St Mirren have reached the Scottish League Cup final for the first time in 12 years after thrashing Motherwell 4-1 at Hampden Park in the semis.
The 2013 winners netted twice in each half and expertly withstood a late Steelman fightback to comfortably advance.
St Mirren will now face the winners of Sunday’s Old Firm clash between Celtic and Rangers on December 14.
Buddies boss Stephen Robinson, who actually led Motherwell to both domestic cup finals during the 2017/18 season, will return to the national stadium once again hoping to win major silverware for the first time in his managerial career.
As expected, Motherwell dominated possession from the off, but Saints always looked more threatening.
They controversially took the lead after 25 minutes when Mikael Mandron cleverly converted from a Declan John corner-kick, which should not have been awarded.
Mikael Mandron controversially gave St Mirren the lead
John won the corner by latching onto a quickly taken deep free-kick from Alex Gogic, but the ball was still rolling when the Cypriot defender knocked it forward.
Referee Don Robertson failed to spot the moving ball, and arguably its incorrect position too, before Mandron scored from the resulting set-piece.
Dan Nlundulu then added Saints’ second goal fifteen minutes later with another sensational strike to add to his midweek overhead kick against Hearts.
Dan Nlundulu fired St Mirren 2-0 up to give his side control in the contest
The Frenchman pounced on Elliot Watt’s miscued interception before firing into the top corner from the edge of the area to double his side’s advantage five minutes before the interval.
St Mirren survived an onslaught of Motherwell attacks in the second half, without ever really looking like conceding.
Despite Jens Berthel Askou’s side’s territorial advantage, Robinson’s men looked more likely to score next as both Jonah Ayunga and Killian Phillips passed up glorious opportunities to put the game beyond reach.
Substitute Callum Hendry pulled one back for Motherwell with seven minutes to play, but their hopes of a comeback were short-lived as Richard King reinstated St Mirren’s two-goal lead three minutes later.
Mandron then scored his second of the evening in the final minute of regulation time, sending the Paisley side into their first national final in over a decade.
‘Days like this don’t come often for St Mirren’
St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson guided his team to the Scottish League Cup final
St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson was full of pride come the full-time whistle and claimed that his team have a chance to write new history and be remembered forever.
St Mirren have won just four major cups in their near-150 year history, and Robinson wants to make an occasion of this trip to a final.
“The feeling is pride, clubs the size of St Mirren don’t get these feelings often,” Robinson said post-match.
“We don’t want to make an occasion of the semi-final, we want to make an occasion of the final. The fans will remember this forever, we’ve given them European experiences, top-six finishes. The players can go down in history and be remembered for the rest of their lives.
“I’m non-emotional about things like this, we didn’t change anything about our preparation. We stuck to what we’re good at and to get into the final, now they can enjoy it. Nobody remembers who wins the semi-final, they remember who wins the final.
“The boys carried out the gameplan very well. We allowed them to have possession in the areas they wanted them to. We defended really well, really proud. We came here with no emotions today. A lot of motivated us with things that were said unfairly about us.
“The rules of football haven’t changed. You’ve got to try and score more goals than the opposition. You’re allowed to play players that are over six foot tall. We don’t need to prove people wrong. The players used it as motivation.”
