St Mirren

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St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson told BBC Scotland: "We're happy with a draw away from home. It's another point towards the ultimate goal of top six. You can't expect to turn up and get three points.

"The goal [we conceded] was disappointing. One long ball into the box and we watched the ball instead of marking men. That's the biggest disappointment, but we had good opportunities.

"We had a couple of half chances, but Motherwell are a decent side. Bair is a threat, Spittal is a good player, and they always have the ability to hurt you.

"The boys have been fantastic all season and we have to remember that. An away point against Motherwell is a really good result for us.

"I've always tapered everyone's ambitions. We're in total control of [whether we get top six]. We have a winnable game against Hearts at home and I've got nothing but praise for the boys."

What did you make of that St Mirren fans? A deserved point, or two dropped?

Who impressed you out there, and who didn't? Tell us your thoughts here.

Andrew Petrie, BBC Sport Scotland

Despite what some may tell you, this was a highly entertaining clash between two equally strong sides.

Both played with attacking intent, enjoyed spells of momentum and showed plenty of fight. What they lacked though, was accuracy in the final third.

St Mirren looked relatively solid, if a little undeserving of their initial lead. However, they showed confidence in the second half and should be frustrated not to leave with all three points.

The main conundrum for Stephen Robinson is still who plays in his midfield. To have Keanu Baccus and Kwon Hyeok-kyu on the bench shows the strength in depth, but who is his best pairing?

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Mark O'Hara. It's felt like a stop-start season for O'Hara but he's finally getting back to the form he showed last year, where he was one of the best player's in the Premiership outside the Old Firm.

Alongside Caolan Boyd-Munce, he dominated the middle of the park and gave St Mirren an anchor when they pressed up high.

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Motherwell: Kelly, O'Donnell, Casey, McGinn, Devine, Halliday, Zdravkovski, Gent, Spittal, Vale, Bair.

Substitutes: Oxborough, Mugabi, Shaw, Nicholson, Blaney, Moses, Miller, Ross, Butcher.

St Mirren: Hemming, Bolton, Gogic, Fraser, Strain, O'Hara, Boyd-Munce, Tanser, Kiltie, Mandron, Olusanya.

Substitutes: Urminsky, Dunne, Taylor, Bwomono, Baccus, Kwon, McMenamin, Scott, Ayunga.

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Former St Mirren winger Lewis Morgan, who is now playing in the MLS, still hopes for a Scotland recall - despite both of his caps coming under Alex McLeish in 2018 and not being part of the international scene for five years. (Football Scotland)

Read the rest of Saturday's gossip.

Barry Maguire, Adam Montgomery, Jon Obika, Harry Paton and Callum Slattery have missed recent Motherwell games.

St Mirren defender Ryan Strain has been recovering from groin surgery.

St Mirren will not allow "18 bad minutes" at Kilmarnock define their season, according to assistant manager Diarmuid O’Carroll.

Having led 2-0 at half time, the Saints conceded five in a stunning second half comeback from Derek McInnes' side in their final game before the international break.

O'Carroll insists "spirits are still really high" as the fifth-placed side target a top six finish, with just three games remaining before the split.

“It was a crazy, crazy second half but from our point of view 18 bad minutes doesn’t define our season,” O'Carroll said.

“It was a challenge for us for 18 minutes and we look back, assess it, look at the goals, how we can do things better.

“But I think these boys have earned the right to have a bad half or 20 minutes. They have been so consistent all season and even if it was a 2-2 or a 2-1 win, we would assess the goals accordingly, we would look at where we could improve and what we could do better in terms of game management but it is one of those that you put to bed.

“It was probably good that it was a couple of weeks ago but the boys have been fantastic all season and the spirits are still really high.”

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• Motherwell's Blair Spittal has been directly involved in nine goals in his last nine home appearances in the Scottish Premiership (five goals and four assists), with six of his seven league goals this season coming at Fir Park.

• St Mirren went unbeaten in their first four away league games of the season (W2 D2) but have lost eight of their 11 games on the road since (W2 D1), failing to score in six of those defeats.

• Motherwell have lost their last two home league games and could lose three in a row at Fir Park in the top-flight for the first time since November 2022; the Steelman have conceded the most home goals (26) and lost the joint-most home games (seven) in the competition this season.

• St Mirren have won two of their last four games against Motherwell in the league (drew one and lost one), as many victories as across their 13 matches prior (drew five and lost six); meanwhile the Buddies could keep three straight clean sheets against the Well in the top-flight for the first time since February 2007.

• Motherwell have lost just one of their last five home league meetings with St Mirren (W3 D1) though it did come earlier this season, losing 1-0 at Fir Park with Scott Tanser scoring the only goal of the game.

St Mirren return to action following the international break by visiting Motherwell on Saturday.

Who should Stephen Robinson include in his XI? Pick your team here.

Mark Jardine
Fan writer

In years gone by, international weekends were cause for Saints fans to switch off from football for a bit. A welcome break in most campaigns, in all honesty.

Not in 2024, not now. Today, 26 March, represents something of a Super Tuesday for Buddies and will have phones across Renfrewshire lighting up with the football scores app of their choice.

No fewer than four current St Mirren players may have added to (or started) their cap collection by the evening's end.

Keanu Baccus, a scorer of a goal in his last appearance for the Socceroos that none would have intended yet all would claim, unfortunately didn't feature for the Aussies against Lebanon on Tuesday morning.

However, Elvis Bwomono, St Mirren's right wing-back deputy in the place of Ryan Strain (who may well have added to this cohort if fit), should feature against Ghana for a Ugandan side reeling from a big defeat in Comoros last week.

Jonah Ayunga, as if recovering from a near full year on the sidelines with a serious knee injury this season wasn't enough, made his debut for Kenya as a late substitute on Saturday.

While the powerful frontman will be hoping for more than a few minutes when Kenya take on Zimbabwe, forcing himself into a front line which put four past Malawi at the weekend may be a tough task.

Finally, a couple of Saints will both be hoping for international recognition at the venue nearest their current Paisley home.

Conor McMenamin, having made his 12th international appearance in Romania on Friday, will fancy his chances of more time in Michael O'Neill's team. His cousin, playmaker Caolan Boyd-Munce, travelled on the same trip but was not called upon to take his international bow.

While a healthy Scotland victory is all I'll really be hoping for tonight, seeing a couple of Saints share the Hampden turf on international duty would be a source of significant pride too.

You can find Mark Jardine on the Misery Hunters podcast, external.

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There could be a couple of familiar faces for St Mirren fans when Northern Ireland face Scotland at Hampden on Tuesday.

Conor McMenamin will be looking to add to his 12 Northern Ireland caps, while Caolan Boyd-Munce could make his international debut for the visitors.

"My next step has to be to get my first cap," Boyd-Munce said earlier in the international break.

"I think this is my fourth call-up but it’s the first one where I have been in from the start. The others I’ve been on stand-by.

"I do feel ready for it. I feel comfortable with where I’m at. I’m understanding the game a lot more up here.

"I’d be getting booed left, right and centre [if I play against Scotland] and that would be from my team-mates watching! Under the lights at Hampden would be some experience."

We asked you whether St Mirren can still secure European football as we approach the final stretch of the season.

Here's a taste of what you had to say:

James: Top six is our first priority - I think! Although, playing the rest of the top six in the last five games would need better defending than at Rugby Park if we are to avoid being embarrassed. After the split there is no hiding place.

Alistair: We threw it away in 18 minutes last week in my opinion. We have a tougher run in and our results against those in the top six aren’t great. Killie will make fourth so it’ll be down to us and whoever makes it at sixth.

Dougie: This year has been a rollercoaster, a start to season only dreams were made of, to days of nightmares such as Rugby Park. I, like many fans have the blinkered eyes we should win every week. As a small club fan, we are one team and one town. I remember the 80s European games, I only hope by any miracles that come the way of Saints we get to do it again.

Rory: With players like Mandron leading the line, there’s no doubt that we will have trouble scoring any goals. However, the sooner players like Ryan Flynn and Charles “Chilli D” Dunne don’t play again, the better we will be holding onto those leads. We may need a Killie collapse to confirm fourth, though.

Anon: It has, so far, been a good season for the Saints and we undoubtedly have the quality within the squad to finish fourth. Although, I am not convinced in the striking department. Mandron doesn't do it for me, can't jump or run. I wish Grieve was back with his speed and work-rate.

Hughie: Prior to the Kilmarnock game I was confident about us securing top six status and possibly being in a position to challenge for a European place. Since Kilmarnock? I'm not so sure about either, to be honest.

We're firmly into the business end of the season.

St Mirren are on a mission to secure back-to-back top-six finishes and book a trip to Europe. We want to know how you're feeling heading into the final weeks of the campaign.

How confident are you that you'll be packing your suitcase in the summer? Who will be the key players in the fight for Europe? And what's your biggest concern that could trip the Buddies up?

Give us your thoughts.

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St Mirren midfielder Keanu Baccus scored his first international goal as Australia beat Lebanon 2-0 in a World Cup qualifier in Sydney.

The 25-year-old gave the Socceroos the lead in the fifth minute, as his attempted cross looped over the keeper into the far corner.

Hearts defender Kye Rowles then made sure of the victory in the second half with a well-taken strike.

Mark Jardine
Fan writer

Do I have to talk about this again? Really? Fine!

Since Saturday evening, most of my mental tussle regarding that second half has been to tell myself “but think of Aberdeen, of Easter Road…” and to accept that the football lord can both giveth and taketh away.

The other part of my brain, the louder and more indignant part, has been screaming the words MARLEY WATKINS at a volume which makes me think I might never know inner peace ever again.

For 45 enjoyable minutes, St Mirren seemed to have judged this trip to Kilmarnock just right. Solid in defence, aggressive in their pressing and savvy from set pieces. The Saints went in for their half time oranges in possession of a deserved two-goal lead and the loud backing of a substantial travelling support.

What followed was nightmare stuff, genuinely haunting. Alex Gogic & Charles Dunne are reasonably likely to wake up in a cold sweat in the early hours during this international break, having dreamt that David Watson is running at them again or that Kyle Vassell is hovering over their shoulder.

In essence, the St Mirren and Kilmarnock sides of 2024 seem to be fairly evenly matched. Robust, clever, hard-working and liable to produce a bit of quality when it’s needed. The Saints showed that in the first half, Kilmarnock showed that and then some in the second. A deserved win for the home side and a lesson to be learned by the visitors.

All sides hovering around fourth and fifth are created equal, but some are more equal than others.

Mark Jardine can be found on the Misery Hunters podcast, external.

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St Mirren's five-goal collapse at Rugby Park is "absolutely unforgivable", according to former Scotland striker Kenny Miller.

The Buddies were cruising to a huge victory that would have seen them move five points clear of Kilmarnock in fourth place, only for a whirlwind second-half spell to blow them away.

"For St Mirren to concede five goals in that period of time, it's absolutely unforgivable," Miller told BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"It's almost impossible to lose than many goals in 18 minutes. There will be a lot of analysis and autopsy of what's gone on from a St Mirren perspective."

Ayr United winger Aiden McGeady says he was surprised by the fragility of a typically solid Saints defence.

"It's so unlike them," he added. "To lose that many goals in such a short space of time is extremely worrying.

"It was an incredible comeback. Normally, they're so well set up. I was watching the highlights with my dad and he couldn't believe it."