Scottish Football
2025/26
25/03/2017 – Dundee Utd (N)
Irn Bru Scottish Challenge Cup Final
25th March 2017
Fir Park, Motherwell
Dundee Utd 2-1 St. Mirren
Andreu 37
LOY 38 Mikkelsen 75
ATT: 8,089
Referee: Nick Walsh
- Saints lose their second Challenge Cup final in their third appearance at this stage, with a 2-1 defeat at Fir Park, also the venue of their previous defeat, just over 23 years beforehand.
- Over 5,000 Saints fan make up the bulk of the crowd, but watch on as Tony Andreu volleys home a stunning opener in glorious spring sunshine in Lanarkshire.
- Saints equalise straight from the restart, as Gary Irvine slaloms up the park to set up Rory Loy who calmly finds the net with a tidy finish.
- United find the winner during a flat second half when Mikkelsen heads home to win the trophy.
- Saints real challenge however was in the league, where they remained bottom of the second tier with just 7 matches left.
| No | Dundee United | St. Mirren | No |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cammy Bell (c) | Billy O’Brien | 21 |
| 8 | Stewart Murdoch | Gary Irvine | 3 |
| 14 | William Edjenguélé | Gary MacKenzie | 6 |
| 4 | Mark Durnan | Jack Baird | 15 |
| 24 | Jamie Robson | Adam Eckersley | 44 |
| 16 | Charlie Telfer |  84 Kyle Magennis | 42 |
| 14 | Willo Flood  | Stevie Mallan | 10 |
| 22 | Ali Coote 89 | Stephen McGinn (c) | 22 |
| 19 | Tony Andreu | Lewis Morgan | 17 |
| 23 | Nick van der Velden 58 | Rory Loy | 16 |
| 9 | Simon Murray 80 | John Sutton | 9 |
| SUBSTITUTES | |||
| 21 | Luis Zwick | Jamie Langfield | 1 |
| 3 | Paul Dixon | Stelios Demetriou | 2 |
| 5 | Coll Donaldson  89 | Andy Webster | 4 |
| 6 | Lewis Toshney | Pål Fjelde | 23 |
| 20 | Frank van der Struijk | Darren Whyte | 35 |
| 11 | Alex Nicholls 80 | 84 Connor O’Keefe | 36 |
| 18 | Thomas Mikkelsen 58 | Ryan Watters | 50 |
| Manager: Ray McKinnon | Manager: Jack Ross | ||
05/11/2005 – Hamilton (N)
Bell’s Scottish Challenge Cup Final
5th November 2005
Excelsior Stadium, Airdrie
St. Mirren 2-1 Hamilton
Lappin 22
Turnbridge 47 Sutton 80
ATT: 9,673
Referee: Stuart Douglas
- Close to 7,000 Saints fans witnessed the team clinch the 2005 Bell’s Cup after a close fought win over Hamilton Accies in Airdrie.
- The attendance at the Excelsior Stadium is a record, that stands today, and the match kicks off over 30 mins late to allow the travelling support from Renfrewshire to finally beat the traffic and access the stadium.
- Saints start very strongly, and cement their dominance when Simon Lappin fires home after his initial shot crashes off the bar and David Van Zanten returns the rebound to the back post leaving the young Saint with an easy chance.
- Saints squander multiple opportunities to increase their lead, and pay the penalty immediately after half time when Scott Turnbridge has a tap in for Accies after Smith saved.
- The match is very close after this, with both sides creating chances, however it is a surging run from Van Zanten that creates the winner with 10 minutes remaining, when he plows his way to the by-line and swings a cross, where John Sutton nods the ball home in the middle of the box.
- This is Saints first success in the competition at the 12th attempt.
| St. Mirren | NO | Accies |
|---|---|---|
| Christopher Smith | 1 | David McEwan |
| David van Zanten | 2 | 81 Stuart Balmer |
| Kirk Broadfoot | 3 | Derek Fleming |
| Andy Millen 76 | 4 | Steven Thomson (c) |
| Kevin McGowne (c) | 5 | Mark McLaughlin |
| John Potter | 6 | Alex Neil |
| Hugh Murray | 7 | Scott Tunbridge |
| Charlie Adam 69 | 8 | Marvyn Wilson |
| Stewart Kean | 9 | 38 Graeme Jones |
| John Sutton | 10 | 77 Scott MacKenzie |
| Simon Lappin | 11 | Pat Keogh |
| Substitutes | ||
| Billy Mehmet 69 | 12 | 81 John Robertson |
| Alan Reid | 14 | Brown Ferguson |
| Mark Corcoran | 15 | 77 Mark Gilhaney |
| Mark Reilly 76 | 16 | 38 Brian Carrigan |
| Craig Hinchliffe | 17 | Raymond Jellema |
| Gus MacPherson | Manager | Billy Reid |
12/12/1993 – Falkirk (N)
B&Q Scottish Challenge Cup Final
12th December 1993
Fir Park, Motherwell
Falkirk 3-0 St. Mirren
Duffy 47
Cadette 48 Hughes 65
ATT: 13,736
Referee: Douglas Hope
- Saints lose in their first ever appearance of the Challenge Cup Final, a competition started only 3 seasons beforehand for lower league clubs.
- Despite dominating for the entire first half, Saints can’t open the scoring, with Barry Lavety unlucky on a number of occasions and Tony Parks in the Falkirk goal in inspired form to keep the Paisley side out.
- The Bairns make Saints pay by scoring twice in the opening 3 minutes of the second half, effectively ending the match with their first attempts at goal.
- John Hughes adds a third midway through the half, and Saints can’t even muster a consolation when Neil Orr’s 25 yarder hits the bar.
- The attendance is a record in the competition until 2012, when the new Rangers are admitted to the bottom tier of the professional ranks.
- The match remains long in the memory of the 6,500 Saints fans in attendance due to the awful weather, with driving snow and rain making conditions probably the worst ever experience for the bulk of the Saints support in the one uncovered terracing then remaining at Fir Park.
Saints centre back Barry McLaughlin makes a splash in the awful weather at Fir Park as Richard Cadette of Falkirk tries to close him down.
17/03/2013 – Hearts (N)
Scottish League Cup Final
17th March 2013
Hampden Park, Glasgow
St. Mirren 3-2 Hearts
Stevenson 10
GONCALVES 37
THOMPSON 46 NEWTON 66
Stevenson 85
ATT: 44,036
Referee: Craig Thomson
- Saints lift the League Cup for the first time, following one of the all time classic matches at Hampden Park on a cold spring day.
- Despite Saints beating Hearts twice that season, including only a few weeks beforehand, they were not favourites with the Bookies or parts of the media, however in Renfrewshire there was little doubt Danny Lennon would return to Paisley with the trophy, following the standard of performance against Celtic in the semi-final.
- Backed by close to 20,000 Saints fans, the players started slowly however, and conceded an early goal to Ryan Stevenson. For the next 20 minutes, Saints clung on before Danny Lennon made a tactical change and dropped Paul McGowan back to a deeper midfield role to become primary play-maker.
- For the next half or so, Saints blew Hearts away with the type of fast flowing and thrilling football that Celtic could not hanadle in the semi finals. Almost immediately after the tactical switch, Esmael Goncalves continued his blistering start to life in Paisley with the equaliser following a move that ripped Hearts apart.
- Barely a minute into the second half, Steven Thompson put Saints ahead following another precise move, before Conor Newton smashed home a third after he and Goncalves beat Hearts entire defence with a lightening exchange of passes.
- Hearts pulled back a late goal and flung everything at Saints after this, however some stout defending paid off, and Saints prevailed in the competition for the first time.
| NO | SAINTS | HEARTS | NO |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Craig Samson | Jamie MacDonald | 1 |
| 2 | David van Zanten | Dylan McGowan | 19 |
| 14 | Marc McAusland | Andy Webster (c) | 6 |
| 6 | Jim Goodwin (c) | Danny Wilson | 4 |
| 3 | Paul Dummett | Kevin McHattie | 29 |
| 21 | Gary Teale | Ryan Stevenson | 7 |
| 10 | Paul McGowan | 70 Darren Barr | 5 |
| 24 | Conor Newton | 80 Mehdi Taouil | 10 |
| 29 | John McGinn 81 | 64 Jamie Walker | 14 |
| 9 | Steven Thompson 77 | Michael Ngoo | 21 |
| 77 | Isma Gonçalves 90+2 | John Sutton | 9 |
| SUBSTITUTES | |||
| 16 | Grant Adam | Mark Ridgers | 13 |
| 5 | Lee Mair 90+2 | Brad McKay | 28 |
| 11 | Graham Carey 81 | 70 Jason Holt | 15 |
| 17 | Kenny McLean | 64 Arvydas Novikovas | 18 |
| 19 | Sam Parkin 77 | 80 Dale Carrick | 37 |
| Manager: Danny Lennon | Manager: Gary Locke | ||
21/10/2010 – Rangers (N)
Scottish League Cup Final
21st March 2010
Hampden Park, Glasgow
St. Mirren 0-1 Rangers
Thomson 53 
Wilson 71
Miller 84
ATT: 44,538
Referee: Craig Thomson
- In one of the most infamous and astonishing matches ever played in the history of not only the club. but Scottish football, Saints lose the 2010 League Cup Final against a Rangers side down to 9 men.
- Saints initially made light work of their underdog tag, and with 11 v 11 were by far the better side, particularity in the first half where Steven Thomson missed the best chance of the match, and David Barron hit the cross bar.
- Saints domination continued into the 2nd half, and Rangers frustration boiled over after 53 minutes when Kevin Thomson was red carded for a wild lunge at namesake Steven.
- Rangers decided to sit deep as a result of this, with the onus on Saints to break down the Ibrox men, which they found extremely difficult.
- On the only occasion Saints did break through the mass Ranges ranks on 71 minutes, substitute Craig Dargo was taken down by Danny Wilson when he was about to shoot, and the Rangers defender was also red carded.
- The stalemate continued, with Saints simply unable to take advantage of their incredible situation, and in their unnecessarily desperate attempts to finish the match inside 90 minutes, lost a goal on the counter attack to Kenny Miller after 84 minutes, and the final drifted away from Saints in devastating circumstances.
| St. Mirren | NO | Rangers |
|---|---|---|
| Paul Gallacher | 1 | Neil Alexander |
| Jack Ross | 2 | Steven Whittaker Y |
| David Barron | 3 | David Weir (c) |
| John Potter (c) | 4 | Danny Wilson |
| Lee Mair | 5 | Saša Papac |
| Graham Carey | 6 | 46 Steven Davis |
| Hugh Murray 60 | 7 | Lee McCulloch |
| Steven Thomson | 8 | Kevin Thomson |
| Garry Brady 85 | 9 | 89 Nacho Novo |
| Billy Mehmet 70 | 10 | 79 Kris Boyd |
| Michael Higdon | 11 | Kenny Miller |
| Mark Howard | 12 | Allan McGregor |
| Steven Robb | 14 | 89 Steven Smith |
| Andy Dorman 60 | 15 | 46 Maurice Edu |
| Stephen O’Donnell 85 | 16 | Damarcus Beasley |
| Craig Dargo 70 | 17 | 79 Steven Naismith |
| Gus MacPherson | Manager | Walter Smith |
22/10/1955 – Aberdeen (N)
Scottish League Cup Final
22nd October 1955
Hampden Park, Glasgow
Aberdeen 2-1 St. Mirren
Mallan OG 47
HOLMES 57
Leggatt 79
ATT: 44,106
Referee: H Phillips
- Saints first appearance in the League Cup Final, reached at the ninth attempt, results in a narrow defeat to Aberdeen
- Despite being underdogs, and losing 3-0 to the Dons the previous week at Love Street, Saints are the better side for much of the game and the match is very even.
- Jimmy Mallan suffers great misfortune just after half-time when he knocks the ball past Jim Lornie to give the Dons the lead.
- Bobby Holmes, playing half back as opposed to forward, nets Saints equaliser 10 minutes later with a fine diving header.
- The Dons win the match however with 11 minutes remaining, when outside right, Leggatt, fires home the winner.
| ABERDEEN | NO | ST. MIRREN |
|---|---|---|
| Fred Martin | 1 | Jim Lornie |
| Jimmy Mitchell | 2 | David Lapsley |
| Dave Caldwell | 3 | Jim Mallan |
| Bob Wilson | 4 | Jackie Neilson |
| Jim Clunie | 5 | Willie Telfer |
| Archie Glen | 6 | Bobby Holmes |
| Graham Leggat | 7 | Jim Rodger |
| Harry Yorston | 8 | Davie Laird |
| Paddy Buckley | 9 | Jackie Brown |
| Bobby Wishart | 10 | Tommy Gemmell |
| Jack Hather | 11 | Brian Callan |
| Davie Shaw | Manager | Willie Reid |
THE RENFREWSHIRE CUP
Saints appeared in 87 seasons of the Renfrewshire Cup, winning it 55 times, with the first time being in 1880 and the first success 3 years later.
It was one of the oldest continuous competitions in the world until it was wound down in 2014 due to the Renfrewshire FA’s forced closure, as not enough clubs were members and the association absorbed by the South West of Scotland equivalent.
Various records are listed below:
| League Cup Category | Record | Additional Info |
|---|---|---|
| Number of Seasons Entered | 87 | 1880-2014 |
| Finalists | 69 | |
| Winners | 55 | |
| Worst Performance | 2nd Round | 3 times |
| Most Played Opponent | 90 | Morton |
| Most Victories | 39 | Morton |
| Most Defeats | 36 | Morton |
| Most Goals Scored Against | 164 | Morton |
| Most Goals Conceded Against | 133 | Morton |
| Highest Home Attendance | 12,000 | 09/05/1959 v Morton |
| Lowest Home Attendance | 250 | 17/07/2013 v Paisley Grammar Old Boys Union |
| Highest Away Attendance | 8,000 | 24/08/1949 v Morton |
| Lowest Away Attendance | 1,000 | 18/03/1905 v Johnstone |
| Most Appearances | 43 | Andy Brown |
| Most Goals | 30 | Andy Brown |
| Record Win (Home) | 16-0 | 17/07/2013 v Paisley Grammar Old Boys Union |
| Record Win (Away) | 14-1 | 01/12/1888 v Clippens |
| Record Defeat (Home) | 0-4 | 03/05/1902 v Morton |
| Record Defeat (Away) | 1-6 | 25/01/1890 v Abercorn |
| Most Individual Goals in a Match | 6 | Gerry Baker v India of Inchinnan, 01/04/1959 |
| Most Individual Goals in a season | 9 | Robert Fairlie 1884/85 |
| Most Club Goals Scored in a Season | 39 | 1883/84 |
| Most Club Goals Conceded in a Season | 10 | 1883/84 |
| Most Matches in a Season | 10 | 1883/84 |
| Total Shut Outs | 79 | From 238 matches |
| Most Shut Outs in a Season | 3 | 5 times |
| POS | RENFREWSHIRE CUP APPEARANCES | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BROWN, Andy | 43 |
| 2 | PATERSON, John | 36 |
| 3 | McBAIN, Eddie | 33 |
| 4 | JOHNSTONE, Tom | 32 |
| 5 | FAIRLIE, Robert | 28 |
| 6 | WYLIE, Sandy | 27 |
| = | McAVOY, Mick | 27 |
| = | PATRICK, John | 27 |
| 9 | CAMERON, James | 26 |
| 10 | WATT, Geordie | 24 |
| 11 | GREENLEES, Donald | 22 |
| 12 | JACKSON, Tom | 21 |
| 13 | IMRIE, J | 19 |
| =14 | HUTCHISON, J | 18 |
| =14 | McBAIN, Alex | 18 |
| =14 | BRUCE, Walter | 18 |
| =14 | DRINNAN, George | 18 |
| 18 | McDONALD, William | 17 |
| =19 | MULLEN, Johnny | 15 |
| =19 | MURRAY, Cammy | 15 |
| =21 | McCRAE, Davie | 14 |
| =21 | THOMSON, Jamie | 14 |
| =21 | MARSHALL, D | 14 |
| =24 | GEBBIE, Alan | 13 |
| =24 | DOUGLAS, John | 13 |
| =24 | LINDSAY, David | 13 |
| -24 | BRANDON, Tom | 13 |
| POS | RENFREWSHIRE CUP GOALS | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BROWN, Andy | 30 |
| 2 | McCRAE, Davie | 18 |
| 3 | FAIRLIE, Robert | 16 |
| 4 | WATT, Geordie | 15 |
| =5 | PATERSON, John | 9 |
| =5 | BAKER, Gerry | 9 |
| =5 | McDONALD, Jimmy | 9 |
| =8 | WYLIE, Sandy | 7 |
| =8 | IMRIE, J | 7 |
| =8 | CAMERON, Ian | 7 |
| =8 | GILMOUR, Robert | 7 |
| =8 | MORTON, Jimmy | 7 |
| =8 | LINWOOD, Alex | 7 |
| =14 | JOHNSTONE, Tom | 6 |
| =14 | GEBBIE, Alan | 6 |
| =14 | GILLIES, Archie | 6 |
| =14 | BRYCELAND, Tommy | 6 |
| =14 | BURRELL, Gerry | 6 |
| =14 | McLAUGHLIN, Hugh | 6 |
| =20 | MULLEN, Johnny | 5 |
| =20 | RANKIN, Robert | 5 |
| =20 | SMITH, Jimmy | 5 |
| =20 | GEMMILL, Archie | 5 |
| =20 | REILLY, Thomas | 5 |
| =20 | GALLAGHER, Kieran | 5 |
| =20 | KNOX, Jimmy | 5 |
DOMESTIC COMPETITIONS
