St Mirren B impressed as they defeated Alloa Athletic 3-2 on matchday two in the KDM Evolution Trust Trophy. 

Goals from Evan Mooney and Fraser Taylor, who both netted away to Dumbarton two weeks ago, saw the Young Saints in control at the Indodrill Stadium. But a crazy finish saw Alloa score twice in stoppage time to level the game and look like stealing a point. The drama wouldn't end there with Jalmaro Calvin going on to score the winner for the Buddies on 93 minutes. 

A tough task saw the young Saints take on the League One league leaders away from home. But from the start the Buddies looked bright with Oisin Smyth inches away from opening the scoring on 6 minutes when he reversed an effort just wide of the left-hand post.

A nice bit of play on 15 minutes culminated Lewis Hodgkiss side-footing into the arms of Alloa goalkeeper Tochukwu Ogayi from the edge of the area, while Evan Mooney drilled wide of the far post two minutes later. 

Veteran striker Conor Sammon passed up a big opportunity for Alloa on 23 minutes when he brought the ball down on his chest in the area, but lashed over. Moments later, Taylor knocked a low effort just wide from 20 yards for the young Saints.

The Buddies broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time when Mooney scored a fine finish. The 17-year-old fired high into the roof of the net from 15 yards in the final seconds of the first 45 to score his second goal in this KDM Evolution Trust Trophy campaign. 

The young Saints doubled their advantage six minutes after the restart when Taylor sent a nice low strike beyond the Alloa goalkeeper from inside the area. 

Fraser Taylor after scoring our second against Alloa. The midfielder has scored in both KDM Evolution Trust Trophy matches this season. 

Saints looked comfortable in their lead and had opportunities to extend it with Mooney heading into the arms of Ogayi just before the hour mark while Hodgkiss saw his effort deflected over a minute later. 

Alloa never really looked much like threatening, though Saints stopper Grant Tamosevicius got down well on 63 minutes to push away a low effort from Luke Rankin.

Substitute Theo McCormick had a big opportunity to add a third on 83 minutes when he got himself on the end of a lovely low cross from Callum Penman on the right. But the forward's effort was blocked at close range by Wasps goalkeeper Ogayi. 

The hosts pulled a goal back as the game headed into stoppage time with Lewis Bruin scoring a stunning effort into the top corner of the net. It looked like it would be nothing more than a consolation, but within a minute the Wasps would draw themselves level when substitute Luke Rankin scored from close range. 

Disappointment at being pegged back would soon turn to elation with Saints going straight up the park and winning the game with the final kick of the ball. Thomas Falconer's low cross found Jamaican forward Calvin at the back post and he tucked into the net to secure victory and three points for the Buddies.

Jalmaro Calvin celebrates goal against Alloa. 

Up next for the Young Saints is a trip to Annan Athletic on Saturday 6th September for matchday three. 

Full-Time: Alloa Athletic 2-3 St Mirren B

St Mirren: Tamosevicius, Penman, Falconer, Hutchison, McEvoy, Clark (Stoddart 79), Smyth, Hodgkiss (Douglas 68), Mooney (McCormick 79), Taylor (c), Calvin
Subs Not Used: Innes, Lavery, Barr, Farquhar, Thompson, O'Brien 

Alloa Athletic: Ogayi, Easdon, McKay, Graham, Hannah (Roddie 80), Watkins, Bruin, Mullen, O'Donnell, Donnelly, Sammon (Rankin 46)
Subs Not Used: Parry, Kavanagh, Kilday, McCurdy

St Mirren picked up a point against Rangers at The SMiSA Stadium with Jonah Ayunga scoring his first goal of the season in a 1-1 draw.

The Kenyan forward fired the Saints into a first-half lead, but the visitors grabbed a share of the spoils after a late deflected Findlay Curtis strike. 

Manager Stephen Robinson named the same starting line-up as the one that defeated Hearts in the Premier Sports Cup last weekend. That meant Mikael Mandron made it from the start after being labelled as a doubt. 

Rangers threatened first with Oliver Antman driving from deep in the Saints half on five minutes before a powerful shot from 20 yards out which Shamal George did well to save and hold. 

Nicolas Raskin was first into the book as he was shown yellow for a pull on Mark O'Hara as the Saints captain looked to break forward. Declan John swung the resulting free-kick on to the head of Alex Gogic who made contact but couldn't beat Jack Butland. 

Killian Phillips passed up a big chance to break the deadlock on 21 minutes after a nice move from Saints eventually saw the ball fall to the Irishman just inside the area. He sliced his shot and that saw it drift wide of the target.

Lyall Cameron will have felt he could have done better for the visitors after arriving into the box to meet a cross from Djeidi Gassama on the left. The midfielder got first contact on it but fired over from close-range. 

A minute later it was Saints turn to come close to breaking the deadlock when Emmanuel Fernandez failed to cut out Phillips' cross. That allowed the ball to drift to the back post where Mandron met it, but at full stretch, he was unable to turn in. 

Saints hit the front just after the half hour mark. Marcus Fraser lifted the ball into Mandron who turned and slid the ball for Ayunga to chase. The forward raced clear of John Souttar and showed great composure to fire beyond Butland for his first goal of the season.

Jonah Ayunga's goal put Saints ahead (Image: Allan Picken)

Keanu Baccus came close to making it two-nil on 37 minutes with a long-range strike that fizzed just over the bar with Butland at full-stretch. George made a stunning save to keep Saints ahead just a minute later when he clawed away Thelo Aasgaard's attempt.

Russell Martin made two changes for the visitors at half-time with the introduction of Mikey Moore and Danilo in place of Jayden Meghoma and Antman. While Rangers were starting to play with more intensity, Saints looked threatening on the break with Ayunga striking into the arms of Butland five minutes after the restart. Just before the hour, Mandron was inches away from adding a second with a powerful effort from 20 yards that went agonisingly wide.

Gogic passed up a good opportunity to make it 2-0 with 20 minutes remaining when he found himself on the end of a Mandron header. But the Cypriot was on the stretch as he knocked over the bar.

Rangers substitute Curtis, who had come on just two minutes earlier, drew the visitors level on 78 minutes. Saints couldn't get James Tavernier's corner clear and Curtis fired beyond George via a deflection off Baccus to make it 1-1. 

George saved from Curtis a minute after his goal before a big stop heading into the final minutes to push away a curling effort from Tavernier. 

The Buddies were agonisingly close to winning it deep in injury-time when Gogic's header looked set to loop into the net, only for Butland to make a stunning save to turn it over the bar and deny Saints all three points.

Full-Time: St Mirren 1-1 Rangers

St Mirren: George, Fraser, Gogic, Freckleton, Richardson, Phillips (Idowu 84), Baccus, O'Hara (c), John (Tanser 84), Ayunga (Mooney 69), Mandron
Subs Not Used: Mullen, Sobowale, King, Taylor, Dijksteel, Calvin

Rangers: Butland, Aarons (Tavernier 69), Souttar, Fernandez, Meghoma (Moore 46), Raskin, Rothwell (Curtis 76), Cameron, Antman (Danilo 46), Gassama, Aasgaard (Diomande 65)
Subs Not Used: Kelly, Barron, Dowell, Igamane

Referee: Nick Walsh
Assistant Referee: Dougie Potter
Assistant Referee: David Dunne
Fourth Official: Chris Graham
VAR: Gavin Duncan

St Mirren went marching on in the Premier Sports Cup after five perfect penalties saw us prevail over Hearts at The SMiSA Stadium. 

Richard King, Marcus Fraser, Roland Idowu and Evan Mooney all netted, while Shamal George saved from Claudio Braga. That allowed Malik Dijksteel to step up and score on his home debut to send the Buddies through to the quarters-finals. 

Saints were brilliant in the opening stages with Mikael Mandron forcing a good save from Zander Clark at the goalkeeper's near post on 12 minutes. Three minutes later, Jayden Richardson got in behind the Hearts defence and broke down the right-hand channel. He worked his way into the box and could have potentially went alone, but elected to try and find Jonah Ayunga in the middle of the box. The full-back didn't put enough on the pass and that allowed the Hearts defence to clear. 

Killian Phillips had a go from from distance on 25 minutes and forced a decent stop from Clark who got two strong hands behind it to push away. 

Alex Gogic opened the scoring with just over 10 minutes of the first-half remaining. Phillips took a quick free-kick to Declan John who swung in a terrific ball to find the Cypriot defender. Gogic had acres of space and scored in stunning fashion with a scissor kick volley beyond Clark to give Saints a well-deserved lead. 

Alex Gogic scored a brilliant effort to give Saints the lead (Image: Craig Brown)

Tomas Magnusson was lucky to escape a second yellow card for the visitors a minute later. The midfielder, who was booked for a foul on Mark O'Hara on five minutes, should have been cautioned again when pulled down Keanu Baccus. 

Declan John was then the recipient of a harsh booking when he was shown yellow after what looked like a good challenge to win the ball from Pierre Kabore. That decision saw manager Stephen Robinson make a change at half-time with Scott Tanser replacing the Welshman at the break. Hearts made a triple substitution at the break with Magnusson, Kabore and Alexandros Kyziridis replaced by Beni Baningime, Claudio Braga and Elton Kabangu. 

Phillips almost doubled the Buddies lead early after the restart. The Irishman forced a brilliant save from Clark who had to move quickly to push away the midfielders volley from 20 yards. 

Hearts started to see more of the ball but didn't do much to threaten George in the Saints net. Kabangu headed wide, while Lawrence Shankland's header was easy for the Saints goalkeeper. A decent run from Braga ended in the Hearts man shooting easily into the arms of George.

The visitors would find themselves level with 12 minutes of normal time remaining. Oisin McEntree got to the back post to meet a corner from Harry Milne and headed into the net. 

The manager made a triple change on 83 minutes with the introduction of Tunmise Sobowale, Roland Idowu and Evan Mooney in place of Richardson, Baccus and Mandron.

The game headed to extra-time and in truth neither side looked like winning it outright at that stage. Penalties it was and Saints, knocked out on penalties by Hearts in the Scottish Cup last season, ensured they would be on the right end of the result with five perfect penalties ensuring progression and a quarter-final tie away to the winner of Kilmarnock and Dundee United. 

Malik Dijksteel scored the winning penalty on his home debut (Image: Craig Brown)

Full-Time: St Mirren 1-1 Hearts (St Mirren win 5-4 on penalties)

St Mirren: George, Fraser, Gogic, Freckleton, Richardson (Sobowale 83), Phillips (Dijksteel 106), Baccus (Idowu 83), O'Hara (c), John (Tanser 46), Ayunga (King 91), Mandron (Mooney 83)
Subs Not Used: Mullen, Taylor, Calvin

Hearts: Clark, Kent, Halkett (Forrest 74), Findlay, Milne (Kingsley 106), Kabore (Braga 46), Magnusson (Baningime 46), McEntee (Steinwender 97), Devlin, Kyziridis (Kabangu 46), Shankland
Subs Not Used: Stone, Spittal, Wilson

Referee: Steven McLean
Assistant Referee: Graeme Stewart
Assistant Referee: Gordon Crawford
Fourth Official: Iain Snedden

Attendance: 4,738

St Mirren B were beaten 4-2 by Dumbarton in their opening KDM Evolution Trophy League Phase match. 

First-half strikes from Scott Tomlinson and Chris Johnston gave the hosts the initiative going into the break. Evan Mooney pulled one back for Saints with a tidy finish 10 minutes after the restart, but the home side added a third on the hour mark when their captain Tony Wallace headed in from close-range. Fraser Taylor scored a terrific free-kick to reduce the deficit before Dominic Docherty rounded off the scoring for the home side. 

Peter Hartley took charge of the Young Saints, assisted by Craig McLeish. Taylor captained the side, while Ryan Mullen, Jalmaro Calvin and Mooney were the other first-team squad members involved in the starting line-up. 

Dumbarton took the lead on 19 minutes when Innes Clark couldn't control a pass from Taylor around 30 yards from goal. That allowed Tomlinson the chance to rob the young defender of the ball before driving forward and sending a nice low finish beyond Mullen from 20 yards.

The Sons added a second with 10 minutes of the first-half remaining. Chris Johnston raced on to a flick-on and slammed beyond Mullen to double the hosts' advantage. 

Saints looked better after the restart, but almost conceded a third when Scott Honeyman headed just wide of the post in the opening moments of the second-half. 

The Buddies' brighter start paid dividends when Mooney halved Dumbarton's lead with a tidy finish on 55 minutes. Josh Farquhar worked the ball wide to Flynn O'Brien whose low ball across the box was perfectly weighted for Mooney. The forward's touch took the Dumbarton defender completely out of the game and allowed him to send a lovely strike beyond Ollie Ecrepont to reduce the deficit.  

Saints almost drew level on the hour mark when Clark rose brilliantly to meet a Taylor corner, but his powerful header flew inches over the bar. Within a minute of that missed opportunity, Dumbarton restored their two goal lead. Honeyman drove to the byline and saw his cutback take a deflection and spin in the air where skipper Wallace was on hand to send a header into the net. 

The Buddies would add a second on 69 minutes to bring it back to within a goal when Taylor scored a brilliant free-kick. A cynical challenge on Mooney by Derin Marshall earned the Sons defender a yellow card. Taylor stepped up to take the free-kick 30 yards from goal and cracked it into the net via the post.

Dumbarton almost immediately made it 4-2 with Mullen having to make a terrific save to push away Honeyman's effort.

With 10 minutes remaining, Saints passed up a chance to level when Calvin was denied by Ecrepont who made himself big to block. The Jamaican forward exhibited his lightning pace to race on to a pass and drive toward the Dumbarton goal, but couldn't find the net. 

Summer signing Jalmaro Calvin completed 90 minutes

The Young Saints continued to press for an equaliser and substitute Luke Douglas twice came close, flashing a shot just wide of the far post after running on to a good pass from Struan Thompson before volleying over a minute later. 

Dumbarton would round off the scoring though with half-time substitute Docherty on hand to turn in a Johnston cross to secure the win and three points for the Sons. 

Despite disappointment of the goals lost, a good learning opportunity for St Mirren B who are next in KDM Evolution Cup action against Alloa Athletic in two weeks' time. 

Full-Time: Dumbarton 4-2 St Mirren B

St Mirren: Mullen, Hutchison, Clark, Hunter (Morrow 80), Barr, Taylor (c), Hodgkiss (Thompson 80) , O'Brien (Stoddart 80), Mooney (Douglas 70), Calvin, Farquhar (Lavery 62)
Subs Not Used: Tamosevicius

Dumbarton: Ecrepont, Lynas, Clark, Blair, Tomlinson (Kirkpatrick 46), Roy (Docherty 46), Wallace (c), Webster (Walker 13, Neill 63), Marshall (Durnan 71), Honeyman, Johnston
Subs Not Used: Kelly, Livingstone, Gilfedder, Connor

Referee: Graham Grainger

Attendance: 317

Saints and Motherwell shared the points but no goals in the first league game of the season at The SMiSA Stadium.

The first-half was pretty much a non-event, despite Mark O'Hara threatening for Saints inside the first minute. Ibrahim Said went closest for the visitors, his shot being blocked by Shamal George.

The second-half was a slight improvement, Mikael Mandron and O'Hara seeing shots blocked and Callum Slattery testing George with a long range free-kick. Alex Gogic almost broke the deadlock with a fine header, but it was tipped over the bar by Calum Ward who also kept out late shots from Killian Phillips and Keanu Baccus.

The Australian midfielder came straight into the Saints side after returning to Paisley during the week, with Miguel Freckleton also handed a debut. Dropping out were Fraser Taylor and Richard King, who had to be content with places on the bench. Stephen O'Donnell came in for the visitors, who also handed a debut to Ibrahim Said, with Apostolos Stamatelopoulos dropping to the bench and Liam Gordon missing out through injury.

Keanu Baccus started upon his return to Saints (Image: Jeff Holmes)

Mark O'Hara could have given Saints a dream start inside the first minute, Killian Phillips and Mikael Mandron heading the ball on for the Saints skipper but his half-volley went wide. It took another 20 minutes for the next chance of note as both sides struggled to create anything until some slick passing play got Ibrahim Said in behind the Saints defence, however Shamal George made himself big and blocked the shot. A series of Saints corners failed to provide an opening before John Koutroumbis lashed a shot wide after a Motherwell corner was only cleared as far as the edge of the box.

The visitors were definitely looking more of a threat in the final third, Tawanda Maswanhise turning away from Marcus Fraser before curling a shot wide. Alex Gogic and Jayden Richardson were both booked before the break, the latter being replaced at the interval by Tunmise Sobowale as Evan Mooney came on for Roland Idowu.

Chances were still at a premium as hostilities resumed. A poor kick-out from Motherwell goalie Calum Ward gave Saints half a chance, Mooney playing in Mandron but both his and O'Hara's efforts were blocked. Fraser was booked for fouling Maswanhise 35-yards out as he tried to make up from a mistake, Callum Slattery's free-kick stinging the palms of George. That proved the end of Fraser's involvement as he, O'Hara and Fraser were soon replaced by Conor McMenamin, Jonah Ayunga and Richard King. Ayunga got involved immediately, teeing up Baccus to find Mooney who was unable to get a good contact with the ball and it went wide.

Ward was finally called into action with less than 12 minutes left, reacting brilliantly to turn Gogic's header from McMenamin's cross over the bar.

Gogic came agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock (Image: Jeff Holmes)

As the game entered its final stages, both Phillips and Baccus tried their luck but Ward as equal to both shots, before George easily gathered a header from Motherwell sub Apostolos Stamatelopoulos as the points were shared.

Full-Time: St Mirren 0-0 Motherwell

St Mirren: George, Fraser (King 67), Gogic, Freckleton, Richardson (Sobowale 46), Phillips, Baccus, O'Hara (c) (McMenamin 67), John, Idowu (Mooney 46), Mandron (Ayunga 67)
Subs Not Used: Mullen, Tanser, Taylor, Calvin

Motherwell: Ward, Koutroumbis (Sparrow 42), McGinn (c), O'Donnell, Longelo, Watt, Slattery, Fadinger, Maswanhise (Ross 86), Just, Said (Stamatelopoulos 71)
Subs Not Used: Oxborough, Balmer, Halliday, Wilson, Forrest, Gillies 

Referee: Ross Hardie
Assistant Referee: Paul McAvinue
Assistant Referee: Scott Anderson
Fourth Official: Daniel Graves
VAR: Greg Aitken

Attendance: 6,735

St Mirren came agonisingly close to taking a point at Celtic Park, but a late goal from Luke McCowan saw the home side take the points on the opening day of the season. 

Celtic had most of the chances, but Saints defended resolutely and could have grabbed a share of the spoils if not for McCowan's 87th minute deflected strike.

The hosts didn't cause too much trouble in the opening stages despite seeing the majority of the ball. A tame header from Adam Idah was easy for Shamal George in the Saints net, while the striker sent another header over a few minutes later. 

Celtic should have taken the lead on 19 minutes when a quick free-kick from Hoops captain Callum McGregor sent Daizen Maeda racing clear on goal. The forward rounded George but couldn't find the target from the angle. A minute later, Celtic threatened again when a dangerous low cross from Alastair Johnston on the right had to be cut out by Jayden Richardson in what a terrific piece of defending by the Saints number two. 

The Buddies were certainly in the game and a searching ball over the top from Richard King found Killian Phillips in the Celtic area. The Irishman tried to bring it down to fashion the opportunity but was quickly crowded out by his fellow countryman Liam Scales who denied him the chance to get a shot away. 

Mark O'Hara tested Kasper Schmeichel a little after the half hour mark with a curling effort from 20 yards. The Saints skipper took aim for the top corner but saw the Danish goalkeeper at full-stretch to push away. The Hoops were inches away from grabbing the lead in the final moments of the first-half when George made a good save to touch Benjamin Nygren's shot onto the bar before Saints managed to clear.

Stephen Robinson made a change at the interval with the introduction of forward Jonah Ayunga in place of midfielder Fraser Taylor. The Saints striker had a decent chance on the counter 10 minutes after the restart, but his effort was easy for Schmeichel to gather. That came just a few minutes after George got a strong hand to a low shot from McGregor. 

The home side almost took the lead in freak circumstances just before the hour mark when a speculative effort from Reo Hatate deflected off Marcus Fraser and almost looped in over George. It came back off the post before striking the Saints goalkeeper and drifting out for a corner. 

Saints' resistance was broken when McGregor looked to have given the hosts the lead with around 20 minutes remaining. O'Hara couldn't get the ball clear and that saw McGregor find the ball before drilling into the net from the edge of the area. However, a VAR check disallowed the goal after the ball twice struck the Celtic captain's arm before the strike. Two minutes later, Idah rattled the post as the home side looked to up the intensity heading into the final part of the match. 

A triple substitution on 79 minutes saw Tunmise Sobowale, Oisin Smyth and Evan Mooney come on for Saints. And within two minutes of their introduction, the trio combined with Sobowale eventually finding Smyth unmarked in the Celtic box. The midfielder looked poised to put the Buddies ahead, only for his goalbound effort to be blocked by Johnston. 

Celtic would nab a winner with just three minutes of normal time remaining. The ball was worked to McCowan who took a touch to steady himself before lashing into the bottom corner with the aid of a deflection off a Saints player. It was a bitter blow given how well Stephen Robinson's men had played, but the overall performance is sure to give the Buddies boss cause for optimism for the season ahead. 

Full-Time: Celtic 1-0 St Mirren

St Mirren: George, Fraser, Gogic, King (Dijksteel 90), Richardson (Sobowale 79), Phillips, Taylor (Ayunga 46), O'Hara (c), John, Idowu (Smyth 79), Mandron (Mooney 79)
Subs Not Used: Mullen, Freckleton, McMenamin, Calvin

Celtic: Schmeichel, Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Tierney (Trusty 65), McGregor (c), Nygren (McCowan 78), Hatate (Engels 78), Yang (Forrest 59), Maeda, Idah (Kenny 78)
Subs Not Used: Sinisalo, Ralston, Bernardo, Yamada

Referee: Don Robertson
Assistant Referee: David Dunne
Assistant Referee: Craig Ferguson
VAR: Greg Aitken

St Mirren will face Hearts in the Round of 16 in the Premier Sports Cup after a 2-1 win over Ayr United saw Stephen Robinson's men top Group D.

A first-half double from Killian Phillips saw the Buddies defeat the Honest Men at The SMiSA Stadium to progress to the next round.

The Irishman put Saints ahead on 16 minutes as his low shot squirmed through the arms of David Mitchell and found the net despite the best efforts of Nick McAllister to try and keep it out. It was the culmination of a good move with Roland Idowu teeing up his fellow countryman to give us the lead.

Clear cut chances were at a premium with Fraser Taylor volleying over from 25 yards and ex-Saint Curtis Main attempting to beat debutant Shamal George from the half-way the best of opportunities after the goal. 

The Buddies would add a second with seven minutes of the first-half remaining. Idowu's persistence and tenacity down the left-hand side saw the forward pick out Phillips whose tidy first time finish gave Stephen Robinson's men a deserved two-goal lead heading into the break.

Saints should have made it three on the hour mark when O'Hara won the ball deep in his half and the Buddies charged forward on a quick counter. Idowu rolled the ball into the path of Mikael Mandron who looked poised to put the game beyond doubt, but the striker fired wide of the near post.

Frustratingly, Saints would go from having a glorious opportunity to all but seal the victory to seeing the deficit reduced just four minutes later. Kevin Holt peeled away from his marker and ghosted in at the back post to meet a deep corner. His powerful header beat George and Alex Gogic was unable to keep it from crossing the line. That came just a minute after a warning shot from the Honest Men when substitute Dominic Thomas curled just wide of the far post. 

The manager made a triple change as he introduced Oisin Smyth, Conor McMenamin and Jonah Ayunga in place of Taylor, Idowu and Mandron. With less than 10 minutes remaining, Alex Iacovitti was our fourth and final substitution as he replaced Richard King with Saints looking to see out the win. 

With Ayr putting pressure on in search of an equaliser, captain Mark O'Hara could have wrapped up the victory as we headed into injury-time, but the skipper dragged his shot wide. In the end it would prove immaterial as Saints saw out win to secure top spot and progression to the last 16 where we will face Hearts on the weekend of 16/17th August. 

Full-Time: St Mirren 2-1 Ayr United

St Mirren: George, Fraser, Gogic, King (Iacovitti 81), Richardson, Phillips, Taylor (Smyth 66), O'Hara (c), John, Idowu (McMenamin 66), Mandron (Ayunga 66)
Subs Not Used: Mullen, Freckleton, Sobowale, Calvin, Mooney

Ayr United: Mitchell, McAllister, Dick, Want (Oakley 46), Holt, McMann, McKenzie, Walker (Ure 89), Rus (Bonnar 46), Murphy (c) (Thomas 60), Main
Subs Not Used: Russell, Hastie, Watret

Referee: Euan Anderson
Assistant Referee: Jonathan Bell
Assistant Referee: Steven Traynor

Attendance: 4,174

It rained goals on a wet day in Paisley as Saints put eight past Annan Athletic in the Premier Sports Cup.

The Buddies made a blistering start, rattling in three goals inside the opening 10 minutes. Killian Phillips helped himself to a brace – including a spectacular opener – with Mikael Mandron also on target.

However, two goals from Myles Gaffney either side of the break must have had the League Two side fancying their chances of pulling off an incredible fightback. They were soon ended by Richard King's penalty and late on Mandron scored either side of Jayden Richardson's goal to complete his hat-trick before Roland Idowu rounded off the scoring.

Saints handed a debut to goalie Ryan Mullen and defender Richard King made his first start in the black and white stripes. Skipper Mark O'Hara returned from suspension with Fraser Taylor joining him in midfield, Mikael Mandron and and Scott Tanser also back in the side. Peter Urminsky, Jayden Richardson, Alex Iacovitti, Roland Idowu, Oisin Smith and Declan John all dropped to the bench. Saints League Cup winning hero Paul McGowan started for the visitors, as did fellow ex-Buddie Josh Todd.

Saints showed they meant business from the start, O'Hara having a shot deflected wide inside the first 60 seconds. The home fans only had to wait a few minutes more for the opener, some nice passing play setting up  Phillips to curl one into the top corner from 20 yards. It was the same player who doubled Saints' lead with less than seven minutes on the clock, this time Phillips exchanging passes with Mandron before slotting past Gio Clarke.

The Irishman let someone else get the next goal, Taylor driving into acres of space before sliding a pass through for Mandron to fire home the third inside 10 minutes.

Goalscorers Mikael Mandron and Killian Phillips (Image: Jeff Holmes)

Clarke saved from the Frenchman as Saints looked for a fourth, Conor McMenamin clipping the bar with a fine long range effort before shooting just wide after being teed up by Jonah Ayunga.

Saints had dominated proceedings but a stark reminder that they weren't going to have things all their own way came less than 10 minutes before the break. A fine pass from Paul Smith found Myles Gaffney and he tucked it away to the delight of the band of visiting supporters behind the opposite goal. Ayunga almost restored the three goal cushion in the final seconds of the half but his header was easily saved by Clarke.

That was the forward's last involvement as he and Tanser were replaced at the break by Roland Idowu and Declan John, the latter forcing Clarke to make a save at his near post as hostilities resumed. Alex Gogic went close with a spectacular overhead kick before Annan pulled another one back, trialist Gaffney doing his chances of winning a contract no harm at all when he headed in Paul Smith's corner.

Any Annan fans dreaming of a comeback were given a rude awakening moments later when Phillips was upended in the box and Saints were awarded a penalty, King sending Clarke the wrong way from the spot as he marked his first Buddies start with a goal. That proved to be the end of Phillips' hat-trick hopes as he, McMenamin and Gogic were replaced by Richardson, Iacovitti and James Scott before play resumed.

Richard King scores from penalty spot (Image: Allan Picken)

The Buddies then bettered their earlier goal spree by finding the net four times in the final 10 minutes. It started when a tremendous cross-field past from Marcus Fraser found John at the back post and his cross was finished off by Mandron before tremendous trickery from Richardson allowed him to follow King by marking his home debut with a goal. Moments later Mandron got his hat-trick, collecting Idowu's pass before slotting the ball beyond Clarke's reach and into the bottom corner. The striker returned the favour in stoppage time, Mandron setting up Idowu for Saints' eighth and final goal.

Mikael Mandron celebrates hat-trick with matchball (Image: Allan Picken)

Full-Time: St Mirren 8-2 Annan Athletic

St Mirren: Mullen, Fraser, Gogic (Iacovitti 62), King, McMenamin (Scott 62), Phillips (Richardson 62), Taylor, O'Hara (c), Tanser (John 46), Ayunga (Idowu 46), Mandron
Subs Not Used: Urminsky, Penman, Smyth, Mooney

Annan Athletic: Clarke, Gilmour, McGowan, Todd, Smith (c), Muir, Deveney (Maxwell 64), Smith, Craik, Gaffney (Carmichael 81), Gibson
Subs Not Used: Balfour, Barlow, McDermott, Bryson, Allan

Referee: Ross Hardie
Assistant Referee: Chris Rae
Assistant Referee: Michael MacDermid

Attendance: 2,164

St Mirren v Annan Athletic // Six changes with debut for Ryan Mullen and first start for Richard King 

Stephen Robinson has made six changes to his starting line-up for today's Premier Sports Cup match at home to Annan Athletic.

The manager hands a debut to goalkeeper Ryan Mullen, while Jamaican defender Richard King makes his first start. Captain Mark O'Hara returns from suspension with Fraser Taylor, Scott Tanser and Mikael Mandron also coming in from the start.

Ex-Saints Paul McGowan and Josh Todd start for the visitors. 

Kick-off is at 3pm. The match is available to watch live on Premier Sports Player. Premier Sports matchday passes are priced at £9.99, giving 48-hour access. 

International subscribers to St Mirren TV can watch the match live on tv.stmirren.com as part of their subscription.

St Mirren: Mullen, Fraser, Gogic, King, McMenamin, Phillips, Taylor, O'Hara (c), Tanser, Ayunga, Mandron
Subs: Urminsky, Richardson, Iacovitti, Penman, John, Smyth, Idowu, Scott, Mooney

Annan: Clarke, Gilmour, McGowan, Todd, Smith (c), Muir, Deveney, Smith, Craik, Gaffney, Gibson
Subs: Balfour, Barlow, Carmichael, Maxwell, McDermott, Bryson, Allan

St Mirren picked up three points in Premier Sports Cup Group D after a 2-1 win away to Forfar Athletic. 

Goals from Jayden Richardson and substitute Mikael Mandron had Saints in control. Kieran Inglis pulled one back for the hosts with a fine strike heading into the final 10 minutes. But the Buddies would see the game out to secure a first win of the new season.

There were four changes to the side that drew 0-0 with Arbroath on Saturday. Oisin Smyth came in for the suspended Mark O'Hara, while Alex Iacovitti, Conor McMenamin and Jonah Ayunga also made their first starts of the season. Scott Tanser, James Scott and Mandron dropped to the bench.

A bright start was rewarded when Richardson opened the scoring on 9 minutes. The wing-back ran on to a pass from McMenamin and finished emphatically beyond Marc McCallum in the Forfar goal to open his Saints account. 

Killian Phillips came close to doubling our lead just two minutes later when his side-footed effort from the edge of the box slid just by the post. It was again the Irishman who almost added our second as we approached half-time. McMenamin flipped the ball over the top for Ayunga who brought it under control before laying the ball off to Phillips on the edge of the area and he fired inches over with McCallum at full-stretch. 

The manager made a change at the break when he brought Mandron on in place of Roland Idowu.

Early in the second-half, McMenamin did well to fashion an opportunity for himself when he chopped in from the left, but smashed high and wide. Richardson had a chance to score his second on 55 minutes when a ball to the back post found the defender, but he got his connection wrong and sliced the effort wide. 

Peter Urminsky had to remain alert on 67 minutes when Craig Slater tried to catch him out at his near post with a free-kick. The Slovakian moved across quickly to push away. 

Saints would add a second with 15 minutes remaining. Substitute James Scott broke down the right-hand side and slid the ball across the area for Mandron to finish from close range to score his first of the new season.

But hopes of a comfortable finish in Forfar were dashed when Loons substitute Inglis scored a tremendous effort from 25 yards to halve the deficit going into the final 10 minutes.

Scott almost put the game beyond doubt heading into the final minute when he cracked a strike off the far post from the edge of the area. 

Forfar would threaten an equaliser deep in stoppage time as they looked to take the game to penalties. Urminsky was at full stretch as he tipped over Lewis Martin's header to ensure the points returned to Paisley.

Full-Time: Forfar Athletic 1-2 St Mirren

St Mirren: Urminsky, Fraser (c), Gogic, Iacovitti (King 68), Richardson, Phillips, Smyth, John (Tanser 83), McMenamin (Taylor 68), Ayunga (Scott 68), Idowu (Mandron 46)
Subs Not Used: Tamosevicius, Hutchison, Penman, Mooney

Forfar Athletic: McCallum, Martin,  Dolzanski, Morrison (c), C.Scott (Rodden 69), Jamie Richardson (Lemon 46), Slater (Inglis 69), Mailer, Lorimer (Cannon 57), Rennie (Allan 79), Shepherd
Subs Not Used: Stafford, Whatley, MacLean

Referee: Dan McFarlane
Assistant Referee: Sean Carr
Assistant Referee: Steven Wilson