St Johnstone return to the Premiership in style after dramatic 7-goal-thriller win

St Johnstone return to the Premiership on a high as they edge past Killie in a dramatic four-goal thriller with Kai Fotheringham wins it for the Saints in a 4-3 victory. St Johnstone started off the brightest, having majority of the ball but unable to find a goal with Paton having a chance after 10 minutes but headed straight towards the Killie number one which was eventually flagged offside. The hosts went ahead after 17 minutes, Tshibola slipping up on the ball which gifted Stanton a run goal-bound which found itself at Gullan which was slotted through to Josh Fowler in the box as he calmly struck it home as St Johnstone took the lead. Some sloppy play once again allowed Paton to have a shot on target but was well stopped with moments later, Jason Holt had a strong chance from distance which fired just wide of goal. Kilmarnock struck level after 37 minutes, a ball into the box which ended in a scramble which fell to Greg Kiltie as he took it first-time and struck it into the net to give the visitors the vital equaliser. Overall, a first half to be happy with by the hosts but for Killie, despite the equaliser, they will need to improve in certain areas going into the second 45. Into the second half, St Johnstone quickly went back in front following a ball into the box as Diabate powerfully headed the ball into the back of the net to restore the lead. Killie were back level very quickly as Joe Hugill slotted the ball into the net from very close range as the goals continued to fly in bringing the visitors level. Another goal quickly went in as Jason Holt netted an own-goal following which looked to be a strike from Hugill to put Killie ahead for the first time in an eventful second period. St Johnstone levelled once again as Gullan whipped in a dangerous free kick with Lloyd getting on the end of it and bringing his side level with just his first touch after coming on. An exciting ending is in store as both sides seem very eager to find the winner with both sides creating chances after a very eventful game so far. Fantastic play by both Fotheringham and Fowler as Fowler slots the ball into the path of Fotheringham as he smashes the ball into the back of the net as the Saints look likely to be heading to victory unless Killie still have something in them. A big win for St Johnstone on their return to the Premiership in a very entertaining game as Killie go home empty handed despite netting on three occasions. St Johnstone: Stewart, Foulds, Diabate, Mitchell, Smith, McAlear (6), Holt (6), Stanton, Gullan (8), Fowler (9), Paton (7). Substitutes: Fotheringham, Chalmers, Lloyd, Tait Kilmarnock: Stryjek, Clesceno, Brown, Stranger, Schjonning-Larsen, Ring (6), Lowery, Tshibola, Kiltie, John-Jules (6), Hugill. Substitutes: Brandon, Rice, Mathurin, O’Hara, Owen

Two European contenders go head-to-head on opening day: Hibernian v Motherwell match preview

Hibernian host Motherwell in the penultimate match of the Premiership’s opening weekend.  Both sides come into the match on the back of European wins on Thursday. Hibs overturned their 2-0 loss to KF Malisheva of Kosovo with a 4-1 dismantlement at Easter Road. Motherwell made good on their 2-0 home win against Havnar Boltfelag by winning 3-0 in The Faroe Islands. Motherwell will enter the campaign full of hope after last season’s revelation under Jens Berthel Askou, but it’s also a new era in Lanarkshire after Askou departed for Toulouse, being replaced by Swedish manager Alfred Johansson. They’re also without many stars from last season such as Elijah Just, Stephen Welsh, Eliot Watt & Callum Slattery. As for Hibernian, last season was a rather underwhelming one as David Gray’s side finished 5th. The 2-0 loss in Pristina raised many fan’s eyebrows around his future. It’s unsure whether Thursday’s redemption was a routine home win for Hibernian, or paper over the cracks. Coming into the match, David Gray said: “We’re certainly going into the game in a real positive frame of mind.  “It’s a big effort required again against Motherwell, but I’ll go back to what I said going into the first leg (against KF Malisheva), which was I’m really happy with how pre-season went, really happy with the physicality of the players. “We picked up a few knocks and niggles, which is a bit frustrating, but they’re getting closer now as well, so it is again much more positive.  “But you can’t rest on that, and we need to keep moving forward, and we’ve got an opportunity at home against a team that’s progressed in Europe as well.  “You want your Scottish clubs to do well, so I was delighted for them (Motherwell). I think that is important. They’ve started well again.  “They’ve got a new manager, and they’ll be a different test slightly, but at the same time I think they’re playing quite a similar way, and we know it will be a difficult test. “We want to try and do it right. It’s a team that we never beat last season but we’ve got an opportunity in the first game of the season to try and do that.” The loss in Kosovo made many question Hibs’ consistency, when Gray was asked about this, he said: “I think it’s all about consistency for us. I think we’ve demonstrated that in spells last season. “I know we went right to the very last game, and if we had won the last game of the season, we would have finished fourth. “At times we were probably a wee bit frustrated at times last season because I do believe when we put the complete performance in, we’re a very good side, and we showed that with the European stuff.  “We showed that when we won at Celtic Park, we also won at Ibrox. “We’ve added well to the squad this season, but so have every team. I fully expect a real tough season, a real competitive season again. “This is my third season, so I’ve spoken a lot about that freshness and trying to get new ideas into the players because I don’t want them to become comfortable. I’m certainly not comfortable. “We need to keep pushing forward, but certainly be real and consistent in the last two seasons, where we’ve achieved back-to-back European qualifications. “The question is can we go and do that for the third season? It may be harder this year with the fact that you might have to finish fourth or win a trophy, so that’s the challenge for the players and the challenge for myself.” Ahead of his first-ever Scottish Premiership match, Johansson was asked if Motherwell fans can expect more of the same from last season, he said: “I think so, we’ll have to see. One of my targets, or our main targets is to consolidate the style of play from last year in a moment of change, when there’s changes in the squad. “Obviously I am not the same person and the same manager as the previous one, so with a new manager and new players, there will be slight differences in the expression of the team, but the target is to consolidate the style of play.” Much of his press conference revolved around their Conference League matchup with HJK Helsinki, but Johansson maintained that his side are fully focussed on today’s clash in Leith. He said: “I always have a really narrow focus, a really short-term focus in terms of performance, so it’s the game against Hibs on Sunday which is the biggest target of the season for now.” The two sides met four times last season, Motherwell won twice and earned a draw on the remaining two occasions. The sides last met during last season’s dramatic final day as Lukas Fadinger earned 10-man Motherwell a 1-0 win. That result should fill Motherwell with confidence as it was the first time a non-Old Firm team won at Easter Road since November 2024.

Determined McGlynn urges Bairns to “grow” from opening day defeat

John McGlynn says he won’t panic about Falkirk’s opening-day defeat to St Mirren, and hopes to strengthen several areas before the end of the transfer window. A Killian Phillips double secured The Buddies’ third straight victory at The Falkirk Stadium, and despite a strong 10 minutes, McGlynn was displeased with the manner of the opening goal. “Certainly not the start that we were looking for. We had high hopes for the game going into it. In the opening 10 minutes or so, we were good, we were in control, we passed the ball really well. “We got wide, we got crosses in. We make an error in defence, playing a ball out, trying to thread the ball through the eye of a needle. “It’s intercepted, they break on us and we’ve got so many bodies in the box against not an awful lot of bodies, yet they manage to get the ball in, get a cross in. The hosts required a second-half spark, and substitute Ben Parkinson delivered in the 70th minute. The former Newcastle boy bundled in Deniss Melniks’ knockdown from close range to the delight of the Falkirk support. Unfortunately, in the build-up, Melniks’ touch had made contact with his elbow, and after a lengthy VAR check, Duncan Nicholson consulted the monitor and ruled out the equaliser. McGlynn was pleased with the second half reaction, but bemoaned a lack of clear-cut chances. “I thought we dominated the second half, we get a goal. It’s denied on a handball which I’ve not seen. We’re huffing and puffing and then from our corner kick, we lose a goal. It’s crazy. We’ve been punished for not doing an awful lot wrong. “Have we done enough to really say that we deserve to win that game? Probably not. We’ve not created enough; we need a little bit more quality. But early days, there’s always going to be a quick turnaround. But we have to pick up points quickly. One of Falkirk’s biggest strengths last season was their squad cohesion, with several starters playing instrumental roles in The Bairns’ League One and Championship-winning campaigns. But with seven new starters, McGlynn admits that combinations will take time to grow as his incomings embed themselves in the Scottish Premiership. “[Goals are] the hardest thing to get. Big Barney [Stewart] was on fire last season, and Calvin Miller was a big player for us with the number of assists that he got. “[Those players] are hard to find. We’ve been trying, and maybe in time it’ll come, but obviously today, we have to concede that we didn’t have that today. “We’re not going to panic. Certainly, we’re disappointed. We’re naive on the pitch. We need to learn and grow up a little bit quicker, but we’re not pressing any panic buttons, but we know we need to do better than that. “I would imagine we’ll get another couple [of players in], I think we’ll get another couple for sure.” Falkirk face Motherwell at Fir Park next Sunday.