St Mirren

Andrew Petrie, BBC Sport Scotland

You don't see Trevor Carson make too many mistakes. What will be all the more sickening for the Dundee goalkeeper is that it came against his former employers.

St Mirren looked like the side higher in the league. Some of their passing play was superb, but too often they lacked a cutting edge in the box.

They were handed a gift by Carson, and snatched it with both hands. Now the Paisley side are firmly in the driving seat for the top six.

It could have been more comfortable, though. One feared for them when James Bolton saw red, and even more saw when Luke McCowan's strike hit Caolan Boyd-Munce's arm.

They survived, but they had squandered plenty of chances before that point which could have seen the game off.

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Kwon Hyeok-kyu. The on-loan Celtic midfielder looks a really smart addition to St Mirren's midfield, combining well with Caolan Boyd-Munce.

He kept the play ticking nicely, and even better - tracked back brilliantly when Owen Beck went one-on-one and helped deny a near-certain goal.

A mention for Mikael Mandron. On a night when Curtis Main could have reminded the St Mirren faithful what they were missing, Mandron produced a big performance.

St Mirren: Hemming, Bolton, Gogic, Fraser, Bwomono, Kwon, Boyd-Munce, Tanser, Kiltie, Mandron, Scott.

Substitutes: Urminsky, Dunne, Taylor, Brown, Flynn, Baccus, Jamieson, Olusanya, Ayunga.

Dundee: Carson, McGhee, Ashcroft, Shaughnessy, Dodgson, Cameron, Baoteng, McCowan, Beck, Mellon, Main.

Substitutes: Sharp, Astley, Tiffoney, Bakayoko, Mulligan, Robinson, Robertson, Donnelly, Sylla.

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James Bolton has agreed a contract extension that keeps him at St Mirren until the summer of 2025.

The defender joined the club in July 2023 after his contract expired at English Championship side Plymouth Argyle.

The 29-year-old has made 18 appearances for the Saints so far this season, starting all of the last six games.

Manager Stephen Robinson said: "James had to be patient for his chance. Our three centre-halves started the season well, but he’s been the ultimate professional and now broken into the team.

"He adds a bit of steel and I think James will keep getting better with games.

"Sometimes there is a lot of focus on bringing players in, but I think it’s just as important to retain the players that you’ve got. I think it’s a really good bit of business."

Midfielder Keanu Baccus returns to the St Mirren squad after international duty with Australia. Mark O'Hara, Conor McMenamin and Ryan Strain remain out.

Diego Pineda, Ricki Lamie and Aaron Donnelly are back in training for Dundee and could potentially feature but Charlie Reilly, Antonio Portales and Ryan Howley are still sidelined.

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• St Mirren have won four of their last five Scottish Premiership home games against Dundee (L1), including both of their last two in a row.

• After their 4-0 win in November, Dundee could pick up back-to-back top-flight victories within a single season over St Mirren for the first time since 2012-13.

• St Mirren have lost each of their last three home league games, all without scoring. It’s their longest home league losing run since April 2022 (4 in a row), while not since August 2007 have the Buddies lost four consecutive top-flight home games all without scoring.

• Dundee have scored in each of their last eight away league games (16 goals total, 2 per game), losing just two of these fixtures (W3 D3). It’s the Dee’s longest scoring run on the road in the top-flight since netting in 12 in a row from August 2014 to February 2015.

• St Mirren’s Stephen Robinson has won each of his last five home Scottish Premiership games against Dundee (three with Motherwell, two with the Buddies) since a 1-1 draw with Motherwell in December 2017.

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St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson has reminded his players of the importance of Wednesday's crunch match against Dundee, as both clubs chase a top six finish.

The Buddies sit fifth in the Premiership table, with a win over sixth-placed Dundee putting them nine points clear of the chasers.

“We established ourselves as a top-six side last season," Robinson said. "The hardest bit is trying to repeat that, and so far we are doing that.

“These two games against teams directly below us means it gives you a little bit of a cushion if you can win the game.

“Sometimes you try to play that down to players, but we have done the opposite, we have played it up and made the level of importance of the game really high and it is the same on Wednesday night.

“We created numerous chances against Hibs, but that comes from a solid base and we need that tomorrow night and we need it again on Sunday.”

Robinson insists lessons were learned in the 4-0 defeat by Dundee in November, the Buddies’ biggest defeat of the season.

He said: “We had a lot of possession - 60% - and we had more than 30 crosses into the box, but we played in front of Dundee a lot. We didn’t go in behind them, turn them around and make them go towards their own goal. There’s lessons in that.

“We conceded from two set-plays. Dundee are a high threat in set-plays, very well-organised and very pro-active in their set-plays.

“We have to be well versed in that. No matter how bad we played up until half-time, we were 2-0 down due to set-plays. It is a critical part of the game now and we have to be on top of that tomorrow night.”

Mark Jardine, Misery Hunters podcast, external

Resplendent in third-kit red and seeking to bounce back from consecutive league defeats to sides from the second city, the Saints swaggered into the capital on Saturday and left with three comfortable points.

As quick starts go, the Buddies' first half is comparable to the European Ryder Cup team's first session in Rome last year. Not handed much of a hope pre-kick-off in the face of a recently-assembled side of considered means and higher status, team spirit and tactical discipline combined to blow the faltering Hibees out of the water by the time Willie Collum ended the half.

Alex Gogic, for the second time in a fortnight, opened the scoring with an assured header from inside the six-yard box. How he was allowed to ghost in between bewildered Hibs defenders is anyone's guess, as is Caolan Boyd-Munce being afforded the time to win the ball on the edge of the box and drive through multiple men in green in order to float across his perfect assist.

Assured in defence, bold in his decisions to step forward and win back possession - and increasingly effective at starting (or finishing!) attacks - Gogic is a popular man in Paisley and extending his stay must be a top priority.

Greg Kiltie, as is so often the case, stepped up when called upon and nestled a calm penalty kick into the middle of David Marshall's goal. A confident deputy for injured captain and regular taker Mark O'Hara, Kiltie can't be far from staging a coup d'etat on twelve-yard duties.

Mikael Mandron returned as starting striker, and will be difficult to drop based on Saturday's showing. A constant thorn in the side of a troubled Hibs' defence, Mandron made things happen and was gladly rewarded shortly before the break. Timing his run well to arrive at the goal line unaccompanied, he was treated to a perfect far-post assist from the excellent Boyd-Munce at the corner flag.

The hosts never threatened a comeback, managing one solitary effort on target. Zach Hemming racked up his 13th clean sheet for St Mirren and it must have been his easiest for the club.

Dundee visit Paisley in midweek, hot on the heels of Stephen Robinson and his team and holding two games in hand. Three further points for the Buddies would go a long way to avenging that painful 4-0 defeat at Dens earlier in the campaign, and holding Tony Docherty's men at arms length in this final phase of fixtures before the split.

St Mirren are still riding high from their humbling of Hibs as they ran out 3-0 winners at Easter Road on Saturday.

Stephen Robinson's side look to build on their victory in the capital as they welcome Dundee to Paisley for a midweek meeting.

Who would you like to see in the starting line-up? Pick your team here.

Jonathan Sutherland, Sportscene presenter

What a day in the capital for Stephen Robinson's St Mirren on Saturday.

It started with a bullet header from former Hibs defender Alex Gogic, who put in the kind of solid defensive performance his old side have been missing for quite some time.

His opening goal was provided by Caolon Boyd-Munce, with the Northern Irishman grabbing a second assist of the afternoon as he set up Mikael Mandron at the end of the half.

In a game in which plenty of Buddies shone bright, the midfielder's all-action display stood out.

We asked for your thoughts after St Mirren's big 3-0 win against Hibs at Easter Road.

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

William: This result was a huge lift for the Paisley faithful. Every credit to an excellent management team. Dundee will not be looking forward to a near full house in Paisley this week. We can be confident of keeping the results going until the split.

Australia's Asian Cup quarter-final defeat by South Korea means St Mirren's Keanu Baccus will be returning to club duty. (Scotsman - subscription required), external

Read Sunday's Scottish Gossip

Were you at Easter Road today or following the match elsewhere?

Either way, want your views on the game – have your say here.

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson tells BBC Scotland: "Another fantastic away performance. That's two in a row we have scored three and haven't conceded.

"I thought from start to finish we were excellent. When you consider we are missing Mark O'Hara, Keanu Baccus, Ryan Strain and Conor McMenamin, I think it speaks volumes.

"It would be difficult to (find faults in today's performance) but I'm sure I will. I thought we controlled the game. We were very good. We switched the ball lots of times and could have scored more. It speaks volumes that Zach did not have a save to make.

"We come here and expect to win, as a group of players and staff. It shows you how confident the players are at this moment and time, and we'll go into Wednesday's game with the same application."

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Cam Wanstall, BBC Sport Scotland

Stephen Robinson's side deserve credit for their effortless performance. The visitors could only beat what was in front of them and a ruthless St Mirren put the game to bed by the break.

Boyd-Munce stood out for his assists, but there were impressive performances all over the park for the Paisley side.

St Mirren's greatest strength was their actual strength. The physically-imposing visitors won the majority of their aerial duels, including Gogic for his opener, while Mandron's power was evident as he brushed Triantis aside to net the third.

Caolan Boyd-Munce was the only St Mirren change from Stephen Robinson this afternoon, stepping in for club captain Mark O'Hara, and made sure to show what he was made of.

Two assists - both sublime crosses unlike one another - for Alex Gogic's opener and Mikael Mandron's dagger were the cherry on top of the Northern Irishman's fine showing.

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There is just the one change for St Mirren, as Caolan Boyd-Munce replaces captain Mark O'Hara in midfield.

In attack, there is a first start for Exeter City loanee James Scott following his involvement off the bench last Saturday. There is no debut for fellow loanee arrival Jaden Brown, who again starts on the bench.

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