St Mirren

In 30 years of covering Scottish football, I don't think I've ever seen anything like this.

Five Kilmarnock goals in 18 second-half minutes and a complete collapse by a St Mirren side who were streets ahead in the first half, and 2-0 up at the interval.

So solid at the back in the first 45, Saints couldn't deal with two long balls after the break, and found themselves level after Killie scored twice in four minutes thanks to Kyle Vassell and Danny Armstong's penalty.

Then Marley Watkins flighted in a lovely header and Killie were ahead. Another long ball, another Kyle Vassell goal. 4-2.

Then the best of the lot. Young David Watson picked the ball up not far inside the St Mirren half and headed for goal. As St Mirren backed off, he kept going, beat a couple of defenders and arrowed one into the bottom left-hand corner of a by then shell-shocked visiting keeper Zach Hemming.

A turnaround that was as remarkable as it was unexpected, given how good Saints were before the break.

For St Mirren, this will be a head-scratcher. In total control at half-time. Totally blown away by 80 minutes. After an hour, remember, they were still 2-0 ahead.

What followed was a capitulation that will both bemuse and worry manager Stephen Robinson who sees Killie leapfrog his side into 4th place in the Premiership.

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Stephen Robinson says he "won't look beyond" his aim of getting St Mirren into the top six before considering a charge for European football.

His side travel to Rugby Park with the hope of extending their lead over fifth-placed Kilmarnock to four points.

On talk of fighting to nail down fourth sport, the Northern Irishman said: “I don’t view it like that. First and foremost we have to get into the top six.

“People say I play things down, but that’s the reality, we’re not in the top six yet. It’s another game towards that, if we can get the points that are needed. But there’s still a lot of football to be played. Top six is my aim and I won’t look beyond that.

"The level they have reached over the past 18 months to two years has been fantastic, compared to what we have come from.

“And to get a top-six finish two years in a row after 38 years of not being in the top six would be a massive achievement from this group of players.

“The fact we are taking close to 2,500 people away from home just shows what a group of boys we have got in terms of the quality they are showing on the pitch. Hopefully we can send them home very happy.”

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Saturday's crunch meeting between European hopefuls Kilmarnock and St Mirren could be "too hard to call", says former Scotland goalkeeper Gemma Fay.

Stephen Robinson's side leapfrogged the Rugby Park outfit the last time the teams were in league action a fortnight ago.

Now as the two Europe-chasers get set to meet in Ayrshire, a game of fine margins could well be on the cards with just one point in it ahead of kick-off.

"I think it's a pretty close one," Fay told BBC's Scottish Football Podcast. "It's really interesting when you say fourth-placed St Mirren against fifth-placed Kilmarnock.

"Both managers have done exceptionally well there. It's going to a be a really exciting match.

"It probably is too hard to call based on the way both teams are playing at the moment, so I'm not going to sit on the fence, but it might be a draw."

This is a biggie in the race for fourth place and a crack at Europa Conference League qualifying next term.

Just one point separates the sides, while Kilmarnock have had the recent upper hand in this fixture, although the margins are slim.

The Rugby Park side are unbeaten in six league meetings with the men from Paisley, but only two of those have been victories.

Since back-to-back 3-3 thrillers in 2021, one in the Scottish Cup which St Mirren edged on penalties, goals have been hard to come by.

In the past five contests, Kilmarnock have only conceded once, while scoring four.

Derek McInnes' side were second best in their cup exit to Aberdeen last weekend but have reserved most of their best displays for home, where they have amassed 28 of their 41 points.

St Mirren have taken seven points from three games since a surprise loss at Livingston without really hitting their early-season heights.

With the three teams above these two in the table all in the Scottish Cup semi-finals, the chances are very good that fifth will offer up Europe, an arena where St Mirren last played in 1987 and Killie have been just twice this century.

Both teams are well organised by canny managers and anything other than a tight, tense affair would be a surprise.

• Read our full Premiership Picks

Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes says he has used St Mirren as a yardstick this season. (Herald - subscription required), external

Read Friday's Scottish Gossip

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• Kilmarnock are unbeaten across their last six Scottish Premiership meetings with St. Mirren (W2 D4), keeping a clean sheet in four of their last five league games against the Buddies.

• St. Mirren are winless in their last 10 away games against Kilmarnock in the Scottish top-flight since a 3-1 win in May 2013, though each of their last four have ended level (L6).

• Kilmarnock have won four of their last seven home league games (D2 L1), though did lose last time out at Rugby Park against Rangers (1-2); Killie haven’t lost back-to-back home matches in the Scottish Premiership since February 2021.

• St. Mirren have won 12 of their 29 Scottish Premiership games this season (D6 L11), the same number they won over their 38 total league matches last season (W12 D10 L16).

• Kilmarnock’s Derek McInnes has only lost one of his 30 games as a manager against St. Mirren in the Scottish top-flight, though he has drawn 16 such matches against the Saints, more than versus any other opponent (W13).

St Mirren go to Rugby Park on Saturday knowing that a win would go a long way to securing a top-six finish in the Premiership for the second season running.

Who would you pick to start if you were in Stephen Robinson's position?

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

Mark Jardine
Fan writer

Like a plan-free bank holiday Monday that follows a heavy weekend, St Mirren have had a full weekend to capture their breath while lesser teams worry about something I've heard being referred to as a "cup run". ]

No thanks. Not for me. Big days out at Hampden sound rubbish, so I'm glad we dispensed with any of those notions early. Honest...

In writing this column, I'm stuck between a rock (continuing to take my keyboard for a walk about those glorious 76 seconds versus Aberdeen) and a hard place (looking forward to a 76th attempt to actually take three points off a Derek McInnes side, or at least it feels like that many).

I'll go with Kilmarnock. Three years have passed since the Buddies last tasted league victory over their Ayrshire counterparts, although admittedly a full year of that was lost while Killie did what is commonly known as a "Dundee United" and mucked about in the Championship for a while.

Far more frustrating than that record is the struggle of the Saints to wrestle points from long-term nemesis McInnes himself.

I hate myself for even typing this, but across 15 years and 14 attempts, the bearded one has yet to taste home league defeat to the Paisley men. His one and only defeat on home turf was a 2011 League Cup tie, so long ago that the Saints midfield was anchored by a pre-30th birthday Jim Goodwin. Current Killie midfielder David Watson was only just in to needing a second hand to count his age on his fingers.

I raise this trivia, not to compound that trademark Renfrewshire pessimism, but to show what Stephen Robinson and his team have in their sights on Saturday.

In a season where deficits can be chased for 94 minutes before being overturned and six points brought home from Easter Road - there is every reason to believe that yet another unfortunate trend can be put to bed.

Come on Ye Saints.

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

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St Mirren's wing-backs are vital to the way they play under Stephen Robinson, with Scott Tanser playing every league game down the left-hand side this season.

The Englishman has been a key figure and has put in the most crosses from open play in the Scottish Premiership this season.

Tanser has offered up 160 crosses, almost 30 per cent of St Mirren's total crosses from open play (543).

Rangers' James Tavernier and Kilmarnock's Danny Armstrong are the only other players in the league to have provided more than 100.

Additionally, the 29-year-old has helped to create 28 chances and has provided four assists.

Mark Jardine
Fan writer

Just 76 seconds. A lot can happen in such a brief passage of time.

Neil Warnock can go from preparing to light his first post-victory cigar in Aberdonian red to drafting a post-defeat monologue about players getting too cold to prevent a winner.

Mark O'Hara can go from wondering when he'll get his starting berth and penalty mojo back, to being buried under a pile of his ecstatic colleagues in the knowledge that he was the spark that started the fire.

Stephen Robinson can go from picking the bones out of a second performance in a week where an early deficit has proven too difficult to overcome, to seeing his substitutes combine for a moment that may well define his era in the Saints dugout.

Toyosi Olusanya can go from feeling warm and fuzzy in a week that saw a Dingwall equaliser and new contract being signed, to being measured for a statue commemorating Toyosi Time and all it stands for.

Six thousand home fans in the SMISA Stadium can go from pre-ordering that first post-match pint in their minds for the drowning of sorrows, to hugging folk three rows and nine seats away with no understanding of how they got there.

I, on commentary duty for St Mirren TV, can go from making a quip about there still being time left on the dancefloor before last orders - mostly out of fear that Aberdeen could storm back up the pitch and ruin the party - to losing all control and restraint for a full minute of bellowed joy and disbelief which I'm pretty sure I'll be boring hypothetical grandkids about given the chance in life.

Just 76 seconds. Long enough to go from wondering why we put ourselves through this every Saturday, to knowing exactly why football can move us like nothing else.

Come on Ye Saints.

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

Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter

Winning a penalty to level, and then scoring the winner in the dying seconds of the game. Toyosi Olusanya impressed me, and no doubt FIFA president Gianni Infantino who was watching on.

Even Aberdeen manager Neil Warnock was chuffed. The veteran gaffer said after the game he'd recommended Olusanya to Stephen Robinson. That came back to bite him.

Toyosi Olusanya's desire was the difference for St Mirren, says Neil McCann.

Watch the best of the action as St Mirren stun Aberdeen with two injury-time goals to snatch victory in Paisley. (Available to UK users only)

We asked for your thoughts after St Mirren's sensational late showing against Aberdeen.

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

Graham: Unbelievable team spirit, absolutely deserved the win. Neil Warnock must have been at a different game, we hit the bar, post and totally deserved our victory. Let's remember that Aberdeen stole a point from us last time in Paisley with Miovski's double hit penalty. Stephen Robinson has the biggest heart I have ever seen in the Saints dugout.

David: St Mirren are showing real spirit this season, demonstrating a sense of 'team' and 'family' despite the perpetual harsh criticism from their own fans. This seems to be the norm in football but I wonder how many of these 'fans' would perform well at work with 1000 angry voices telling them how bad they are!

Alastair: Drama such drama! We were poor for most of it but when it mattered we got the goals and it was fantastic. I feel for Aberdeen but we won and we’re on our way to Europe.

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Stephen Robinson heaped praise on Mark O’Hara for stepping up to take the penalty after only being on the field for a short time and having missed two spot-kicks earlier in the season.

The Buddies captain missed two back in December, against Motherwell and Aberdeen, but made no mistake when facing Kelle Roos on Saturday.

“Mark epitomises the bravery of this squad," Robinson said post-match. "He’s a confident, diligent boy, who has worked hard to get back.

“I couldn’t watch, to be honest, but he showed great composure and we showed great belief to come back and win the game.

“We had the live feed so we knew it was a penalty. It was more about them checking back through the phases. But we were confident.”

Kenny Crawford
BBC Sport Scotland at SMiSA Stadium

St Mirren striker Toyosi Olusanya told BBC Scotland that his match-winner was the “most special” goal of his career, in terms of what it meant in the game and for the club.

“It felt amazing,” said the Englishman, who recently signed a contract extension with the Buddies until 2025.

“I heard the celebrations but I was at the bottom of the pile, so I couldn’t see it - it was unbelievable.

“Neil Warnock signed me from non-league Billericay Town for Middlesbrough, so he took a great leap of faith with me and told me how much he believed in me.”

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• Aberdeen have lost an away game after leading at half-time in the Scottish Premiership for the first time since 26 September 2021 against St Mirren (10 games without defeat).

• Aberdeen have lost their last three games in the Scottish Premiership, their last joint longest losing streak was from 18 January 2023 to 1 February 2023.

• St Mirren have won after trailing at half-time at home in the Scottish Premiership for the first time since 26 September 2021 against Aberdeen (12 games without a win after trailing at half-time).

• Aberdeen have lost after leading at half-time in the Scottish Premiership for the first time since 26 September 2021 against St Mirren (26 games without defeat after leading at half-time).

• Aberdeen have lost 15 points from winning positions in the Scottish Premiership this season, only Dundee (19) and Kilmarnock (16) have lost more.

• Connor Barron scored after just 59 seconds, the fastest goal for Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership this season.

Were you at the match in Paisley on Saturday or following the match elsewhere?

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

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson: "That was a super way to finish the game. It's the best way to win but not good for my heart.

"I thought we thoroughly deserved it. It would've been a real injustice if we didn't get the result.

"Aberdeen looked like a team under pressure, they played direct which is understandable. We dominated, to not get anything would've been cruel.

"If I'm a St Mirren fan, I'm loving these boys. The energy and quality they're putting into this, the never say die attitude."

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