St Mirren

Charlotte Cohen
BBC Sport Scotland

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The reaction from Stephen Robinson at the full-time whistle proved just how crucial this victory could prove to be in deciding whether or not St Mirren finish in the top six.

They sit in sixth spot for now, two points ahead of Dundee who travel to Ibrox next weekend.

The first half performance will have been exactly what Robinson wanted, attacking intent, creating chances but just unable to turn them in - and that was punished by Kirk's second-half equaliser.

It looked to be even worse for Robinson's men when Kimpioka struck.

But they rallied impressively and when Mooney made sure it would be a day to remember St Mirren did not stop, pushing all the way to the whistle.

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St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson: "I thought we were outstanding in the first half, it was probably our best away performance of the season.

"We started the second half completely different, credit to St Johnstone as well they started brightly.

"I have to credit the players because after the second goal it's easy to crumble. Last week we questioned the organisation and the desire to defend the box and be clinical at the other end. We proved that today and got a little bit of luck with the penalty having to be re-taken.

"We deserved a little bit of luck today with our first half performance and our response to going 2-1 down.

"We don't feel Richard Taylor's injury is quite as bad as it appeared, it looked like Mark O'Hara tore his thigh as he took the penalty.

"We've been on the end of some strange decisions but I think the handball was the clearest decision you could see. I didn't watch either of the penalties so I didn't see if Josh Rae was off his line or not.

"I thought we were very good first half and should have been more up. But ultimately we showed great character to come back. for the younger kids to come on and shine today, I'm absolutely delighted."

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Evan Mooney, who turned 17 just three days ago, marked his second St Mirren appearance with a cracking equaliser which ultimately proved vital as they secured all three points at McDiarmid Park.

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St Johnstone have Andre Raymond and Bozo Mikulic back but Barry Douglas remains out along with long-term absentees Uche Ikpeazu (knee), Cammy MacPherson (hip) and Sam McClelland (Achilles).

The suspended Alex Gogic drops out for St Mirren but Alex Iacovitti could return. Charles Dunne remains out with a hamstring problem.

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Stephen Robinson admits he doesn't have the luxury of time on Alex Iacovitti's return as he prepares to fast-track the St Mirren defender back into action.

The Buddies are without the suspended Alex Gogic for Saturday's game with St Johnstone and Charles Dunne is out due to a hamstring injury.

Iacovitti has not played since August 31 but has now recovered from a hamstring tendon injury and could provide the "leadership and aggression" Robinson is seeking after St Mirren conceded costly set-piece goals two weeks in a row.

"Alex is very close to full fitness. We haven't had the luxury of getting a game into him. He was on the bench last week, but sometimes needs must, and he's a very professional boy, and he provides that for us," said the Buddies boss.

"He might have to be thrown in long before he's firing on all cylinders, with our injury situations and suspensions.

"Alex gives you that aggression and leadership. A real organiser, a guy who doesn't want goals to go in the back of the net.

"Sometimes you get modern defenders who are more interested on the ball, but he's a wee bit old-school, which we like. You need variation. We feel when he's fully fit, he'll provide that.

"We've lost two games now where we should have had points from last-minute goals and last-minute set plays.

"You can do all the work in the world, but you have to have people that want to go and head the ball and dominate and do the dirty bits of football to gain them points, and we have to be better at that.

"Alex Iacovitti can give us that when he's fully fit. We believe he can go and dominate that six-yard box, Mika Mandron when he's on the pitch as well."

David Currie
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Stephen Robinson turned 50 this week. Happy (belated) birthday! According to my calculations that makes his star sign Sagittarius.

I did a quick search on the internet – and apparently Sagittarians are passionate, curious, intense and adaptable.

If you watch Robinson on the sidelines on any given Saturday afternoon there's definitely passion and intensity in spades.

As for adaptability, well, the Buddies boss has had a lot to cope with this season. The club 'parting company' with three new first-team players early in the season because of separate legal issues isn't the sort of thing you can prepare for.

Then there's the European hangover. It's hard to deny the adventures in Iceland and Norway had an impact on the early-season form and I won't mention one or two (or three or four) refereeing decisions that even non-Sagittarians might consider curious.

And yet St Mirren are just a point and a few goals outside the top six. So I guess that's proof of adapting to whatever slings and arrows outrageous fortune can fire at a football manager.

If you're a pessimist, or a Capricorn maybe, you could say the Buddies are six points and a few goals off the bottom. True.

After a four-game unbeaten streak they've lost two on the spin without scoring. To make sure that losing streak isn't extended further, Robinson might tweak St Mirren's style a bit, maybe he'll just try to get his team to be better at being St Mirren.

Evidence from earlier in the season indicates the latter is more likely. I'll cite the manner in which they bounced back from the 4-0 defeat by Hearts to run Rangers close at Ibrox then go four games unbeaten as evidence.

The Buddies will have to adapt to playing without Alex Gogic this weekend against St Johnstone after his red card in defeat by Motherwell.

The Cyrpus international has been the backbone of the defence in the past couple of seasons and could be sorely missed.

St Mirren have four matches before the transfer window opens in the new year – and they all look tough. Away trips to Perth and Dingwall this side of Christmas Day, then home games against Rangers and Dundee.

After that we might get an idea how realistic another top-six finish is – or how close a fight for Premiership survival might be.

Reinforcements will be on the way in January, the manager has already drawn up a longlist of potential recruits. He wants more pace and energy in the team to shake things up a bit.

Look, I know astrology is a load of unscientific rubbish, but that's typical Sagittarian behaviour.

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• St Johnstone have only lost one of their last 11 home league meetings with St Mirren (W7 D3), going down 1-0 in April 2022. The Perth side have kept nine clean sheets in this spell.

• St Mirren have won three of their last four top-flight meetings with St Johnstone (L1), as many as their previous 12 beforehand (D6 L3).

• In 2024, St Johnstone have picked up fewer home points (10) and lost more home matches (10) in the Scottish Premiership than any other side.

• Only Ross County (3) have earned fewer away points in the Premiership this season than St Mirren (4), who have lost six of their last eight on the road in the competition (W1 D1).

• Both of St Johnstone's last two league goals have been scored by 20-year-old Makenzie Kirk. A goal against St Mirren will see Kirk become the youngest player to score in successive league appearances for the Perth club (20 years, 312 days) since Ali McCann in February 2020 (20y 63d).

Andrew Christie
Fan writer

At its best, football is a fine wine. At its worst, it's the gin I made in my bath that one Christmas that "ruined the holidays for everyone".

Games have started to drift towards the latter in the past month of St Mirren. Inclement Scottish winter, an excess of tactically similar neutralising teams and an outbreak of main character syndrome among the country's officials have contributed to a series of dour spectacles.

The 0-0 draw with Ross County, the 2-0 defeat to Dundee United, and most recently Saturday's 1-0 loss to Motherwell – these aren't just results, they're a diagnostic report on our current footballing malaise.

Take the weekend's defeat to Motherwell; Tony Watt's 94th-minute headed winner a vindictive full stop on a grammatical error of a football match.

The game was turgid and attritional. It was bad. Made worse by referee Dan McFarlane switching between overly officious prefect and a bird that thinks it is night when you put a sheet over its cage.

As the Motherwell celebrations filled the SMISA, one fundamental truth became inescapable: good teams find ways to win these games. Sometimes football is about industrial persistence, about being more streetwise than your opponent, about understanding that beauty is occasionally found in pure, unadulterated pragmatism.

Right now, St Mirren are drinking 15% hazy craft IPAs out of a cracked Tennent's glass. We're overthinking when we should be overwhelming, analysing when we should be action taking. Games like these are so often won in moments of stubborn determination.

Motherwell knew this. They played a canny game, understanding precisely what was required. They were trying to win a football match with the tools available to them - however blunt they may be. And win it they did.

For St Mirren, the message is clear: it's time to get ugly. Not metaphorically - literally. We need to develop a tactical personality that can turn these cold, grey, sodden Scottish afternoons into points on the board. Less philosophy, more function. Less contemplation, more confrontation.

No points for style. In football, only the result matters.

Andrew Christie can be found at Misery Hunters, external

Watch highlights of St Mirren's 1-0 defeat against Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership. (UK only)

We asked for your views on St Mirren's 1-0 defeat against Motherwell.

Here's what some of you said:

Eddie: Too many players not performing. Confidence seems low. Players don't have the confidence to try something different. Manager needs to give some of our youngsters a chance.

Craig: St Mirren should be walking away with three points, the only team who tried to play football. Seen some awful football from away sides at our ground over the course of the season so far, but Motherwell have to be the worst side I've seen in terms of attractive football. The ball was played in the air for most of the match from them. I'm very disappointed in the Saints.

James: St Mirren were blunt up front despite looking the better team. They currently create very few actual chances and, unless that changes, they will always be open to losing games by conceding a late goal. They need to look for another striker in January to complement Toyosi Olusanya.

Ian: Poor yet again from St Mirren. Couldn't manage to see the game out. Needless foul to give away and now a man down for the next game. Sorry but I can't see any wins coming in the next few games. We are on the slide, hard times ahead.

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• Motherwell have a record of W5, D0, L0 when scoring the opening goal in the Premiership this season.

• St Mirren have failed to score in six of their 16 games, only Ross County (eight) have failed to score more often in the Premiership this season.

• Lennon Miller has assisted five goals in the Premiership this season (one in this game), more than any other Motherwell player.

• St Mirren have a record of W1, D0, L6 when conceding the opening goal in the Premiership this season.

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St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson: "I thought it was a poor game, there wasn't a lot of quality on show because the weather made it difficult to play any kind of football.

"We had the better chances but we didn't take them and you're always open to losing a goal.

"The disappointing thing is we didn't have enough people leading the last minute to make sure we didn't concede a goal.

"We showed a lack of quality and composure, I thought we were the better team on the day but if you don't take your chances, be as creative as you should be, that's a few weeks now where we haven't had that end product.

"We have to have leaders, we have to have people to stand up in those moments.

"We'll try and recruit in January to get a little bit more invention into the team in forward areas for competition.

"Ultimately we lose the game on a free-kick, you have to do the basics right and we didn't do that in the last minute of the game."

The striker netted his first of the season when he turned in Lennon Miller's free-kick.

Alex Gogic picked up a second yellow card and was sent off just before the winning goal for Stuart Kettlewell's side.

They now move to within two points of Dundee United and two ahead of Dundee in sixth.

St Mirren missed the chance to break into the top six and drop a point behind Tony Docherty's men.

Saints fans, were you at the game or following the action from home? Have your say on the match., external

Charlotte Cohen
BBC Sport Scotland

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St Mirren looked like the better side for the most part in Paisley but just lacked any sort of edge in front of goal.

Conor McMenamin looked a threat and second-half substitutes Mikael Mandron and Roland Idowu also appeared to make a difference when they came on.

Breaking into the top six wasn't to be for Stephen Robinson's side but they're just one point behind Dundee in sixth, and three clear of Ross County in eighth.

They will now prepare for a trip to St Johnstone next weekend to try and crack the top half again.

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If not for Tony Watt, Motherwell looked like they were heading for a fourth game without a win. His striker's instincts were evident when he smashed his header into the back of the St Mirren goal.

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St Mirren's Charles Dunne will get scans on a hamstring complaint but fellow defender Alex Iacovitti has trained for two weeks after recovering from a hamstring injury and might be involved.

Stephen O'Donnell is close to a Motherwell return after hamstring trouble but might have to wait another week while Sam Nicholson will be gradually reintroduced after recovering from a knee injury.

Tom Sparrow (ankle), Ross Callachan (hamstring), Paul McGinn (thigh), Callum Slattery (knee), Jack Vale (calf) and Zach Robinson (Achilles) remain out.

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St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson says "common sense prevailed" after Marcus Fraser's red card in the 2-0 loss at Dundee United last weekend was overturned by a fast-track tribunal.

Defender Fraser - who is now available to face Motherwell on Saturday - was given a yellow card after clashing with Louis Moult inside the box before it was changed to red when referee Matthew MacDermid checked the video replay.

St Mirren's subsequent appeal was upheld, and Robinson said: "Common sense prevailed, so credit to the review panel.

"There's a transparency now. Willie [Collum, head of referee operations at the Scottish FA] is open to speaking about it.

"The club spoke to him and obviously we had a meeting, which Brian Kerr [assistant manager] attended. And everyone's trying to make things better, everybody's trying to improve things.

"Everyone's trying to make the whole situation better, VAR, refereeing and the standard of football, everybody's trying to do the same.

"Human beings make mistakes and VAR is there to correct those decisions when they do.

"It didn't on that occasion. It has done on plenty of occasions. If I use the Alex Gogic example against Aberdeen [red downgraded to yellow on the pitch], it worked very well, so not everything's really poor about it."

Motherwell have suffered three defeats in a row, but Stuart Kettlewell's side still remain one point ahead of St Mirren in the Premiership table.

"Everyone has a little [poor] spell and we had our spell. They've got a good squad, they've got a good manager," added Robinson.

"It'll be a tough game. There's not a lot between the two teams in any of the games that have been played."

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• St Mirren have only won one of their last nine home games against Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership (D4 L4), a 1-0 victory in January 2023.

• After their 2-1 win in September, Motherwell are looking to earn back-to-back Scottish Premiership victories over St Mirren for only the third time since the Buddies' returned to the division in 2018, having previously done so in December 2019 and July 2022.

• St Mirren have won four of their eight home league games this season (D2 L2), more than their final 11 such matches of 2023-24 (W3 D2 L6).

• Since a goalless draw with Ross County in their opening match this season, none of Motherwell's last 13 league games have ended level (W6 L7). They've lost their last three in a row, last losing four consecutively in October 2023.

• Motherwell's Lennon Miller has created more chances from set play than any other player in the Scottish Premiership this season (18), with all four of his assists also coming via set pieces.