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St Mirren secured a deserved place in the Premier Sports Cup final next month with a convincing 4-1 victory over Motherwell at Hampden Park on Saturday evening. Their first cup final appearance since 2013, a brace from Mikael Mandron, plus strikes from Dan Nlundulu and Richard King, sealed the victory at the national stadium, with Callum Hendry’s reply for Motherwell proving to be little more than consolation. A glorious day for Stephen Robinson’s side, Motherwell’s almost 35-year wait for a trophy continues after their humbling defeat in Mount Florida. Following the game, we look at the key talking points: The striker was involved in all four goals at Hampden, torturing his former employers Motherwell, who simply had no answer to him as he fired St Mirren to the final of the Premier Sports Cup. Strong, aggressive, and clinical, the 31-year-old scored his first goals since the 2-2 draw with Kilmarnock on September 27th, but showed no signs that he was lacking in confidence. Eligible to play for Scotland through his Aberdeen-born grandmother, Robinson has confidence that the striker possesses the quality to flourish on the international stage, and believes he could put himself in the frame if he consistently produces the level of performance he did during the 4-1 thrashing of Motherwell. “He's a very, very talented boy,” said Robinson with a beaming smile in Hampden auditorium. “He's scoring goals. He leads the line very well. So certainly [he could play for Scotland], why not? There are lots of players that I've worked with who have got caps. I don't think we've had many boys who have been capped at St Mirren before we came in. So that's credit to the staff and the recruitment now, and Mika, certainly. With his talent, he certainly wouldn't look out of place at the national level.” The only team outside of Celtic and Rangers to have finished in the top six for three consecutive seasons, do St Mirren get enough credit for their achievements? With a cup final spot now confirmed, there’s an inclination to say no. Former Celtic striker and Sky Sports pundit Chris Sutton rather unfairly said he would “close the curtains” if they were playing in his back garden just last month, but there’s plenty to be excited about with Robinson’s team. There’s more than one way to skin a cat, and how the Northern Irish boss asks his team to play is his business. Is it often direct? Perhaps, but his gazelle-like centre forwards, full throttle midfield, and battle-hardened defence have plenty to be excited about, whether you’re a dyed-in-the-wool St Mirren fan or not. The 50-year-old tried his best to hold his tongue after his team’s dominant 4-1 win, but offered a stern defence of his team’s style. “I believe in my forward players,” said Robinson. “My exciting players have more touches than my goalkeeper and centre-half. The rules haven't changed in football. I think we play an exciting brand of football. Create a lot of chances. We deliver a lot of balls. We make teams defend. “We steal a lot of ideas from Bournemouth and Brentford to increase xG. We put long throws into the box. We put free kicks into the box. Outwith that, we play some really good football. We move the ball really well at times as well.” It seems like a bit of a moot point considering the result, but the game’s opening goal will naturally rankle among some Motherwell fans. “I think there's enough officials around the pitch to see that situation and stop it,” admitted Motherwell boss Jens Berthel Askou. “Especially because it's a situation where they take advantage of the ball rolling. But as the system is, the VAR can do nothing about it because it leads to a corner. So that's how it is. We'll have to accept that. Then we'll have to set up and defend that corner better.” A humble take from the Danish head coach, who was fully aware that the goal played only a small part in his side’s defeat at Hampden Park, but frustrating for those of a Motherwell persuasion who’ll perhaps always wonder what might have been had the infringement been spotted. Whoever they face in the final on December 14, they’ll enter the game as underdogs, but they’ll be a real challenge for either Celtic or Rangers if they perform as they did this weekend. They’ve already come up against both Glasgow sides this season and have given an excellent account of themselves. In fact, they’re unbeaten against Rangers in their last four games against them. “When we play like that, we're very, very difficult to play against,” said Robinson after the game. “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.” He certainly wasn’t wrong. The old adage of hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard (I’m sure you’ve heard it) will definitely apply when one of Celtic and Rangers line-up against St Mirren on December 14. In Nlundulu and Mandron, they have two strikers who thrive on bullying opposition centre-backs and causing them all manner of headaches, while the imposing figure of Killian Phillips in the centre of the park will ask physical questions of either side's midfield. Sign up to The Scotsman’s daily football newsletter to get unrivalled Scottish football news and analysis - subscribe for free here.
