Stephen Robinson has named his starting line-up for today's Premier Sports Cup Final against Celtic. 

The Buddies boss makes two changes from the side that defeated Dundee United at The SMiSA Stadium last weekend as Keanu Baccus and Dan Nlundulu come in for Fraser Taylor and Mikael Mandron.

Mark O'Hara resumed training this week having not played since our semi-final victory over Motherwell. He returns to the squad to take his place on the bench. That means Marcus Fraser captains the side this afternoon. 

St Mirren: George, Fraser (c), King, Freckleton, McMenamin, Phillips, Gogic, Baccus, John, Ayunga, Nlundulu
Subs: Mullen, Richardson, Tanser, Taylor, Donnelly, O'Hara, Idowu, Mooney, Mandron

Celtic: Schmeichel, Ralston, Trusty, Scales, Tierney, McGregor (c), Engels, Hatate, Tounekti, Maeda, Iheanacho
Subs: Sinisalo, Nygren, Balikwisha, Yang, McCowan, Kenny, Bernardo, Forrest, Donovan

Referee: Kevin Clancy
VAR: Don Robertson

St Mirren returned to winning ways as goals from Conor McMenamin and Keanu Baccus saw Stephen Robinson's men defeat Dundee United 2-0 at The SMiSA Stadium.

The Buddies' goals came either side of half-time as we picked up our first league victory since September. 

Saints started brightly with McMenamin's brilliant touch seeing him wonderfully take down a ball over the top and get himself in on goal. He tried to squeeze the ball beyond David Richards from a tight angle with the United goalkeeper blocking. A minute later, Saints came close again with the ball eventually falling for Killian Phillips who saw his shot deflected wide. 

The Buddies would get their reward on 17 minutes when McMenamin scored his first goal of the season. Mikael Mandron fed the ball to Jonah Ayunga who charged down the left. Under pressure from Ryan Strain, he fed it back to the arriving John. The Welshman's delivery was quality and met the onrushing McMenamin at the back post to bury the header beyond Richards in the United goal.

John, who returned from injury after missing Wednesday night's draw against Aberdeen, wasn't far away from adding his name to the scoresheet on 25 minutes. Ayunga's brilliant running saw him draw a foul from a United defender and win a free-kick 20 yards from goal. John stepped up to take but curled inches over the bar.

Shamal George was called into action with less than 10 minutes of the first-half remaining. Marcus Fraser's slip allowed Zach Sapsford to race clear on goal. Miguel Freckleton did well to keep pace with the Australian forward, though he still got the shot away. George made himself big to save the low strike.

The visitors started the second-half strongly as they looked for a route back into the match, but failed to test George in the early stages. Instead it was John's free-kick causing havoc in the United defence with Mandron seeing a strike blocked just before the hour mark. 

United almost drew themselves with 25 minutes remaining when Sapsford's 20-yard free-kick crashed off the bar. A minute later, Saints doubled their advantage. Substitute Baccus netted his first goal since returning to St Mirren in the summer. Phillips' header was saved by Richards, but the United goalkeeper couldn't hold and Baccus was quickest to react on the follow-up, slamming into the net to make it 2-0.

George made a top class save to deny Amar Fatah and keep our two-goal advantage heading into the final 20 minutes of the match. The visitors looked to catch out Saints, taking the resulting corner quickly. Craig Sibbald struck but cannoned his attempt off the bar. 

United threw on Ivan Dolcek and Kristijan Trapanovski with less than 10 minutes remaining to try and find the goal that would set up a nervy finish for Saints. But in truth it was Stephen Robinson's men who were the more likely to add to the scoresheet as they hit United on the counter on several occasions. Baccus was the closet, turning an effort just wide of the post in the final minute of normal time. 

A welcome three points remain in Paisley as the Saints get ready to gear up for a big week ahead of the Premier Sports Cup Final next Sunday.

Full-Time: St Mirren 2-0 Dundee United

St Mirren: George, Fraser (c), King, Freckleton, McMenamin (Richardson 68), Phillips, Taylor (Baccus 59), Gogic, John (Tanser 82), Mandron (Nlundulu 68), Ayunga (Mooney 82)
Subs Not Used: Mullen, Idowu, Dijksteel, Douglas

Dundee United: Richards, Strain (Trapanovski 81), Iovu, Sevelj (Fatah 46), Graham (c), Sapsford (Dolcek 82), Ferry, Sibbald, Stephenson, Keresztes, Moller
Subs: Adams, Esselink, Stirton, Cleall-Harding, Beattie

Referee: Nick Walsh
AR1: Frank Connor
AR2: Sean Carr
Fourth Official: Joel Kennedy 
VAR: Ross Hardie

Attendance: 6,518

St Mirren earn a last gasp point away to Aberdeen, thanks to a 99th min equaliser from Richard King.

The Dons scored late on themselves, after Lazetic scored a brace from the bench put them 3-2 in the 85th min, but Jamaican International Richard King came off the bench to rescue a point for St Mirren.

St Mirren were looking to end their seven league match winless run against the Dons. Aberdeen were hoping to continue their fine form, which saw them have a six game undefeated run with three wins.

St Mirren have won nine of the last 16 meetings between the two sides, whilst also winning three out of the last five matches at Pittodrie.

The Buddies made three changes from their defeat to Dundee with Scott Tanser, Fraser Taylor and Jonah Ayunga replacing the injured Declan John, Conor McMenamin and Dan Nlundulu. Mark O’Hara missed out with a foot injury.

For Aberdeen they made four changes from their win away to Livingston. In came Alexander Jensen, Dante Polvara, Tobi Keskinen and Kevin Nisbet for club captain Graeme Shinnie, Sivert Heltne Nilsen, Jesper Karlsson and Marko Lazetic. Tobers missed the game with a knee injury.

Stephen Robinson’s side got the match underway but it was Aberdeen who got the first chance of the match. Armstrong combined for a one two with Aouchiche on the left hand side, gave the ball to Keskinen on the edge of the box, whos strike had George rooted and hit the post. The ball was crossed into Nisbet, with his header going straight into the hands of George.

Jimmy Thelin’s side pushed for an opener and nearly had it again through Nisbet. Armstrong’s corner was a deep one, he found Nisbet, who peeled away from his man but volleyed wide.

St Mirren had a chance of their own moments later. A Baccus long throw found its way to Mandron and after some confusion in the box his shot went wide. Taylor was booked afterwards for a foul on Polvara, who later went down with a knee injury but was ok to continue.

Tanser thought that he had his first goal of the season to give St Mirren the lead. Taylor crossed ball into the wingback, Tanser got up high, went to win a second header and was judged to have impeded Mitov. He put the ball into the back of the net but was ruled out.

Aberdeen came back down the left. Armstrong was able to cut inside and forced George to save the shot to his lower right.

George sent the ball long to Ayunga, who flicked the ball to his strike partner Mandron. Mandron’s half volley was hit hard but was pushed away by Mitov, as it ended in the first half 0-0.

Aberdeen got the sides started in the second half and St Mirren were awarded their first penalty of the season. Taylor’s free kick was crossed into the box and handled by Knoester. After a lengthy VAR check Steven McLean awarded a penalty. Fraser stepped up and slotted it bottom left with Mitov diving the wrong way for his first goal of the season.

Thelin responded by bringing on Karlsson for Jensen and he nearly had an immediate impact. Keskinen’s low cross found the substitute just inside the box. His low driven strike looked to be going in, but a terrific block from Freckleton kept it out, before Aouchiche smashed the ball over the bar.

Aberdeen kept knocking on St Mirren’s door. After a cross from Lobban the ball found its way to Armstrong. George caught his lay off to Polvara. Lazetic was then introduced for Aouchiche.

Aberdeen got their equaliser through Polvara. An Armstrong corner was headed towards goal from Lazetic. Mandron cleared the ball off the line but it fell to Polvara who smashed it past George.

The Dons took the lead minutes later. Karlsson had a vicious moving strike that was spilt by George. Lazetic was the quickest to react, and after a brief VAR check for offside the goal was given.

Stephen Robinson responded by taking off Taylor, Tanser, Baccus Richardson and Mandron for King, McMenamin, Donnelly, Nlundulu and Mooney.

The Buddies got their equaliser through Ayunga. A long punt form Freckleton up the pitch saw Ayunga dispossess Milne, his shot went straight through Mitov and St Mirren were level.

The hosts thought they had all three points after a late goal from Lazetic. Armstrong’s cross from the left hand side was caressed in from the substitute to get his third goal in two games against the Buddies. Molloy and Nilsen then replaced Armstrong and Keskinen.

St Mirren kept pushing and eventually got their reward through substitute King. Fellow substitute McMenamin’s cross from the left hand side found the head of King, who leapt the highest and powered it past Mitov to earn St Mirren a point on the road.

Full-Time: Aberdeen 3-3 St Mirren

St Mirren: George, Fraser (c), Gogic, Freckleton, Richardson (McMenamin 78), Phillips, Baccus (Nlundulu 78), Taylor (Donnelly 78), Tanser (King 78), Ayunga, Mandron (Mooney 80)
Subs: Mullen, Sobowale, Idowu, Dijksteel

Aberdeen: Mitov, Lobban, Devlin (c), Knoester, Milne, Jensen (Karlsson 59), Aouchiche (Lazetic 68), Polvara, Armstrong (Molloy 89), Keskinen (Nilsen 89), Nisbet
Subs: Suman, Shinnie, Clarkson, Bilalovic, Kjartansson

Referee: Steven McLean
AR1: Alastair Mather
AR2: Steven Traynor
Fourth Official: George Calder
VAR: Kevin Clancy

St Mirren were beaten on the road as we fell to a 3-1 loss at Dens Park as our poor league form continued. 

Mikael Mandron gave Saints what was a well-deserved lead on 27 minutes, but the home side drew level less than two minutes later before taking the lead heading into the interval. Saints huffed and puffed, seeing the majority of possession and forcing a number of corners. But in truth never looked like worrying Jon McCracken in the Dundee goal. The hosts would score a late third on the counter to cap off a disappointing afternoon for the Buddies. 

Saints were dominant in the opening stages of the game, seeing the vast majority of the ball and playing in Dundee's half. But it was the host who managed to fashion the first real opportunity in the game on 12 minutes. Drey Wright's cross in from the left found Joe Westley who got a toe on it, but it was easy for Shamal George to gather.

The Buddies continued to have the bulk of the play though and came close on 18 minutes when Marcus Fraser met a Mikael Mandron cross. His header came off a Dundee head and drifted over. Three minutes later, Saints had their best chance yet when Conor McMenamin's low ball across the face was met by the outstretched foot of Dan Nlundulu. The striker was agonisingly close to opening the scoring only for the ball to go inches by the far post. 

Saints' persistence paid off on 27 minutes when Mandron fired us in front. Dundee's Clark Robertson played the ball right to the forward and despite having time to make his way into the box, he took it first time with a sweet low strike that found the net.

Mikael Mandron gave Saints a brief lead at Dens (Image: Andy Barr)

Frustratingly, the hosts would draw level less than two minutes later. Yan Dhanda's long-range effort came off Alex Gogic and found its way into the net. That gave the home side some momentum from nothing with Westley seeing a shot from the edge of the area deflect inches by the post on 33 minutes.

Dundee then took the lead on 39 minutes. Wright was afforded time at the edge of the area to get his strike away and he managed to sneak it in high at the near post.

Scott Tanser, who replaced the injured Declan John in the first-half, almost gave us the perfect start to the second 45 when he drove into the box and flashed a brilliant ball across the face. Wright was quickest to react though to clear the danger for the home side. Five minutes later, Tanser found Dan Nlundulu who turned in the box, but his strike was blocked. Jayden Richardson was next to try his luck only to shoot over from 20 yards. 

For all of Saints' possession, they failed to test McCracken in the Dundee net. A number of corners and crosses were delivered into the Dundee box, but on too many occasions the Buddies didn't make first contact. 

The game was wrapped up with three minutes of normal time remaining when Westley curled high into the net to make it 3-1 to the hosts. And just to sum up the Buddies' afternoon, substitute Jonah Ayunga cracked the cross bar in the first minute of injury-time to deny a big finish.

Stephen Robinson's men are back on the road on Wednesday evening as they take on Aberdeen at Pittodrie as they look to snap out of a disappointing run of form in the William Hill Premiership.

Full-Time: Dundee 3-1 St Mirren

St Mirren: George, Fraser (c), Gogic, Freckleton, Richardson (Dijksteel 75), Phillips, McMenamin (Idowu 65), Baccus, John (Tanser 32), Nlundulu, Mandron (Ayunga 65)
Subs Not Used: Tamosevicius, King, Donnelly, Taylor, Mooney

Dundee: McCracken, C.Robertson, Astley, Wright, Murray (c) (Hay 79) , Yogane (Samuels 70), Westley, Congreve (Jones 79), Dhanda (Digby 86), Graham, Hamilton
Subs Not Used: O'Hara, Koumetio, Acquah, F.Robertson, Reilly

Referee: John Beaton
AR1: Jonathan Bell
AR2: Graham McNeillie
VAR: Greg Aitken

Saints were dealt an agonising late blow when a Callum McGregor strike deep into injury-time gave Celtic the points at The SMiSA Stadium.

The Buddies created numerous chances and were dealt yet more frustration when they saw a second-half goal disallowed for the fourth home match in a row when Conor McMenamin was ruled as interfering with play when Liam Scales sent the ball into his own net. 

The Northern Irishman was one of two changes from the side that lost to Hibernian prior to the international break. He came in for countryman Liam Donnelly, while Alex Gogic returned from suspension to replace Richard King. 

Saints started brightly and should have taken the lead with just seven minutes on the clock. Declan John's brilliant low delivery took out the entire Celtic defence with McMenamin getting a slight touch on it, but it turned wide. Frustratingly, had the forward not touched it, Jayden Richardson would have been on hand to knock into the net at the back post. 

Celtic had their first real opportunity on 15 minutes when Sebastian Tounekti cut in from the left and fired a strike inches over the bar. 

McMenamin again came close to breaking the deadlock just before the half-hour mark. He picked the ball up around 25 yards from goal and set himself up for the shot. He struck it well but saw it clip the post before going wide. The Buddies passed up another big opportunity as the game edged towards the half-time interval. Mikael Mandron saw two efforts blocked before Miguel Freckleton scooped over the bar on the follow-up. With Kasper Schemeichel on the ground, any effort on target was likely to hit the net. 

The visitors made a change at the break when they introduced Luke McCowan in place of Johnny Kenny. That saw Daizen Maeda move through the middle and the Japanese forward looked to cause problems after the restart. Freckleton made an important block to deny the striker early into the second-half with Gogic then making a brilliant challenge to stop him running through on goal. 

Saints weathered Celtic's early pressure and thought they'd made the breakthrough on 69 minutes. Shamal George's free-kick was flicked on by Killian Phillips. Scales, under pressure from substitute Jonah Ayunga, touched the ball beyond Schmeichel only for the offside flag to be raised. VAR took a long look at it before determining that McMenamin, who was in an offside position, had interfered with play and caused Scales to knock into the net. It's the fifth goal Saints have seen disallowed in their last four home league matches. 

The Buddies passed up a big chance to take a late lead on 83 minutes. Declan John played a nice one-two with Mandron and raced into the area. He had Ayunga at the far post, but elected to go alone, only managing to strike straight at Schmeichel.

It looked like the points would be shared, only for Celtic skipper McGregor to find himself in a bit of space 25 yards from goal in injury-time. He smashed goalwards and found the top corner in the fifth minute of stoppage time to see the visitors steal the points. 

Full-Time: St Mirren 0-1 Celtic

St Mirren: George, Fraser (c), Gogic, Freckleton, Richardson (King 82), Phillips, McMenamin (Taylor 82), Baccus (Donnelly 90), John, Nlundulu (Ayunga 67), Mandron
Subs Not Used: Tamosevicius, Sobowale, Idowu, Dijksteel, Mooney

Celtic: Schmeichel, Ralston (Nygren 72), Scales, Trusty, Tierney (Murray 72), McGregor (c), Hatate, Engels (Donovan 85), Tounekti (Yang 67), Maeda, Kenny (McCowan 46)
Subs Not Used: Sinisalo, Balikwisha, Yamada, Bernardo

Referee: Kevin Clancy
AR1: David Roome
AR2: Ross Nelson
Fourth Official: Graham Grainger
VAR: Matthew MacDermid

Attendance: 6,840

St Mirren B exited the KDM Evolution Trophy after a 2-0 defeat away to Stranraer in our final league phase match.

The Young Saints had to win at Stair Park to have any chance of progressing to the Round of 32. But two goals in the opening 12 minutes from Stranraer marksman Deryn Lang did the damage to the Buddies from which they were unable to recover. 

Lang opened the scoring on five minutes when he got his head on a cross from the right-hand side and nodded beyond Grant Tamosevicius in the St Mirren net. The prolific Blues striker doubled the hosts' advantage seven minutes later when he slid in to bundle home a low cross from Mark Russell.

The Buddies struggled to get going and looked in danger of falling further behind. Tamosevicius made an important stop at his near post to turn Ryan Edgar's effort over the bar on 19 minutes before denying Lang his hat-trick on the half-hour mark, making a strong save with his foot. Lang came close again on 36 minutes when he glanced a header inches by the far post after being met unmarked from a corner.

The Young Saints started to settle after a tough opening period and had their best chance of the first-half five minutes before the break. Jack Lavery was found in loads of space but he shot straight at Ewan Henderson who was able to gather with ease. 

The Buddies made a much more controlled start to the second-half and should have reduced the deficit a little over 10 minutes after the restart. Lewis Hodgkiss got himself on the end of a brilliant delivery from Luke Douglas, only to knock over the bar from inside the six-yard box.

With less than 20 minutes to go, Lavery saw himself get in behind the Stranraer defence, but his cross-cum-shot was cleared off the line by Lewis Reid with substitute Ihsan Rehman looking to pounce. 

The Saints huffed and puffed but in truth didn't do enough to trouble Henderson to find the goal that would give them a route back into the match.

Full-Time: Stranraer 2-0 St Mirren B

St Mirren B: Tamosevicius, Hutchison (c), Clark, Hunter, Barr (Stoddart 46), Hodgkiss (Kiely , Thompson, Falconer (Morrow 65), Farquhar (Rehman 65), Douglas, Lavery
Subs Not Used: Innes

Stranraer: Henderson, Rough, McKnight, Russell (Quigg 72), Dunne (Reid 59), Hughes (Ecrepont 59), Sharp, Coll, Hunter, Lang (Dolan 66), Edgar
Subs Not Used: Lane

Referee: Connor Ashwood
AR1: Cameron Telfer
AR2: Brent Falconer

St Mirren's VAR woes continued as the Buddies were yet again rueing big calls as we were defeated by Hibernian at The SMiSA Stadium.

Marcus Fraser and Dan Nlundulu both saw goals ruled out after VAR intervention with Saints now having had four goals chopped off in our last three home matches. 

Hibernian were clinical on the evening with Josh Mulligan, Chris Cadden and Miguel Chaiwa scoring to give the visitors a 3-0 win and secure their first win over Saints since 2023. 

Stephen Robinson's men thought they'd gotten off to the perfect start when Fraser headed home with just five minutes on the clock. The stand-in skipper was found unmarked in the area and met Keanu Baccus' cross to nod through the legs of Hibernian goalkeeper Raphael Sallinger. But a lengthy VAR check ensued which eventually resulted in the goal being disallowed for offside, with questions over the decision.

Marcus Fraser saw his goal disallowed (Image: Allan Picken)

The visitors hit the front on 24 minutes and while it came from a defensive error, there could be no taking away from the finish from Mulligan. Richard King - in for the suspended Alex Gogic - couldn't control Shamal George's pass and that allowed ex-Saint Jamie McGrath to steal the ball deep in the Saints half. He picked out the onrushing Mulligan who came charging in to fire home from 18 yards.

The Buddies should have drawn level with eight minutes of the first-half remaining. Baccus was picked out by a Liam Donnelly cross, but the Australian's effort was straight at Sallinger. The Hibernian goalkeeper couldn't gather with Killian Phillips unable to force home the rebound. Donnelly was then denied by a good save from the Hibs stopper as he pushed away the Northern Irishman's header in the final minute of the half. 

Saints looked to have started the second-half in the best fashion with Nlundulu scoring another fine finish from the edge of the area less than 60 seconds after the restart. But VAR would intervene again to deny the forward his fourth goal in four games with offside given after another lengthy check. 

Frustratingly, the visitors would add a second on 53 minutes. Chris Cadden met his brother Nicky's cross at the back end of the box and slammed beyond George to make it 2-0. 

And when your luck is out, your luck is out. Substitute Miguel Chaiwa added a third 10 minutes from time. He picked the ball up 20 yards from goal and saw his fierce hit take a wicked deflection and crash in off the underside of the bar. 

Full-Time: St Mirren 0-3 Hibernian

St Mirren: George, Fraser (c), King, Freckleton, Richardson (McMenamin 58), Phillips, Baccus, Donnelly (Idowu 58), John (Tanser 81), Nlundulu (Dijksteel 81), Mandron (Ayunga 73)
Subs Not Used: Mullen, Taylor, Calvin, Mooney

Hibernian: Sallinger, Iredale, Rocky, Hanley, C.Cadden, Mulligan, Barlaser (Chaiwa 78), McGrath (Campbell 69), N.Cadden (Obita 85), Boyle (Klidje 69), Bowie (Hoilett 84)
Subs Not Used: Smith, Megwa, O'Hora, Youan

Referee: David Dickinson
AR1: Jonathan Bell
AR2: Chris Gentles
Fourth Official: Iain Snedden
VAR: Andrew Dallas

Attendance: 7,116

St Mirren emphatically beat Motherwell and will play in the Premier Sports Cup Final next month against either Celtic or Rangers. Saints reach their first League Cup final, since we won the competition back in 2013.

Mikael Mandron got the scoring underway before a stunning strike from Dan Nlundulu saw us double our advantage heading into half-time. Motherwell pulled a goal back in the final 10 minutes through Callum Hendry which looked set to make for a nervy ending at Hampden Park. But Richard King restored Saints' two goal advantage a few minutes later before Mandron put the seal on a wonderful day for the Buddies at the National Stadium. 

Stephen Robinson named two changes from his side’s 2-2 draw with Hearts. Both Jayden Richardson and Alex Gogic made it back into the starting XI, after their suspensions, with Conor McMenamin and Richard King dropping to the bench.

Miguel Freckleton and Malik Dijksteel were St Mirren’s only doubts before the game. Freckleton, with a knock that he sustained against Hearts midweek and Dijksteel, who has been recovering from an illness all week.

Motherwell made five changes from their 2-0 win against Dundee United. Liam Gordon, Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, Elijah Just, Emmanuel Longelo and Ibrahim Said all came in to replace. Stephen O’Donnell, Callum Slattery, Stephen Welsh, Callum Hendry and Regan Charles-Cook.

Club captain Stephen O’Donnell was a doubt and did not make the match day squad, whilst star winger Tawanda Maswanhise was a doubt but made the squad. Jordan McGhee, Zach Robinson, Eseosa Sule, Filip Stuparevic and Sam Nicholson were all ruled out.

St Mirren got the game kicked off and got an early first chance. Great pressure from Nlundulu forced a loose pass that fell to Baccus, whose ball into to Mandron was too heavy for the St Mirren number nine.

Motherwell responded positively with a plethora of crosses and corners into the St Mirren box. St Mirren were dealing well with them, with one free kick from Watt finding Stamatelopoulos, who didn’t trouble George with his header.

The Saints grew more and more in the game, creating chances but struggling to get any clear-cut chances towards the Motherwell goal.

Motherwell broke down the left hand side with some lovely one touch football. A fortuitous bounce found Maswanhise who had a low driven strike, going wide of the St Mirren goal.

St Mirren broke the deadlock moments later. Gogic took a quick free kick releasing John on the left hand side, winning St Mirren a corner. John took the resulting corner on the left hand side, with Gogic flicking the ball on towards Mandron. Mandron fired the ball into the back of the net for his sixth goal in the Premier Sports Cup and his seventh of the season.

The Saints went close to a second. A long ball found Richardson who beat the offside trap. His cross nearly found Mandron but Ward collected.

St Mirren moments later got their second of the match. Mandron’s pass deflected off Watt and fell to the feet of Nlundulu. The striker then smashed the ball from the edge of the box into the top right corner, scoring for the third match in a row and leaving Ward no chance.

Four minutes were added on after an earlier head injury to Freckleton. Freckleton then won the ball, having a mazy run on the left hand side. His cross found Richardson, whose shot went wide of the goal with the half ending Motherwell 0-2 St Mirren.

Motherwell made the one change at the half bring on Welsh for Gordon before getting the half underway.

The Steelmen started the half off strong. After some scrappy challenges and the ball bouncing around, it found its way to Watt 30 yards from goal. Watt’s thunderous shot was well handled by George.

Motherwell kept piling on the pressure. Some well worked football found Said. He flicked the ball over to Just, who found Maswanhise and his strike was again dragged low and wide of George’s goal. Said was then replaced by Slattery.

The Steelmen were hunting to break down this stubborn Saints defense. Koutroumbis’ pass found Slattery, who had his effort pushed to safety from George.

St Mirren made their first change of the afternoon bring on Ayunga for goal scorer Nlundulu. Moments later John’s cross found Mandron, who couldn’t get his second of the afternoon.

Motherwell then made their third and fourth changes of the afternoon, bringing on Hendry and Sparrow for Stamatelopoulos and Koutroumbis.

Motherwell should have scored after Maswanhise, who was inches to putting the ball into the net, couldn’t convert a ball in from Just. St Mirren then made a double substitution, with King and Donnelly coming on for Richardson and Baccus.

Moments later Mandron nearly got the Saints third. Substitutes Donnelly and Ayunga hounded the Motherwell defence, winning the ball in the six yard box. The ball was given to Mandron who spun his man, but thanks to excellent defending from McGinn the ball hit the post.

St Mirren broke away on the very next attack, with some lovely link up play from King and Mandron. Mandron’s ball found Phillips with his strike unable to trouble Ward in the Motherwell goal. 

Motherwell then made their final substitution with Charles-Cook replacing Maswanhise. Ayunga was fouled by Sparrow, earning the first yellow of the afternoon.

Motherwell got back into the game after a quick free kick found substitute Charles-Cook. He travelled 30 yards giving the ball wide right to Sparrow. Sparrow’s low cross was tucked away by Hendry.

But that joy for Motherwell was short lasting. Yet another substitute goal involvement but this time for St Mirren. King wins the ball in the Motherwell half finds Mandron, who gets fouled. The ref waves play on with King picking up the ball and striking in at Ward. The ball then spins in, with King getting his second goal for the club.

The Saints made a double substitution with Tanser and McMenamin coming on for John and O’Hara.

St Mirren had confirmed their place in next months final by adding in a fourth. A terrific strike form Phillips looped and smashed off the cross bar. Mandron was the most alert, winning the ball and putting the ball into the bottom right hand corner to get his second goal of the game. After a VAR check for both an offside and possible foul the goal was given.

St Mirren will play either Celtic or Rangers at Hampden Park on Sunday 14th December in the League Cup final.

Full-Time: Motherwell 1-4 St Mirren

St Mirren: George, Fraser, Gogic, Freckleton, Richardson (King 71), Phillips, Baccus (Donnelly 71), O'Hara (c) (Tanser 88), John (McMenamin 88), Nlundulu (Ayunga 63), Mandron
Subs: Mullen, Idowu, Dijksteel, Mooney

Motherwell: Ward, Koutroumbis (Sparrow 65), McGinn (c), Gordon (Welsh 46), Longelo, Watt, Fadinger, Said (Slattery 57), Maswanhise, Stamatelopoulos (Hendry 66)
Subs Not Used: Connelly, Balmer, Halliday, Priestman

Referee: Don Robertson
AR1: David Roome
AR2: Ross Macleod
Fourth Official: Ryan Lee
VAR: Greg Aitken

St Mirren picked up a point against league leaders Hearts after an eventful 2-2 draw at The SMiSA Stadium. But once again, a VAR decision proved costly and frustrating as the Buddies were denied the opportunity to go 3-1 up when Miguel Freckleton's second goal was disallowed.

Dan Nlundulu made it two in two as his stunning overhead kick gave Saints the lead. A defensive error allowed Lawrence Shankland to level for the visitors. Freckleton put Stephen Robinson's men ahead for the second time with a tidy finish early in the second-half. And he thought he'd extended the lead when he added a third five minutes later. But a baffling VAR call saw the goal overturned to the bemusement of all in the stadium. Hearts levelled through Claudio Braga with 20 minutes remaining and thought they'd won it in the final minutes, only for Pierre Kabore's goal to be disallowed for offside. 

Richard King came in for the suspended Alex Gogic, while Mikael Mandron led the line with Nlundulu in the only two changes from Saturday's defeat to Dundee United.

An even opening to the match was stirred on 13 minutes when Beni Baningime struck the post for the visitors. The ball rolled along the line before going out for a goal-kick. Four minutes later, Saints threatened with Mandron heading into the side-net.

Saints broke the deadlock heading into the half-hour mark when Nlundulu scored his second goal for the Buddies. Shamal George lifted a free-kick into the Hearts box where Nlundulu brought it under control before sending an overhead kick high into the net with Alexander Schwolow unable to get near it. 

Dan Nlundulu scores overhead kick (Image: Allan Picken)

Frustratingly, Hearts found themselves level six minutes later. Keanu Baccus attempted to bring a defensive header under control in his box, but his heavy touch landed at the feet of Shankland who finished beyond George to equalise.

The Buddies flew out the traps at the start of the second-half with a beautiful Phillips ball over the top finding Mandron. The forward brought the ball down but saw his shot well blocked by Oisin McEntee. Phillips was then the recipient of a brilliant cross from Declan John only to see his header turned over by Schwolow. Saints retook the lead from the resulting corner with the ball eventually landing at the feet of Freckleton who smashed home from close range. 

Miguel Freckleton scores against Hearts (Image: Allan Picken)

Freckleton thought he had his second and Saints' third five minutes later. John's free-kick delivery was superb and found the head of Freckleton. He bulleted a header off the post but quickly met the rebound and fired into the net to give the Buddies a commanding lead over the league leaders. Or so he thought. Referee Matthew MacDermid was called over to the monitor and eventually disallowed the goal for what was seemingly a foul by captain Mark O'Hara, but it was hard to see what the infringement actually was. 

Undeterred, Saints came agonisingly close on 69 minutes when Schwolow made a truly stunning save to deny Phillips' header. And within a minute the visitors found themselves level. George made a wonderful stop to touch Alexandros Kyziridis' effort onto the bar. But Braga was on hand to knock into the net.

Substitute Jonah Ayunga forced another big save from Schwolow as the game headed into the final 10 minutes. The visitors thought they had won it in the dying minutes when Kabore eventually forced home at close range, but VAR eventually disallowed the goal with McEntee offside in the build up.

Full-Time: St Mirren 2-2 Hearts

St Mirren: George, Fraser, King, Freckleton, McMenamin (Sobowale 85), Phillips, Baccus (Donnelly 75), O'Hara (c), John, Mandron, Nlundulu (Ayunga 75)
Subs Not Used: Mullen, Tanser, Idowu, Calvin, Taylor, Mooney

Hearts: Schwolow, McEntee, Halkett, Findlay, Kingsley (Kabore 66), Milne, Devlin, Baningime, Kyziridis, Braga (Magnusson 85), Shankland
Subs Not Used: Gordon, McCart, Kabangu, Steinwender, Spittal, Kertoja, Ageu 

Referee: Matthew MacDermid
AR1: Chris Rae
AR2: Graham McNeillie
VAR: Nick Walsh

Attendance: 7,105

St Mirren were dealt more VAR frustration and ended the game with 10 men for the second week in a row as we lost 3-1 to Dundee United at Tannadice.

Dan Nlundulu scored his first goal for St Mirren to give the Buddies a deserved lead. But the home side levelled late in the half through Zach Sapsford after a dubious free-kick call. Saints looked the more likely to re-take the lead, but found themselves behind when a VAR intervention saw referee John Beaton award United a penalty with less than 10 to play and show a red card to Alex Gogic. Substitute Amar Fatah made no mistake from the spot before Craig Sibbald added a third in the final minute of normal time. 

Manager Stephen Robinson made two changes with Conor McMenamin in for the suspended Jayden Richardson, while Jonah Ayunga replaced Mikael Mandron who was only fit enough for a place on the bench.

The Buddies started brightly and would be awarded with the breakthrough on 18 minutes. Declan John's wicked cross was touched onto the bar by United goalkeeper Yevhenni Kucherenko and Nlundulu was quickest to react to rebound, nodding into the net from close-range to score his first for Saints.

Dan Nlundulu celebrates his first St Mirren goal with Mark O'Hara and Jonah Ayunga (Image: Andy Barr)

The forward had a big opportunity to double his tally with five minutes of the first-half remaining. He was first on to a brilliant corner kick delivery from captain Mark O'Hara, but he bulleted wide of target.

Frustratingly, United drew level two minutes later. Shamal George was penalised for seemingly picking the ball up outside the area which saw the goalkeeper cautioned and the hosts awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box. Sapsford struck low into the bottom corner to make it 1-1. It was a bitterly disappointing moment as the Buddies had looked well in control, limiting United to very little. 

Saints almost reacted in the perfect manner with Nlundulu forcing an important save from Kucherenko on 44 minutes as the half drew to a close. 

United almost got themselves in front quickly after the restart when a Sibbald pass cut open the Saints defence which saw Panutche Camara run through on goal. George was out quickly to narrow the angle and that saw Camara slide the ball by the far post.

Killian Phillips could have put St Mirren back ahead just after the hour mark but failed to hit the target. Miguel Freckleton's ball into the box was brought down on the chest of Gogic and sat nicely for Phillips to get on to it though the Irishman struck high over the bar.

Most of the game was being played deep in the United half with Saints trying to force the issue in search of a second goal. A number of corners and crosses caused the hosts pressure. Keanu Baccus dragged an effort wide from 20 yards on 64 minutes before Ayunga couldn't get enough curl from a similar position three minutes later. Baccus came close again when he let fly from 25 yards with a strike that flew just wide of the post on 72 minutes. 

With less than 10 minutes to go, Dundee United were awarded a penalty after a VAR call. John Beaton was sent to the monitor and subsequently pointed to the spot and showed Gogic a red card for a foul on Nikolaj Moller. Substitute Amar Fatah rolled it home to give the hosts the lead. They wrapped up the points in the final minute of time with Sibbald curling high into the net from the edge of the box.

Full-Time: Dundee United 3-1 St Mirren

St Mirren: George, Fraser, Gogic, Freckleton, McMenamin (King 85), Phillips, Baccus, O'Hara (c) (Taylor 85), John, Ayunga (Mandron 70), Nlundulu (Calvin 85)
Subs: Mullen, Tanser, Donnelly, Idowu, Dijksteel

Dundee United: Kucherenko, Esselink, Iovu (Naamo 73), Sevelj, Camara, Sapsford (Amar Fatah 77), Ferry, Sibbald, Stephenson (Trapanovski 67), Keresztes, Moller (Stirton 90)
Subs: Richards, Eskesen, Dolcek, Cleall-Harding, Beattie

Referee: John Beaton
AR1: David McGeachie
AR2: Alastair Mather
Fourth Official: Duncan Williams
VAR: Gavin Duncan