St Mirren fans' faith over fear urge pays off as Celtic and Rangers await in Hampden showdown

Without a win in their last four games, the Paisley outfit shrugged off their poor recent form as a brace from Mikael Mandron coupled with strikes from Dan Nlundulu and Richard King, set up a final against one of Rangers or Celtic next month, both of whom the Buddies have gone toe-to-toe with in the Premiership already this season.

Ahead of kick-off, both sides displayed similar-looking tifos that poetically urged their sides to seize the opportunity to make some history. Akin to each side's style of play, Motherwell’s was more intricate and impressive, whereas St Mirren’s asked for faith to be put in the place of fear, with a nod to All Saints' Day.

Sure, the Motherwell design was more easy on the eye but, like their subsequent performances on the pitch, it was St Mirren’s no-frills brand of football that prevailed over the rock and roll, high-intensity style of their opponents. How the Motherwell fans wished they something akin to Mandron - who spent a season at Fir Park in 2022/23 - in their ranks come full-time.

“The boys carried out the game plan really well,” said St Mirren boss Robinson. “They carried it out to the letter, and it could have been more. When we needed to defend, we defended really well. I’m really proud of them. We came here with no emotions today, a lot of people motivated us with things said unfairly, unjustified, in my opinion and we used that to show what a good side we are. I’m delighted to for the staff and players.”

His Motherwell counterpart Berthel Askou was full of praise for St Mirren but lamented his team’s first-half performance and lack of efficiency in the final third.

“Big credit to St. Mirren and to Robbo for executing their game plan really, really well,” said Berthel Askou. “They caused us problems throughout the game, and when the game tipped, they were better than we were. So they fully deserved to get into the final. Congratulations to them. We need to shake off that disappointment. It's huge right now. First half, nowhere near the level we want to be at. Didn't take our moments going forward. We didn't drive the game fast enough. We had some moments where we were up around their box, inside their box. Didn't take them. They did.”

Controversial opening goal

Despite starting well, the wind was well and truly taken out of Motherwell’s sails on 25 minutes when Liam Gordon was adjudged to have fouled Mandron on the halfway line. Alex Gogic passed the resulting free-kick into the path of Declan John, whose driving run help win his side a corner.

From the resulting set piece, a neat backheel from Gogic landed at the feet of Mandron, who spun to fire home the opening goal on his 100th appearance for the club. Replays showed that the free-kick leading up to the corner was played while the ball was moving. However, with VAR unable to intervene due to IFAB guidelines, the goal stood.

There was no debate about the second, though, as Nlundulu sent the St Mirren fans into raptures when he bulleted a sumptuous strike beyond the reach of goalkeeper Calum Ward to double the Paisley side’s lead. Callum Hendry halved the deficit temporarily when he slid beneath Shamal George on 83 minutes, but their hope was short-lived as King squeezed the ball into the net following a mix-up between Ward and Lukas Fadinger in the dying minutes, before Mandron added another in stoppage time.

“I said to the players, go and put yourselves down in history,” said Robinson. “You've got an opportunity now to be remembered at St Mirren for the rest of your lives. That's how big the occasion is to a club of our size. Clubs the size of St Mirren don't get these opportunities often, as players, as staff. The feeling amongst the fans, they'll remember days like this forever.

“There's a group of players and staff that has given them European experience and a top-six experience, which a generation hadn't seen. Out with Rangers and Celtic, we’re the only team that's finished in the top six three years in a row. It's a team I'm proud of, a performance I'm proud of and we have to replicate that. If we play like that against anybody, we can beat anybody on our day. We've got no fear. We're in the final. We've earned our right.”

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