St Johnstone sign Irish striker
St Johnstone have completed the signing of 25-year-old forward Ruari Paton, who joins on a season-long loan from English League One side Port Vale. Paton has plenty experience in Scotland. The Irishman played for East Kilbride between July 2019 and June 2020, where he played 7 games and scored 3 goals, Stranraer between July 2020 and June 2021, where he played 30 times and scored 9 goals, Queen of the South between July 2021 and June 2023, where he played 91 times and scored 33 goals, Queen’s Park between July 2023 and July 2024, where he played 43 times and scored 22 goals and Dundee United between January 2025 and June 2025, where he played 13 games and failed to find the net. Paton after signing for Saints: “I hope to bring composure, tenacity and of course some goals. But I can say that all I want, I need to show the supporters. “I’m just feeling pure excitement and, as I said, I’m really looking forward to having a good crack at this and having a strong finish to the season. “I’m so eager to get out there on the training field with all the guys. It’s going to be great.”
Dundee sign Wright on loan
Dundee have signed winger Scott Wright from English Championship side Birmingham City until the end of the season. Wright joins Dundee on a loan deal for the rest of the season from English Championship outfit Birmingham City. The 28-year-old has plenty experience playing in the Scottish Premiership, with over 6 years at Aberdeen and then Rangers, where he spent 3 years, where he won the Scottish Premiership, the Scottish Cup and the League Cup, before joining Birmingham City. While at Aberdeen, Wright had a loan spell at Dens Park, where he featured in 13 games, scoring 3 and providing 4 assists. Wright has struggled with injuries whilst in England. In February 2025, the winger picked up a serious injury which kept him sidelined until December. When Wright returned from injury, he was sidelined again until early January. Since returning, Wright has played 6 minutes in 3 games. Scott Wright after signing: “It’s great to be back, excited to be back here and be playing some football. Personally, it was great for me at the time (the previous loan spell), I came in as a young man, it was good for me getting away from home and playing real football. I’m delighted to be back, can’t wait to see the fans at Dens Park soon.”
Dundee sign Dutch defender
Dundee have completed the signing of defender Lewis Montsma, who joins on a six-month deal from English League One side Lincoln City, with an option to extend, The 27-year-old was at Lincoln since July 2020, where he joined after spending 2 years at Dutch outfit FC Dordrecht. The Dutch defender featured in 108 games over 5 years in England. Montsma has struggled for minutes this campaign. The 27-year-old has only featured in 4 matches, with all 4 coming in cup competitions. 2 in the EFL Trophy, 1 in the FA Cup and the other in the EFL Cup. After signing, Montsma said: “I’m very happy to be here. As soon as my agent said Dundee were really interested, I was like this is for me. It’s a good change for me in my career; I hope to play a lot of games here. I spoke to Ethan (Hamilton) on the phone, he told me about how the place is, it looks very nice here, really looking forward to getting started.”
Dundee fans react to goalless draw.
St Mirren 0-0 Dundee: Dundee fans react to goalless draw against St Mirren in Paisley. @Neil Martin: “It’s a point a draw away from home. Probably would’ve taken that at the start of play though it’s a ‘winnable game’, disappointing given the man advantage we couldn’t capitalise on that. Still positives, bounced back from a defeat last week to get a point and kept a clean sheet we’re progressing.” @Logan Cavin: “Heavily missed Ashley Hay today in my opinion, final product just wasn’t there, hardly saw anything from Murray. Only thing I took away from that is Halliday looks great.” @Craig Gordon: Dhanda was off it today unfortunately. Creativity at a minimum across the board. Decent point considering below par all round. Graham looking classier by the week. Home vs Well next under the lights. We can beat them at Dens.” @derry_rhumba: “Fair result. Controlled parts of the game, particularly for spells in the first half, but a complete lack of a final ball of presence upfront killed us today. The substitutes didn’t work either, Reilly looked good but Bevan gave the ball away every single time he got it. Not a terrible result away from home though, and onto Motherwell at Dens.” @Jim Mooney: “Always a tricky place for us but not enough up front. Solid enough at the back against 2 troublesome strikers.” @Bruce Conacher: “Bevan and Reilly should be asked to play as strikers rather than wingers at the moment IMO. Think they would do great.” @Anthony Marshall: “Clean sheet and a point isn’t too bad – need that bit more up front but that will come, no point crying over spilt milk as it isn’t a defeat – perspective required. Will be interesting who comes in before the window shuts. All in all, onwards and upwards. Mon the Dees.”
St Johnstone 2-2 Partick Thistle: Fans Verdict.
Entertaining game, not much in it, both sides were good to watch.”– St Johnstone and Partick Thistle supporters react to dramatic draw in Perth. St Johnstone fans. Sean Hamilton: “Genuinely haunted by the cheapness of the goals St Johnstone gave away last night. McAlear’s lack of urgency in claiming the ball before the first was shocking. Fotheringham is hopelessly casual ahead of the second. Diabate can’t have his hands all over his attacker in the box. Too many self-inflicted goals being lost through a lack of urgency and poor decision making. Players need a shake. The stakes are too high to be so careless. Oh… and Josh Fowler has to start from now on.” Andrew Johnston: “To go 5 clean sheets in a row and then concede 3 goals entirely of our own making is so frustrating. Nobody said it would be easy, but why do we have to make it so hard?” John Clunie: “Sickening but onwards and upwards, still top game in hand let’s do this.” Lee Kelman: “Poor first half, brilliant 2nd half. Just needed to be smarter in last moments of the game. Still 2 points clear with a game in hand.” Partick Thistle fans. Gazman_85: “That was a great point in the end. Thought we played well especially in the first half. 2nd half St. Johnstone the better team but I’m loving this never say die attitude from this team. Not out of this yet.” loyaljag: “The game plan was executed perfectly in first half but you’re always going to be under pressure in second half. Overall it was only one bit of quality that undid us despite playing with backs to wall. These players can never be written off though.” PTFC Updates: “Tony Watt & Alex Samuel, what a partnership! 2 of the league’s best strikers playing for the same team. Tony’s run for the first goal and constant physical battle, showed his class tonight. And Alex Samuel, wonderful as ever, a real physical and goal-scoring threat for us.” Jilly Stevo: “Entertaining game, not much in it, both sides were good to watch. A point each seems right but it feels like a win after being so close to defeat. Brilliant last gasp penalty under huge pressure. Proud of the whole team, they defended well and attacked well and looked totally different to the side I watched at McDiarmid Park on day 1.”
St Johnstone vs Partick Thistle – Match Report
League leaders St Johnstone take on 2nd place Partick Thistle in a huge game at McDiarmid Park. The visitors nearly got off to the perfect start. Samuel did well to get into a shooting position, but his low effort hit the side-netting. Crawford spotted Samuel in plenty of space inside the St Johnstone box, but could not find the Jags number 9, however, the ball found its way to Watt, who cut inside onto his right foot, but his shot was straight at Steward. McPake found Gullan inside the Partick Thistle box, who flicked it onto Holt, whose effort from inside the box was well blocked. Agyeman found space outside the box and had a go, but his powerful effort was straight at Clarke, who kept hold. Crawford found himself with space inside the box, but his shot was well blocked by Mikulic, who slid in to deny the midfielder. Gullan found Forrester who found space to cross, with blue shirts in the middle, but his cross was headed out for a corner. From the resulting corner, the ball fell to McAlear, whose shot from outside the area was tipped over the top by Clarke. With under 5 minutes to go until half time, the Jags broke the deadlock. Striker Watt was first to a 50/50 following a St Johnstone corner. Watt then raced up the pitch and found himself up against Holt, who he got past with ease, and squared the ball to Smyth, who slotted home from close range. Into the second period, St Johnstone found the leveller. Gullan’s corner eventually found its way to Agyeman, who found himself with the ball inside the area with his back to goal, and found the net via a deflection, to give him his first goal for St Johnstone. Forrester found space outside the box and had a go, but his right footed effort went narrowly past the post. Watt found Smyth with a lofted pass, which keeper Steward came rushing out for and got to, to deny the Jags’ number 8. Gullan’s cross resulted in a goalmouth scramble inside the Partick Thistle box, which was stopped by the referee after Clarke collected. Agyeman worked the ball onto his right foot and had a shot, but his strike was palmed away by Clarke. With just over 25 minutes of normal time remaining, McPake put St Johnstone in front. The winger received the ball from Gullan, then cut inside onto his right foot and found the bottom corner. Agyeman found space and whipped in a dangerous cross, which was just beyond the reach of Fowler. Agyeman worked the ball onto his right foot and had a shot from inside the area, which was well saved by Clarke at his near post. Into the final minute of stoppage time, Partick Thistle were awarded a penalty after Samuel was brought down by defender Diabate. Smyth stepped up and found the bottom corner to rescue the Jags a point right at the death. A quite incredible ending to an incredible game at McDiarmid Park. As a result, St Johnstone remain 2 points clear at the top of the Championship with a game in hand. St Johnstone: Steward (5), Forrester (6), Diabate (3), Mikulic (5), Boyes (6), Holt (6), McAlear (5), Stanton (5), Gullan (7), McPake (8), Agyeman (8) Substitutes: Fowler (7), Baird (6), Fotheringham (6), Griffith (6) Partick Thistle: Clarke (6), McPherson (6), McBeth (6), Ashcroft (6), O’Reilly (6), Reading (6), Crawford (6), Smyth (10), Stanway (6), Watt (8), Samuel (7) Substitutes: Loughrey (6), Chalmers (6), Taylor (6)
St Johnstone bolster their attacking options.
St Johnstone have completed the signing of Queens Park forward Josh Fowler, who joins on a 2-year-deal. The 24-year-old striker scored 19 times for The Spiders this season, including a goal in every cup competition. 1 in the Scottish Cup, 3 in 3 games in the League Cup, 5 in 4 games in the League Cup and 10 goals in the Championship. The English forward is 2nd for goals scored in the Championship, behind Josh McPake, who he will link up with in the second half of the season. Josh Fowler on signing for The Saints: “We have a goal that we’re all pushing towards and I’m excited to get going. St Johnstone is a very well-run club and I wanted to be part of that. I feel like I’m ready for this step up and this challenge.” “I hope the fans take to me and I can show what I can do. We all have the same ambitions together – the team and the fans. The forward will wear the number 9.
St Johnstone vs Partick Thistle – Match Preview
St Johnstone host Partick Thistle in a 6-pointer at the top of the Championship. The last meeting between these sides finished 2-1 to Partick Thistle. O’Reilly and Watt scored first half goals for The Jags. Into the second period, McPake scored a consolation goal for The Saints. In the previous meeting between these sides at McDiarmid Park, St Johnstone won 5-1. Reading opened the scoring for Partick Thistle, but goals from Gullan, a hat trick from McPake and a late Strike from Mallan saw the Saints pick up an emphatic home win. In their last outing, St Johnstone lost 1-0 at home to Neil Lennon’s Dunfermline. The defeat saw their unbeaten home record in the league come to an end after 11 games. In their last outing, Partick Thistle beat Scott Brown’s Ayr United at Firhill. Mark Wilson’s men raced into a 2-goal lead with 2 quickfire goals from Chalmers and Samuel, to put themselves in a commanding position after 15 minutes. Main scored on the hour mark, but it only turned out to be a consolation for The Honest Men. As a result, Partick Thistle now sit only 2 points off the top, setting up a mouthwatering clash at McDiarmid Park on Friday night. The Glasgow outfit have been poor on their travels, only picking up 13 points from a possible 33 on the road, in the league. Compared to their home record, where they have picked up 30 points, winning 9 and drawing 3. These 2 sides are the highest scoring sides in the division. The Saints have scored 43 in 22 matches, while The Jags have found the net on 35 occasions, 6 above Dunfermline Athletic who sit 3rd in the goal scoring charts. St Johnstone duo McPake and Gullan lead the combined goals and assists tally in the Championship, with 15 and 14 separately. Partick Thistle forward Chalmers sits in 3rd with 12 combined goals and assists. Simo Valakari ahead of St Johnstone’s huge clash against Partick Thistle: “Another big one, another big one, and of course, again, a big big challenge for us and a game we want to play, because, if you want to call it, they are our ‘direct opponent’, they are right behind us, they are chasing us”, The Saints manager stated. “We saw it last week, how tight these games are when you play against the top teams and we know tomorrow night we need to be close to our best to get something out of the game, but it’s the same for them”. Luke McBeth ahead of Partick Thistle’s clash against St Johnstone: “Really looking forward to it, obviously a massive game, so everyone’s up for it and just excited to get going”, he stated. On what aspects in the last couple of games they are looking to carry going into Friday night’s clash: “I think just being solid, trying not to concede. Obviously, they’ve got a lot of threats, but so do we, so think just playing our own, kind of knowing what they’re good at, but also getting up after the ball when we’ve got it.”
Arsenal vs Kairat Almaty – Match Preview
Arsenal return to Champions League action on Wednesday, looking to respond after losing against rivals Manchester United on Sunday. Arsenal come into this fixture off the back of a 3-2 home defeat to Manchester United, which was their first defeat since December 6th, when Aston Villa scored a late winner at Villa Park. Kairat Almaty come into this fixture off the back of a 4-1 defeat at home against Club Brugge. In Kazakhstan, the league works differently. The season runs from March until October. In their last league outing, which was back on October 26th, Kairat drew 1-1 at home to FC Astana to clinch the title and book their spot in the UEFA Champions League qualification rounds, where they beat Slovenian side Olimpija Ljubljana 3-1 on aggregate, Finnish side KuPS 3-2 on aggregate, after losing the first leg 2-0 away, Slovakian side Slovan Bratislava 4-3 on penalties, after a 1-0 win at home and a 1-0 loss away, and finally Scottish Champions Celtic 3-2 on penalties after both legs finished goalless, to book their spot in the Champions League group phase for the first time in the club’s history. Although Mikel Arteta’s side have struggled in the Premier League recently, their Champions League form has been immense. The Gunners have played 7 and won 7, with their most recent win coming against Serie A leaders 3-1 in Milan. In those 7 games, Arsenal have scored 20 goals and only let in 2. Kairat currently sit bottom of the Champions League table. The Kazakhstan side have played 7, drawn 1 and lost 6, with that 1 draw coming against 30th place Pafos, who had a man sent off after 4 minutes. Despite being bottom, the fact Kairat reached the group stage and have earned the chance to play some of Europe’s elite is a special achievement and one that will go down in Kairat’s history. Both Mikel Merino and Declan Rice will be suspended for Wednesday night’s match after both players picked up a yellow in Milan. Bukayo Saka after Manchester United defeat: “I think we didn’t show our best level for the full game, which is frustrating. “It’s such a big game with a lot riding on it. Obviously, the Emirates has been a place where we’ve been so strong this season. “It’s a tough loss to take, but we have to stick together. We go again next week; we’ll try and get back to winning ways. “In football, you can score, you can concede – it’s your reaction after it. Obviously, we would have wanted to make it 2-0, but we didn’t. Overall, we’re just not too happy with the performance.” Mikel Arteta’s reaction to defeat against Manchester United: “First of all, I congratulate Man United for the victory – a game of moments, I would define it. “The first 30 minutes was total dominance from our side in the areas that we wanted to score the goal, had another two massive chances to score. “I take full responsibility [today], they have to take full responsibility for what they’ve done for seven months, in the manner that they behaved, how much they want it. And now, in the process of winning, you have to lose or draw. It’s how you react to that. Now we have another opportunity, the best place to talk is on the pitch, in three days’ time, when we play in the Champions League again.
St Johnstone vs Ayr United – Match Preview
St Johnstone are back at McDiarmid Park on Tuesday night where they will face fellow Championship outfit Ayr United in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Challenge Cup. The last meeting between these sides finished 4-2 to St Johnstone at Somerset Park. McKenzie and Murphy scored first half goals to put The Honest Men 2-0 up going into the break, but second half goals from Foulds, a brace from McPake and a stoppage time goal from Fotheringham meant that St Johnstone left with all 3 points. In the previous meeting at McDiarmid Park, the game finished goalless. St Johnstone come into this fixture off the back of a 1-0 home defeat to Dunfermline Athletic, which was The Saints’ first home league defeat of the season, ending an unbeaten run of 11 games. As a result, the Perth outfit now sit 2 points ahead of Partick Thistle in 2nd, who come to McDiarmid Park on Friday night. Before their defeat against Neil Lennon’s Dunfermline Athletic, St Johnstone had not lost in 7 games in all competitions, winning 5 and drawing 2, and in that run, Simo Valakari’s side kept 6 clean sheets. Ayr United come into this fixture off the back of a 2-1 league defeat against Partick Thistle at Firhill. As a result, Ayr United have moved below the play-off spots in 5th, behind Dunfermline Athletic on goal difference. Scott Brown’s side have only won 1 in 5, with that win coming at home against League 2 outfit Stranraer at home in the Challenge Cup. In continuation, Ayr have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 8 matches in all competitions. To reach this stage of the competition, The Saints defeated Hearts B away from home, Gullan got the goal which sent them through. In the last 16, St Johnstone beat Championship strugglers Ross County 2-0 at McDiarmid Park, a goal from McPake and a first Saints goal from Lloyd sent them through to the quarter-finals. To reach this stage of the competition, Ayr United defeated Peterhead 2-1 at home, Dowds and McAllister got the goals. And in the previous round, the Ayrshire outfit defeated League 2 side Stranraer. Main, Dempsey, Finney and Thomas all got on the scoresheet. Simo Valakari on his side’s defeat against Dunfermline: “Dunfermline were very dangerous up front and very solid at the back. One action decided the game. They took their chance and we didn’t take ours. That’s why we can have no argument about the result. Most of the season we have been on the right side of the small margins because we’ve been doing so many right things. This afternoon they didn’t go for us. Maybe we weren’t at our best – especially in the opposition’s box. We created moments. You get these kinds of games, but still the boys gave everything. When we win, we celebrate and tonight we suffer.” Ayr United assistant manager, Steven Whittaker, on Tuesday night’s Challenge Cup meeting with St Johnstone: “It’s a competition we have aimed to do well in. It’s a tough draw but we go there having had a good performance earlier in the season. “We need to re-group, learn from today and hopefully go up there and put a good performance in.”
