St Mirren take on Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup Final at Barclays Hampden on Sunday afternoon.
The Buddies path to the Final started back in July and has seen its fair share of drama as we overcame to odds to reach the showpiece event for the first time since winning the trophy in 2013.
Few may have given Saints the chance of reaching the Final following matchday one in Group D on Saturday 12th July.
Topping Group D
St Mirren were drawn in Group D of the Premier Sports Cup group stage and would face Championship sides Arbroath and Ayr United as well as League Two outfits Annan Athletic and Forfar Athletic.
Matchday one saw us make the journey up to Arbroath on what was billed as Scotland's hottest day of the year. That memo didn't seem to reach the Angus town with the match played in misty conditions at Gayfield Park. A frustrating afternoon saw Saints reduced to 10 men when Mark O'Hara was shown two yellow cards and the match finished 0-0 after 90 minutes. Arbroath would pick up the bonus point after penalties with Fraser Taylor - Player of the Year at the Red Lichties the previous season - having his spot-kick saved by Arbroath goalkeeper Aidan McAdams.
The Buddies bounced back a few days later with a 2-1 victory away to Forfar Athletic thanks to goals from Jayden Richardson and Mikael Mandron before a resounding 8-2 win over Annan Athletic at The SMiSA Stadium. That victory set up a table topping clash with Ayr United in our final match where a Killian Phillips brace helped us to a 2-1 win and progression to the round of 16 as group winners.
Breaking Hearts - Round of 16
Our reward for finishing top of Group D was a home tie against league leaders Heart of Midlothian. The Jam Tarts had made a flying start to the season under their new manager Derek McInnes, but it was Saints who would take a first-half lead when a wonderful strike from Alex Gogic put us ahead at The SMiSA Stadium.
The visitors managed to draw themselves level with around 12 minutes of normal time remaining when Oisin McEntee equalised. Neither side could be separated after 120 minutes meaning a penalty shoot-out would be required.
Saints were perfect from the spot with Richard King, Marcus Fraser, Evan Mooney and Roland Idowu all netting. Shamal George's save from Claudio Braga's penalty allowed summer signing Malik Dijksteel to score the winner on his debut to send us through to the last eight.
Final Score: St Mirren 1-1 Hearts (St Mirren win 5-4 on penalties)
Going the Distance - Quarter-Final
A visit to Rugby Park awaited at the quarter-final stage as we took on Kilmarnock. Traditionally not a happy hunting ground for Saints, terrific goals from Mandron and Richardson either side of half-time would twice have us in front, but as was required in the previous round, the Buddies would have to go the distance.
The Buddies were once again flawless from the spot with King, Idowu, Liam Donnelly and Dan Nlundulu all scoring. With George saving from Kyle Magennis, that gave Dijksteel the chance to send the Saints marching on to Hampden and he made no mistake as he slammed home the final spot kick.
Final Score: Kilmarnock 2-2 St Mirren (St Mirren win 5-3 on penalties)
All Saints Day - Semi-Final
Our penalty shoot-out victory over Kilmarnock saw us return to the National Stadium for the first time in almost five years and what stood between us and a place in the Final was a tussle with Motherwell on All Saints Day.
The Buddies were brilliant on the day, racing into a 2-0 lead at half-time thanks to goals from Mandron and Nlundulu. Callum Hendry pulled a late goal back for Motherwell, but King quickly restored our two goal advantage before Mandron put the seal on a famous afternoon to secure our place in the Final.
Final Score: Motherwell 1-4 St Mirren
