St Mirren

We asked for your thoughts after St Mirren fell to a 3-2 defeat at Celtic Park - despite leading twice in the first half.

Here's what some of you said:

Douglas: A good performance from Saints but baffled that the game finished on 89 minutes and 56 seconds. How? 10 subs used and Hart's two minutes salute to the Celtic fans.

Eddie: Three poor defensive mistakes led to the goals, however we played a lot of good football. Celtic are the best team in the country for a reason as soon as we made mistakes their good players know how to punish teams. I want to thank every player who played for us this season. I wish good luck to the ones who move on.

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson: "It's another really good performance against Celtic, arguably the best we've played, the longest period we've played well. The second goal's a really poor goal to concede. The third goal's really poor. We just switched off.

"It just shows how far we've come that perhaps we're disappointed not to get a point. They were very, very good as a team. As a collective this season, I'm very proud of them."

Celtic ended their successful Scottish Premiership defence with an enthralling win against feisty St Mirren before being presented with the league trophy in the Glasgow sunshine.

Matt O'Riley cancelled out Mark O'Hara's opener for St Mirren but O'Hara scored again from the penalty spot after Stephen Welsh had fouled Toyosi Olusanya.

Kyogo Furuhashi struck Celtic level before the break and Luis Palma forced in their late winner.

Brendan Rodgers' side end their league season with 93 points and an eight-point advantage at the top.

St Mirren, in fifth, post a points return of 47 in their second successive season finishing in the top half.

Were you at St Mirren's 3-2 defeat by Celtic or following the match from home? Either way, we want your views on the game – have your say here.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers made six changes to his starting line-up and it's unlikely next Saturday's Scottish Cup final line-up against Rangers will resemble this one.

The manager has relied largely on predecessor Ange Postecoglou's team to get Celtic over the line in the league title race and a similar approach at Hampden would not be a surprise.

St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson spoke pre-match about the need to score during periods of ascendancy and Mark O'Hara delivered on that front with two goals.

Defensively, they were put under enormous pressure in the second half and almost held out.

All in all, the entertainment on show was a fitting end to the Scottish Premiership season for both the champions and Europe-bound St Mirren.

Champions Celtic make six changes to the starting line-up for their final Scottish Premiership fixture of the season.

Kyogo Furuhashi, Nicolas Kuhn, Maik Nawrocki, Luis Palma, Anthony Ralston and Stephen Welsh start with Cameron Carter-Vickers, James Forrest, Adam Idah, Alastair Johnston, Daizen Maeda and Liam Scales dropping to the bench.

St Mirren make four changes to their line-up. Elvis Bwomono Caolin Boyd-Munce, Marcus Fraser and Toyosi Olusanya replace James Brown, Jaden Brown, Mickael Mandron and James Scott, who are all on the bench.

Celtic: Hart, Ralston, Welsh, Nawrocki, Taylor, O'Riley, McGregor, Hatate, Kuhn, Furuhashi, Palma.

Substitutes: Johnston, Scales, Idah, Carter-Vickers, Iwata, Bernardo, Bain, Maeda, Forrest.

St Mirren: Hemming, Fraser, Gogic, Taylor, Bwomono, Baccus, O'Hara, Boyd-Munce, Tanser, McMenamin, Olusanya.

Substitutes: Bolton, Flynn, Mandron, Scott, Dunne, Brown, Strain, Jamieson, Urminsky.

Celtic have a full squad for their title party while St Mirren will assess several players who are nursing niggles but hope to have an unchanged pool for their final league game of the season.

The Buddies are still without Greg Kiltie, Jonah Ayunga and Kwon Hyeok-kyu.

Image source, SNS

Image source, SNS

St Mirren's performances against the Old Firm have merited points on the board, says assistant manager Diarmuid O'Carroll.

The Buddies have enjoyed a successful season - qualifying for European football for the first time in 37 years - but have endured a rotten record against Celtic and Rangers.

Having lost seven out of seven meetings with the Glasgow outfits this term, O'Carroll is eyeing an eye-catching result when they travel to the champions on trophy day.

“We are trying to finish on a high,” he said.

“We are due a result from our performances against the Old Firm. We are yet to do it so we would love to do it on Saturday.

“We got five points off Celtic and Rangers last season. Obviously that doesn’t sound that many out of 24 but when you consider the gulf between the size of clubs, five points can be massive. Last year it was about a ninth of our total tally.

“We haven’t managed to do it this year. We have had lots of positive praise from the managers, lots of positive praise from players for how we play and how we set up.

“We will stick with our plan, we are preparing the exact same way and it would be fantastic to be able to go there and win.”

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• Celtic have won seven of their last eight meetings with St Mirren in all competitions (D1) since a 2-0 defeat in September 2022. Indeed, the Hoops have already beaten the Buddies four times this season; only in 1990-91 (5) have they ever won more against them in a single campaign.

• St Mirren have won just one of their last 35 visits to Celtic in all competitions (D3 L31), a 2-1 victory in January 2021 under Jim Goodwin.

• Celtic have only lost their final league game (incl. curtailed 2019-20 season) in one of their last 16 seasons (W13 D2), going down 1-0 to Aberdeen in 2017-18. They have also won in each of the last four occasions that their last league match of a campaign was against St Mirren.

• St Mirren are winless and goalless in the final match of their last three league seasons (D2 L1), losing their final game 3-0 to Rangers last term.

• Celtic have been crowned 2023-24 Scottish Premiership champions, meaning they have won the league title in 12 of the last 13 seasons – including all four in which Brendan Rodgers has been in charge (including 2018-19 when he left mid-season).

• Celtic’s Matt O’Riley has been directly involved in 30 Scottish Premiership goals this season (17 goals, 13 assists), the most by a player in a single campaign since Leigh Griffiths in 2015-16 (36 – 31 goals, 5 assists).

Could St Mirren spoil Celtic's trophy day party?

That'll be the aim for Stephen Robinson's men, who come off the back of a 2-2 draw with Hearts in their final home game of the season.

With European football already secured, is this a chance to see some unfamiliar faces?

Put yourself in the manager's shoes and pick your St Mirren XI here.

Sportscene pundits Neil McCann and Charlie Mulgrew discuss Europe-bound St Mirren's memorable season and the impact of manager Stephen Robinson. (Available to UK users only)

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We asked for your views after St Mirren's 1-1 draw with Hearts on Wednesday night.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Douglas: We probably should have shaded it. I said after the first 15 minutes that we would rue the missed chances, and that's how it turned out. Hearts took their chances when they came and the equalising goal was the act of a natural goalscorer, difficult to fault your defence when that goes in! Not a bad advert for an end-of-season game.

Gordon: I didn't think it was particularly scrappy, in fact it was a very entertaining match. St Mirren played well and were unlucky not to win. Class finish from Lawrence Shankland I have to admit.

Malcolm: Great atmosphere at the SMISA last night created by both sets of supporters. St Mirren probably deserved to win the match, but seem to have an issue with taking their chances. However, the goal from Shankland was absolutely phenomenal. Probably the best goal I have ever seen live.

Watch the best of the action of St Mirren and Hearts share four goals in Paisley. (Available to UK users only)

Lawrence Shankland grabbed his 30th Hearts goal of the season in stunning style to rescue a draw against St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership.

The Hearts captain came on as a second-half substitute to shake up a heavily rotated side, and typically came up with a vital moment of brilliance.

After Alex Cochrane's corner was flicked on, Shankland hooked a shot back over his shoulder while facing away from goal, and the ball dropped over St Mirren goalkeeper Zach Hemming.

It was the highlight of a scrappy end-of-season game with nothing at stake, with Hearts having wrapped up third and St Mirren securing fifth and a Europa Conference League spot.

Stephen Robinson's side were the better team for most of the game, starting quickly and getting themselves in front when James Scott hooked in his first for the club.

When Hearts levelled through Kyosuke Tagawa it was against the run of play, and St Mirren were perhaps ruing some of their missed opportunities.

That was until Caolan Boyd-Munce whipped in a brilliant cross from the left for James Bolton, who nodded the home side back in front.

But it was fitting that Shankland, having had such a dream season, got to number 30 in such style, emphasising his importance to Hearts.

Were you at SMiSA Stadium or following the match from home? Either way, we want your views on the game – have your say here.

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson: "I thought it was a really good game. Our press was poor in the first half and they played it round us at times. Second half we were much better and it could have been a lot more.

"A draw was probably a fair result and Lawrence Shankland didn't deserve to be on the losing side with a finish like that. He seems to save his best goals for against us.

"I was really pleased with a lot of things. James Scott to get his first goal. He'll be a different player next season. He was low on confidence when he came, and we're trying to build him back up again.

"Jaden and Richard got minutes which they deserved for their training standards of late. There were a lot of good performers without naming everybody.

"It's 1926 the last time St Mirren got a tally like this in the top flight. The players deserve every bit of credit. You can see the togetherness between fans and players.

"They've drove us on at times and the players have drove them on too."

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Thomas Duncan, BBC Sport Scotland

St Mirren will be in Europe next season, after Dundee's defeat at Ibrox on Tuesday confirmed they will compete in continental competition for the first time since 1987.

This game typified what they have done well this season to get into that position. Off the ball they are brilliant at squeezing teams, and when they win it they get forward quickly and bombard the box.

Keanu Baccus was outstanding and it is a shame he looks likely to move on with his contract up, but they are in safe hands with Robinson at the helm.

The Northern Irishman has overseen progress again this season, and he will relish taking this team into the Conference League qualifiers.

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The line-ups have a very end-of-season feel to them in Paisley as St Mirren make four changes.

Ryan Strain, Marcus Fraser, Caolan Boyd-Munce, and Toyosi Olusanya drop out. In come Jadon Brown, Richard Taylor, Keanu Baccus, and James Scott.

• Follow the action

Image source, BBC Sport

Image source, SNS

Shaun Rooney says he's "thrilled" to join Europe-bound St Mirren after admitting to turning the Paisley club down previously.

The 27-year-old, who propelled St Johnstone to a historic cup double in 2021, returns to Scotland after a two-year spell with Fleetwood Town.

“I’m thrilled to be joining a team like St Mirren that has just confirmed European football,” he told club media.

“It’s good to be coming back home. St Mirren wanted to sign me two years ago before I went to Fleetwood and I had a good chat with the manager, but I just wanted to try new things.

“The club being interested in me again is obviously a positive sign.

“It’s a club that’s close to home and one I know a lot about it. I was on trial when I was younger as well.

“I spoke to Marcus Fraser and he gave high reviews. I asked what the team was looking like for next season and he only said positive things so I can’t wait to get started and meet the boys.”

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Stephen Robinson will look to build a side that can have a "right good crack" at Europe, says Sunday Mail's chief sports writer Scott McDermott.

Dundee's defeat at Ibrox on Tuesday confirmed the Buddies place in the Europa Conference League, marking their first trip to the continent in 37 years.

McDermott believes St Mirren have become an "established" top-six team and will be looking to avoid European embarrassment that Scottish sides can sometimes suffer.

"It's a brilliant achievement for Stephen Robinson and the players," he told BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"They were obviously disappointed at the weekend losing to Kilmarnock, so they still had a job to do. Certainly if Dundee had got something last night.

"If you think where St Mirren were a few years ago, for Robinson to come in, two top-six finishes, they feel now like almost like an established top-six club, which is brilliant for them.

"The progress they've made, the recruitment's been good. I think behind the scenes is looking a lot better as well, so no, they'll be delighted and as you say the St Mirren fans can get the passports out and look forward to a wee summer trip.

"Let's hope it's not just one European away trip because too often probably Scottish clubs, maybe like St Mirren, have got in to Europe and not done themselves justice and pretty much been out of Europe before the league season started.

"Robinson will build again in the summer, he'll add to the squad and I think they'll want to have a right good crack at it."

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• St Mirren have only won two of their last 10 league games against Hearts (D2 L6), losing both of their last two in a row.

• Hearts have only lost one of their last six league away games at St Mirren (W3 D2), winning 2-1 most recently in April.

• Excluding the curtailed 2019-20 season, St. Mirren have only won their final home game in two of their last 13 top-flight league campaigns (D5 L6), and lost their last such game last term 0-3 to Rangers.

• Hearts have lost their final away game in five of their last six Scottish Premiership seasons (incl. curtailed 2019-20), although the exception was last season, when they drew 2-2 at Rangers.

• Ryan Strain has scored in all three of his home games in the Scottish Premiership for St. Mirren against Hearts (three goals), the most he has scored against a single side in the competition.