Preview St Mirren

Ladbrokes Championship: 5.15pm kick off at the Paisley 2021 Stadium

On Saturday the Pars travel to take on St Mirren at the Paisley 2021 Stadium and both camps know how important a win would be. The hosts lie bottom of the Championship languishing five points behind the ninth placed Fife visitors with a game in hand. A win over Ayr United in the Irn Bru Cup on Sunday was just their second win in fifteen and was Jack Ross` first victory as the Saints boss.

In league matches between the clubs, the Pars hold the advantage overall with 37 wins to Saints 29.

Record win away to Saints is 5-0 when Bert Paton (2), Hugh Robertson, Hugh Maxwell and Jim Fleming did the damage in season 66/67. The Buddies have won by four goals a few times. 6-2 being the biggest result in February 1959 and they even scored one of the Pars two. .

Dunfermline have still to register a win over St Mirren since the Buddies moved from Love Street to Greenhill Road. The first visit ended in a 2-1 win for the hosts, the second was an amazing 4-4 draw. St Mirren led 2-1 at the break having taken an early lead through Nigel Hasselbaink, Jordan McMillan equalised in 24 minutes but Steven Thomson scored either side of the break and felt comfortable at 3-1. Davie Graham got a goal back with over 30 minutes to play and even though Thomson completed his hattrick within ten minutes of Graham`s goal, late strikers from Liam Buchanan and Andy Kirk secured a point.

The Pars have won only once in Paisley since March 2000, a 1-0 win in 2007 but of the last dozen matches Dunfermline have won four, St Mirren three and five have been drawn.

Last Meeting in Paisley - 10th October 2015
Petrofac Training Cup Quarter Final

A strong run to the byeline allowed Howieson to cross a good ball in from the left, teeing up former Rangers youth player, Calum GALLAGHER for a simple conversion from close in that gave Sean Murdoch no hope. 1-0

Midway through the half a slip by Ben Richards-Everton allowed Gallagher to get in on goal and although the big defender got back to close in on the Saints striker who had taken the ball wide left the cross went to Stephen MALLAN on the right side of the box who drilled the ball home. 2-0

Mallan laid the ball off to his right for the overlapping Keith Watson to cross and AGNEW made it look easy as he found the right side of the Pars net from 18 yards out. 3-0

It was typical that in a game where nothing went right for Dunfermline that an 88th minute pass from Geggan let sub Lewis McLear breakaway and release a perfect pass for MALLAN to his right to crash in his second and St Mirren`s fourth.

ST MIRREN: Jamie Langfield. Keith Watson, Jack Baird, Andy Webster, Sean Kelly. Stephen Mallan, Jim Goodwin (Barry Cuddihy 83), Cameron Howieson, Calum Gallagher (Jordan Stewart 79), Steven Thomson (c) (Lewis McLear 71), Scott Agnew
SUBS NOT USED: Stuart Carswell, Lewis Morgan, Jaison McGrath, Dan Wilks (GK).

DUNFERMLINE: Sean Murdoch. Shaun Rooney (Rhys McCabe 64), Marc McAusland, Ben Richards-Everton, Jason Talbot. Michael Paton, Andy Geggan (c), Shaun Byrne, Joe Cardle. Ryan Wallace (David Hopkirk HT), Faissal El Bakhtaoui (Michael Moffat 39)
SUBS NOT USED: Lewis Spence, Paul Joseph Crossan, John Potter, David Hutton (GK).

Teams last time out

DUNFERMLINE (v Dundee United): Sean Murdoch: Andy Geggan (c), Lewis Martin, Lee Ashcroft, Jason Talbot: Kallum Higginbotham, John Herron, Rhys McCabe, Joe Cardle (Callum Fordyce 60): Nicky Clark (Paul McMullan 70), Michael Moffat (Farid El Alagui 67).
SUBS NOT USED: Conner Duthie, Michael Paton, Callum Smith, David Hutton (GK)

ST MIRREN (v Ayr United): Scott Gallacher: Jason Naismith, Gary McKenzie, Jack Baird (Tom Walsh 72) Gary Irvine: Kyle Magennis, Stephen Mallan, McAllister (Jordan Stewart 88), David Clarkson (Lawrence Shankland 57), Lewis Morgan, John Sutton
SUBS NOT USED: Callum Gallagher, Kyle Hutton, Lewis McLear, Jamie Langfield.

Referee on Saturday will be Nick Walsh.

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