin Famewo short with a pass that allowed Niall McGinn to pounce with the goal gaping, the on-loan Norwich City defender getting enough of himself in the way of the forward's shot to divert it over for a corner. Another uncharacteristic mistake from the Saints goalie allowed McGinn to get a cross in but Hladky recovered just in time to gather the ball as Cosgrove lurked dangerously.

The chance in the opening few minutes was pretty much all the Buddies had to show for their efforts in the opening quarter, Cammy MacPherson failing to find the target from long range in a rare attack. The Dons fans were screaming for a penalty moments later as McCarthy pulled back Cosgrove, however the officials were unmoved. Replays suggested it was a foul, the main issue being whether it was inside or out of the area. Another great chance for the visitors came when a corner wasn't properly cleared and the ball found Scott McKenna just inside the box, the big defender seeing his scooped shot deflected over off McCarthy.

With all the Dons pressure, a Saints goal would have been totally against the run of play – yet one should have come five minutes before the break. Dylan McGeouch was short with a back-pass and it was picked off by Obika who had plenty of time to steady himself as he bent a shot around Joe Lewis only to see it agonisingly hit the post before being hacked to safety. It was the closest either side had come and the Buddies had another chance just before the interval, McCarthy heading a MacPherson free-kick straight at Lewis.

Durmus fired an early sighter well over as hostilities resumed, Lewis then getting down well to save Andreu's shot from the winger's cross. Hladky was barely troubled when Cosgrove's header from a corner found the target before Saints had another chance, Morias' long throw being knocked down to skipper Sam Foley whose volley failed to find the target. Durmus had scored the winner when the sides met in Paisley at the start of the season and he seemed determined to do some more damage, this time curling a shot over the bar from a tight angle.

The visitors hadn't threatened much in the second half but some neat passing found Lewis Ferguson at the edge of the box only for him to shoot wide. Some frantic defending just about got Saints off the hook at a free-kick as Aberdeen pushed on, sub Ryan Hedges lashing a shot wide and Hladky saving Funso Ojo's long range effort. However, while they had plenty of the ball, they created few chances and on the basis of the second half Saints fully deserved their point.

Full-Time: St Mirren 0-0 Aberdeen

St Mirren: Hladky, Flynn, McCarthy, Famewo, Waters, MacPherson, Foley (c), Andreu (Cooke 80), Durmus (P.McGinn 90), Morias, Obika
Subs Not Used: Lyness, Broadfoot, Erhahon, Henderson, Mullen

Aberdeen: Lewis, Logan, McKenna, Taylor, Considine, Ojo, McGeouch (Hedges 72), Ferguson, N.McGinn (Anderson 85), Kennedy, Cosgrove
Subs Not Used: Cerny, Devlin, Campbell, Gallagher, Main

Referee: Don Robertson
Assistant Referee: David Doig
Assistant Referee: Ralph Gordon
Fourth Official: Grant Irvine

Attendance: 5,302

Gallery pictures by Allan Picken © - Allan Picken Photography