St Johnstone

Hearts were forced to show steely resolve again as they battled past St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership following their midweek European heroics.

Read the full match report here.

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St Johnstone head coach Simo Valakari: "We created enough chances, but if you don't take them it's hard to win and we didn't. That's the disappointment.

"I like how we played, our players wanted to show themselves. When we found our rhythm, the boys really played, but it's all about the result and we did not get it.

"The belief was there, it took us 15-20 minutes to find the spaces and even first half, we had our chances. We stepped up pressure in the second half and had more turnovers higher up the field.

"When we do that, we're a very good team and we created a lot of very good moments there.

"We need to repeatedly do the right things, getting in the right positions to score. There'll be games where we don't create that many chances and score more goals. That's the nature of football.

"If we keep doing the right things, keep pushing, the goals will come."

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Hearts could hand a debut to new American striker JJ Williams (pictured).

However, Tom Renaud joins Ageu, Malachi Fagan-Walcott, Craig Halkett and Stephen Kingsley on the sidelines.

And Harry Milne is a doubt.

St Johnstone's new Bosnian left-back Enes Alic could make his first club appearance.

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Defender Jack Baird has left St Johnstone to join Raith Rovers for an undisclosed fee.

The 30-year-old moved to McDiarmid Park last summer and helped Saints bounce back to the Premiership at the first attempt.

He departs to join second-tier Raith after 37 appearances and three goals for the Perth club.

Baird, who has signed a two-year deal at Stark's Park, is available to make his debut in Friday night's Fife derby against Dunfermline.

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Enes Alic had to wait for his move to St Johnstone but feels the timing was perfect when he eventually arrived.

Saints confirmed Alic's signing on Monday after the Bosnian left Zeljeznicar Sarajevo amid a contract dispute.

The full-back played in a friendly after last week's trip to Celtic Park was postponed for the European schedule.

And the 26-year-old feels that has benefited him before his potential debut against Hearts on Saturday.

"It was a perfect time to come because I played a friendly so it was perfect to see how everything was going," said Alic.

"I had a problem with my previous club over money they owed. We gave them a deadline of 15 days to fix it and pay me my money and insurance and everything and they didn't pay. So I am here now as a free agent.

"I can't wait to play my first game. The fans can expect speed, shooting and crossing, I like to attack the space. I like to defend first and foremost but I do enjoy getting forward too."

Raith Rovers have agreed a deal for St Johnstone defender Jack Baird, although the player is yet to agree personal terms. (Courier, external)

Read the rest of Friday's Scottish gossip.

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• St Johnstone have lost 10 of their past 11 Scottish Premiership visits to Hearts, including six in a row since a 1-0 victory in December 2019.

• Hearts are on a run of eight successive home wins in the Premiership, their longest sequence at Tynecastle in the top flight since also winning eight in a row from August to December 2005.

• St Johnstone have won just one of their past 14 away games in the Premiership (D2 L11), losing their latest five in a row, including their first of this season 1-0 at St Mirren.

• Hearts have won their past 10 top-flight meetings with St Johnstone since a 2-1 defeat in February 2022.

• Since the start of last season, Hearts forward Claudio Braga has the second-most goal involvements (20 - 15 goals, 5 assists) in the Premiership behind Celtic's Benjamin Nygren (24).

St Johnstone boss Simo Valakari had no doubts a deal for Enes Alic would go through, despite opposition from the left-back's former club Zeljeznicar. (Courier), external

Read the rest of Wednesday's Scottish gossip.

Sam Miller
Fan writer

It started out as simple football withdrawal - a fixture-free weekend for the men's side left a glaring void in the schedule, meaning heading down to support St Johnstone WFC.

What was meant to be a one-off fix a few seasons back quickly made one thing abundantly clear: women's football isn't just a substitute, it is entirely its own sport.

​Without the endless tactical posturing and constant VAR stoppages that plague the men's game, the flow is refreshing.

It is end-to-end, honest, and fiercely competitive football where physical commitment meets unfiltered drama.

There is an openness to the matches that makes every minute feel unpredictable, and the entertainment value has been off the charts.

​Take Sunday's clash against Falkirk. Heading into the dying moments trailing, the late pressure finally paid off with a last-minute equaliser, prompting pure relief and joy on the pitch and in the stand.

Following an injury-time winner in the final match of last season to avoid the relegation play-offs, this team has proved they never know when they're beaten.

​If missing a men's fixture is what it takes to discover football played with this much authenticity, then long live the blank weekends.

Sam Miller can be found at Dogger Saints, external

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St Johnstone have signed Bosnian left-back Enes Alic on a two-year deal, just days after his former club Zeljeznicar initiated "disciplinary proceedings" against him.

On 18 August, the Bosnian outfit called on Alic to "fulfill his contractual obligations", external, implying he was still their player.

However, the 26-year-old, who has also played for clubs in Croatia, Hungary and Slovenia, has now completed his transfer to Perth.

"I am very happy to be here," Alic said.

"St Johnstone is a great club with great traditions and supporters. I can't wait to play my first game.

"I have heard a lot about the Scottish Premiership. There is a lot of passion and high intensity in this league. It is a hard league, but I want to test myself. I am ready to go.

"The fans can expect speed, shooting and crossing, I like to attack the space. I like to defend first and foremost but I do enjoy getting forward too."

St Johnstone goalkeeper Simo Valakari may decide to have three goalkeepers compete for the number one slot at McDiarmid Park. (Courier - subscription required, external)

Monday's Scottish gossip

St Johnstone have decided against offering a contract to Welsh midfielder Aaron Lewis, 28. (Courier - subscription required, external)

Friday's Scottish gossip

Sam Miller
Fan writer

There is a frustrating absurdity to the opening months of the Scottish football calendar and St Johnstone are finding themselves caught in its bizarre, stuttering momentum.

​When the new season kicks off in August, supporters crave the rhythmic pulse of weekend football - the ritual of matchday Saturdays, build-up and regular competitive action.

Instead, Perth fans are treated to a schedule so sparse and disjointed it feels less like an elite league campaign and more like an occasional weekend gathering.

​Look at the opening stretch of the Premiership. After unsuccessfully navigating the July group stages of the League Cup, St Johnstone enter August and September facing long, baffling voids between league fixtures.

A match played here, a three-week hiatus there, followed by an international break before the engine even has a chance to turn over. By the time autumn fully settles, Saints fans can count the number of league games played on one hand.

​This disjointed scheduling is fundamentally bad for the game. For managers, building tactical rhythm, match sharpness and squad chemistry becomes an uphill battle when competitive games are spaced out like solar eclipses.

A win brings no momentum because the team sit idle for two weeks; a defeat festers endlessly in the training ground without a chance for immediate redemption.

​For the supporters, it destroys the habit of attendance. Football clubs rely on routine, but the SPFL's early-season calendar treats league matchdays as an afterthought instead of prioritising consistent weekly top-flight games.

​Scottish football needs a drastic overhaul in how its fixture list is structured. The authorities must find a way to streamline the calendar and ensure that once the league campaign starts, teams play every week.

St Johnstone and their supporters deserve a schedule that respects their passion, rather than a stop-start farce that stalls the season before it even gets going.

Sam Miller can be found at Dogger Saints, external

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German striker Danny Schmidt is relishing the "big challenge" of playing outside his homeland for the first time after joining St Johnstone.

Schmidt, who was released by Fortuna Dusseldorf this summer, has signed a two-year deal in Perth.

The 23-year-old, 6ft 2in forward came through the ranks at Mainz before joining Fortuna two years ago, going on score five goals in 39 appearances for the club who were relegated from the second tier last season. He also had a loan spell at RW Essen.

"Everyone has welcomed me so nicely," said Schmidt. "It is a family club and I already feel really good here.

"This is a big challenge for me and it is my first time out of Germany. Of course, it is the top league in Scotland and everything is new to me. But I am so excited for what can happen.

"We know the league is going to be tough because there is a lot of quality. We have a good team, good coaches and we can compete.

"I am a strong player and like to play with the ball. I feel I have good technique and I like to shoot. I'll be offensive but will also work hard for this team."

St Johnstone are set to sign striker Danny Schmidt, with the 23-year-old German a free agent after leaving Fortuna Dusseldorf. Scott Burns on X, external

Sam Miller
Fan writer

After fighting our way back to where we belong, no Saints supporter is under any illusion about the dogfight waiting for us across the division.

The middle and bottom half of this league could be separated by a hair's breadth. It is going to be absurdly, relentlessly tight. ​Every week the margins are razor thin.

We aren't going to blow teams away and nobody expects us to.

But in a division where fourth place and the relegation scrap are often separated by just a handful of points, survival and stability come down to how you handle the fine details.

​It is all about the odd goal. Saturday was an example of that. One missed penalty by us. One scored penalty by them. That was the difference.

​If we can master the art of turning goalless stalemates into 1–0 wins, or pinching a late winner off a scrappy set-piece, those three points become absolute gold dust.

Crucially, even on the days where things don't go our way, losing by one rather than letting games spiral keeps the goal difference intact and prevents confidence from shattering.

In a league where half the table will be sweating over goal difference come April, nicking tight results and staying competitive in every fixture will see us just fine.

​We have the grit and I've seen enough of the lads to know they fight for each other.

As long as we stay pragmatic, hold our nerve in the tightest moments and edge those one-goal swing games, Saints will do more than enough to anchor our place in the top flight.

Strap in, it's going to be a tense ride, but we've got what it takes.

Sam Miller can be found at Dogger Saints, external

Watch all the highlights from St Mirren's narrow 1-0 victory over St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership as the Buddies continued their winning start to the new league season. Available to UK users only

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St Johnstone head coach Simo Valakari: "We know the nature of this league. If you don't take your chance, the opponent will get a chance. They took it. No hard feelings.

"When you look at the game overall, we played - in the first half - a very good 45 minutes. We soaked up some pressure, played the ball. Second half, it was a game of two penalties. They scored theirs and I congratulate them.

"I was very satisfied with the application, how we defended. St Mirren are very good with the ball, they have a transition threat. My strikers were the first to admit that the qualities in the final third... was not there.

"Second half, we got our moments. Last week, we took our chances. This week, we did not. We need to recover and get better at certain things.

"I don't believe in bad or good luck. We need to do better decision making, better executions. Then luck is on your side.

"We have known all the time what we can do. My players are fantastic characters. They want to be here and they've shown they can do that. But we're still very humble, and we don't want to be a naive, nice football side.

"We're here to compete, we did that today, and that's all I can ask."

St Mirren made it two wins from two in the new Scottish Premiership season as Killian Phillips' second-half penalty proved decisive in a tight encounter with St Johnstone.

Read the full match report here.

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St Mirren's Declan John is available following a hamstring injury. Ryan Mullen (thigh) has resumed training, while long-term casualties Keanu Baccus (Achilles) and Jonah Ayunga (cruciate ligament) remain sidelined.

St Johnstone boss Simo Valakari expects to have a full-strength squad available.

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St Johnstone boss Simo Valakari thinks St Mirren have gone "under the radar" this season.

Craig McLeish's side won their Premiership opener with a 2-0 victory over last season's surprise package Falkirk.

They also won three of their four League Cup group stage games, scoring 12 goals in the process and securing a place in the next round as they look to defend their title.

Valakari, whose St Johnstone side returned straight back to the Premiership having been relegated to the Championship in the previous campaign, has been impressed with what he's seen so far.

"I've been very impressed," he said.

"How I see the situation, they had a very difficult last season. They survived through the play-offs. They have been able to work on their game. I can see what they try to do.

"They brought in good footballers but they still have this, how would you call it, the old DNA of St Mirren, that they are very, very tough. They really want to bully you.

"They have Premiership experience there, but the biggest thing is, no one expected anything from them and that's why they're going a little bit under the radar.

"But I have been watching them all the time. I've seen what they're doing in the pre-season games, there's a clear identity what they want to do and good example was the first [league] game.

"They went to Falkirk, not an easy place to go, the surface, the stadium, no away matches in this league are easy.

"They went there and they played a very solid game. They were able to, in the right moments, hold the ball, in the right moments they were very vertical with dangerous running behind.

"That's what I expected from them and they see this opportunity now as, 'we won the first match, now we play home' so they are building up the momentum there and that's why I said it's a tough challenge for us, but it's an exciting challenge for us."

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• St Mirren have lost four of their past five home league games against newly-promoted opponents, winning the other 1-0 against Livingston in December 2025.

• St Johnstone won their last league meeting with St Mirren 1-0 in February 2025 but have not beaten the Buddies successively in the Scottish Premiership since March 2019 (five in a row).

• St Mirren are looking to win their opening two Premiership matches in a season for the first time since 2023-24, when they eventually finished fifth.

• St Johnstone won 4-3 against Kilmarnock last weekend but have not started a top-flight campaign with two wins since 2017-18 under manager Tommy Wright.

• Jamie Gullan registered two assists on his first Scottish Premiership appearance for St Johnstone, while he led all Saints player for shots (4), chances created (5) and touches in the opposition box (6) against Killie.