St Mirren U18s progressed to the third round of the Scottish Youth Cup after an emphatic 5-1 victory over Alloa Athletic at The SMiSA Stadium.
Led by former St Mirren captain Stephen McGinn, the Young Saints raced into a 3-0 lead inside the opening half hour. Alloa Athletic reduced the deficit just before half-time, but two goals in the final 15 minutes saw the Buddies round off an impressive evening.
Struan Thompson, son of Saints Hall of Famer Steven Thompson, opened the scoring with just eight minutes on the clock after a brilliant driving run and finish from 20 yards.
Evan Mooney doubled the U18s' lead on 16 minutes with a neat finish from close range. Thomas Falconer tapped in at the back post just before the half-hour mark to make it 3-0 after a low ball across from Callum Penman who had charged up the right-wing and laid it on a plate for the striker.
Alloa pulled a goal back in the final minute of the first-half when a defensive mix up allowed Ryan Shiels to beat goalkeeper Grant Tamosevicius and knock into the net.
With 15 minutes remaining, Mooney added his second and the young Saints' fourth when Alloa goalkeeper Cameron Crawford couldn't get to a clipped ball which allowed the forward to steal in ahead of the stopper and fire home.
Evan Mooney beat the goalkeeper to the ball score his second goal (Image: Allan Picken)
Billy Hutchison rounded off the scoring in the final minute as he fired into the roof of the net. The U18s will now meet Caledonian Braves in third round.
Full-Time: St Mirren U18s 5-1 Alloa Athletic U18s
St Mirren: Tamosevicius, Penman (Barr 78), Clark, Mcevoy (c), Hutchison, Hunter, Mooney, Turner (Mitchell 81), McCormick (Douglas 78), Thompson (Farquhar 64), Falconer (Stoddart 81)
