St Mirren

Martin Dowden, BBC Sport Scotland

Another incredible outcome for St Mirren. They scored early, had three chopped off, and earned another remarkable win in a remarkable start to this campaign.

To be unbeaten and second after six games speaks volumes and they deserve to be there. They have undeniable spirit and ability and have found a structure that makes it hard to breach while carrying significant threat.

They show no sign of stopping and momentum is building heading into a cup quarter-final away to Hibernian. They’ll fancy their chances after already wining there this season.

Hearts will have to lick their wounds once again. They pointed to three great chances which they had but just seven points from a possible 18 at this stage is not enough for a club of that ambition.

They just can’t seem to find consistent results and talking to Lawrence Shankland post-match you could sense real frustration. A great win last week undone by this result.

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson is "not getting carried away" by his side's league position.

"It's been a good start," he said. "That's all it is.

"Terrific performance today. It probably should have been more against a very good Hearts side. We missed chances and had three goals disallowed.

"We're creating chances, we're playing some very good stuff and when we needed to defend we showed great character and resilience.

"I still think there's improvement, it's still a work in progress. Last season, we were very functional - we played a lot of straight line football, which I don't like. We've got the right balance now.

"We know what we are. It's my job to keep the realism, and keep everyone's feet on the ground. Without the hard work and discipline, you go nowhere."

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St Mirren: Hemming, Fraser, Gogic, Taylor, Strain, Baccus, O'Hara, Tanser, Kiltie, Olusanya, McMenamin.

Substitutes: Urminsky, Bolton, Dunne, Small, Flynn, Boyd-Munce, Greive, Nahmani, Mandron.

Heart of Midlothian: Clark, Atkinson, Kent, Rowles, Kingsley, Baningime, Nieuwenhof, Devlin, Vargas, Boyce, Shankland.

Substitutes: McGovern, Haring, Grant, Forrest, Sibbick, Denholm, Tait, Offiah, Lowry.

St Mirren expect Ryan Flynn and James Bolton to brush off injury concerns to leave striker Jonah Ayunga (knee) their only absentee.

Hearts have Odel Offiah back in the group following illness and he could play some part. Yutaro Oda will miss out after picking up a knock against Aberdeen and Kyosuke Tagawa and Andy Halliday are not quite ready to return

Alex Cochrane (ankle), Barrie McKay (knee), Craig Halkett (knee) and Craig Gordon (broken leg) remain out.

Image source, SNS

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Neighbourly goodwill will go out the window on Saturday as St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson bids to get the better of Hearts counterpart Steven Naismith.

The pair both live in the Ayrshire town of Stewarton and their paths occasionally cross.

Robinson is relishing their head to head in Paisley and says his in-form side fear nobody after an unbeaten start to the campaign.

"I'm hoping to see Steven and pick his brains when I'm out walking the dog as he lives in Stewarton as well,” said Robinson.

"I've given him a wave in the car in the past when I've been trying to get the free electric [charge for his car] up at the Rose Reilly Sports Centre.

"I'm not sure he needs the free electric and I do. I live up at the poor end of Stewarton, I think he's at the rich end!

"It's going to be a brilliant challenge and it's a game we're looking forward to. It's going to be packed in the SMISA as well so it's going to be a great atmosphere. Hearts will bring a fantastic crowd over as well.

"They're a good side. They've made a lot of signings and have players that can hurt you like Liam Boyce and Lawrence Shankland. We have to be very wary of them but it's a game that I feel we can take to Hearts as well.

"We're a team that's in form so we don't fear anybody. We know we're facing a tough task but we go into the game quietly confident."

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• St Mirren have kept just one clean sheet in their last 12 league games (25 goals conceded), though this was in their last match, a 1-0 win at Motherwell.

• Since the beginning of last season, Hearts' Lawrence Shankland has had more touches in the opposition box than any other Scottish Premiership player, while only Celtic’s Kyogo Furuhashi (31) has scored more goals during this same period than Shankland (25).

• St Mirren have won just one of their last seven league meetings with Hearts (D2 L4), a 2-0 away victory in April last season.

• After losing five away matches in a row in the Scottish Premiership between February and April, Hearts have since lost just one of their last four on the road (W1 D2), although this defeat came last time out (1-0 v Dundee).

• Hearts are unbeaten in their last four Scottish Premiership trips to St Mirren (W2 D2) since losing 1-0 in March 2020 under Daniel Stendel.

In-form St Mirren are seeking to extend their unbeaten start by sending Hearts back to the capital empty-handed on Saturday.

Is it a case of 'it ain't broken, so why fix it' for Stephen Robinson's team selection?

Make yourself the manager and choose your Buddies XI here.

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Mark Jardine, Misery Hunters podcast, external

The season is five games old and two Premiership sides remain unbeaten, lording it over the chasing pack behind them. So far, so predictable - right? Wrong.

I know it's only five games. I know the season is young. Let me enjoy this for as long as it lasts.

St Mirren will undoubtedly play better in games this season and take less home than the three points they returned from Motherwell with on Saturday.

That's not to say that the Saints were poor, far from it, but the majority of their afternoon was spent chasing a slick Motherwell midfield and trying to keep Blair Spittal at bay. In Spittal, Callum Slattery and the much-touted Lennon Miller, Motherwell have a midfield that probably deserves a little more from those playing on either side of them.

Chances, possession and home advantage can only take you so far though, and for the second time this season it was St Mirren who had the quality when it counted to split these teams by a solitary goal.

Stephen Robinson emphasised post-match that one wing-back finding another ghosting in at the back post is no coincidence. Hard work and pre-planning went into Saturday's winner and it showed. Ryan Strain deservedly takes much of the headline attention among the Saints squad and his assist here merits that again and more.

However, it was the revitalised Scott Tanser on the opposite flank who buried a left-foot volley beyond Liam Kelly and had his name ringing out across the Motherwell away end long after the final whistle.

Hearts next at home for the as-it-stands Champions League qualifiers. I had to get one more mention in. Had to.

Zach Hemming, Alex Gogic and Scott Tanser have all been named in Sportscene presenter Jonathan Sutherland's team of the week after St Mirren beat Motherwell 1-0 at Fir Park.

Tanser's superb goal was the difference between the sides, while Hemming and Gogic rode their luck at times, but contributed to a hard-fought clean sheet.

Image source, BBC Sport

We asked for your views on St Mirren's win over Motherwell

Anon: We are a very unique team this season as there is a lot of togetherness in the teams (men's, women's and B teams) and everyone behind the scenes this season. Real feel good factor and I don't think there is any reason we can't get top 4 this season.

BBC Scotland's Jane Lewis at Fir Park

St Mirren match winner Scott Tanser says being second in the Scottish Premiership "does have a nice ring to it".

Tanser's goal secured the Buddies a 1-0 win at Motherwell and moved them to within two points of league leaders Celtic.

"It it does have a nice ring to it that," said Tanser. "We've had a really good, strong start to the season. We're hoping to keep it up.

"We've got Hearts next week, it’s a tough game we know that, but if we can play the way we know we can, I don't see why we can't go and get another win.

"There is a long way to go but we want to be in that top six pushing for Europe and we've started well and hopefully that continues and you never know, we could finish really high if we stick at it."

On his volley, Tanser commented: "People will think what am I doing up there but it's a good finish. I was just thinking hit the target and that's what I did. I’m really delighted with the finish."

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Jane Lewis, BBC Sport Scotland

That was a crazy game of football. You could argue the better team lost, albeit St Mirren scored the only goal of the game, and a beauty of a goal it was too.

Motherwell will play much worse this season and take something. They had 20 shots at goal, seven on target, but they just weren’t ruthless enough in front of goal, and that cost them dearly.

That aside, they played some lovely stuff. Blair Spittal and Callum Slattery were a joy to watch at times. Their link-up play and neat one-twos were very easy on the eye, but that counts for nothing in this one.

Motherwell’s one lapse defensively was also costly. They should have dealt with Ryan Strain’s lovely ball, but they didn’t and that allowed Scott Tanser to produce a fabulous finish.

St Mirren weren’t at their best in this one, but they’ve come away with a big win, and one that moves them to second in the Premiership.

They’ll take plenty away from this result, with their unbeaten run extended, and their confidence levels soaring continously.

Second in the table! Drink it in, St Mirren fans!

What did you make of that game? Did you deserve all three points? What does it say about this team that you did win?

Let us know your thoughts here.

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St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson tells BBC Scotland: "I thought the boys showed terrific character, they were really organised at the back. We weren't on top of our game today, and we had to defend and put our bodies on the line.

"Zach Hemming tipped one onto the bar. Alex Gogic's all round performance, Scott Tanser as well. All three were terrific.

"Football is a strange game. We were brilliant against Aberdeen and didn't get the three points. Today we weren't at our best and did.

"The first-half was a non-event. We cancelled each other out. Motherwell were the better side, both first and second half. They had the momentum but we held strong, and put in a lot of really good defensive performances.

"We won't get too carried away. We've made a terrific start but there's a long way to go and our main goal is to get enough points to be safe in this division."

Motherwell: Kelly, O'Donnell, Mugabi, Casey, Blaney, Spencer, Paton, Slattery, Miller, Spittal, Bair.

Substitutes: Oxborough, Gent, Zdravkovski, Shaw, McGinley, Wilson, Ferrie, L Ross, M Ross

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

Substitutes: Urminsky, Bolton, Dunne, Small, Baccus, Olusanya, Jamieson, Greive, Nahmani.

Motherwell full-back Brodie Spencer is eager to come up against St Mirren forward Conor McMenamin, whom he used to idolise at Cliftonville. (Herald - subscription required), external

Read Saturday's Scottish Gossip

Well defender Paul McGinn is suspended and manager Stuart Kettlewell has doubts over Liam Kelly (back), Blair Spittal and Shane Blaney (both knocks).

Strikers Mika Biereth (knee), Jon Obika (hamstring) and Conor Wilkinson (calf) remain out alongside defenders Pape Souare (calf) and Calum Butcher (foot).

Former Motherwell pair Mark O'Hara and Mikael Mandron are back in training for St Mirren following injury, leaving long-term absentee Jonah Ayunga (knee) as the visitors' only absentee.

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The weekend starts here. Premiership action is back on Saturday and we have all six games covered in our preview podcast.

Don't miss out - give it a listen.

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson still hopes to persuade Ryan Strain and Keanu Baccus to sign new contracts, but has begun the search for replacements.

The Australia internationals are both in the final year of their deals after impressive debut seasons in Paisley.

While chairman John Needham said this week St Mirren were speaking to the players' agents about new contracts, the prospect of keeping them beyond this season appears unlikely.

Robinson said: "That was a verbal conversation that myself and [vice-chairman] Jim Gillespie have had with the boys and their representatives and as yet both are keeping their options open, which they are more than entitled to do.

"We will continue to try but also continue to look for other people. We have to be a step ahead of other people so that's what we are trying to do.

"We want both boys to sign, we have made that very, very clear and we will still chase that but it's up to me and the club to be prepared if they don't sign and we have to sign replacements. It's still very early."

St Mirren rebuffed interest in midfielder Baccus from Aberdeen last month and while they may face a big decision over whether to cash in during the January window, Robinson says the club won’t sell players “for buttons”.

"There's a balance," he said. “We had an offer in the window which we just didn't think met the value we thought the player was worth. Fair play to the board, they stuck by that.

"We also have to weigh up whether keeping players would get us an extra two or three positions in the league. You get extra prize money for that as well. Certainly it will be a calculated decision.”

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