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This past Sunday, May 15th 2011, the 8th Saints Aid event was held by SMiSA in conjunction with the St. Mirren FC at St. Mirren Park, Greenhill Road; the first to be held at the new stadium since the club's move from Love Street.
The result of the game was a deserved 3-1 win for the away side, wearing the blue change kit as managed by current Saints centreback Lee Mair, over the home side as managed by Saints legend Tony Fitzpatrick. The game was a closer encounter than the scoreline would suggest, with the home side well in the match until the 3rd and final goal was scored by the away team.
David Wilson bagged a first half brace for the 'blues' before David Gordon netted for the home team to send the sides in at 2-1 at half time, with the away number 9 Roy Henderson completing the scoring late on. The traditional penalties took place a short time after the final whistle, in front of the family stand.
Roy was awarded by Lee his team's Man of the Match award, while Andrew Caldwell, the home goalkeeper, was selected by Tony to receive his team's trophy.
This may be the last time that SMiSA hold a Saints Aid event, with future events of this type potentially being run by 10000 Hours CIC. However the comments and feedback received on the day makes clear that there is a definite demand to see this event continue for many years to come.
In closing, SMiSA wish to thank everyone involved with the event, including the referees (Stephen Martin, Paul Martin & Eileen McMillan) who gave their time to officiate the game, the club for letting us stage the event and the Paisley Daily Express for help in publicising the event and running their competition.
Special thanks however must go to Tony & Lee for very generously giving up their time to take the roles of team managers for the day and of course, all the players who took part in the event, which has raised £3,000 for Saints' Youth Development.