St Mirren emphatically beat Motherwell and will play in the Premier Sports Cup Final next month against either Celtic or Rangers. Saints reach their first League Cup final, since we won the competition back in 2013.

Mikael Mandron got the scoring underway before a stunning strike from Dan Nlundulu saw us double our advantage heading into half-time. Motherwell pulled a goal back in the final 10 minutes through Callum Hendry which looked set to make for a nervy ending at Hampden Park. But Richard King restored Saints' two goal advantage a few minutes later before Mandron put the seal on a wonderful day for the Buddies at the National Stadium. 

Stephen Robinson named two changes from his side’s 2-2 draw with Hearts. Both Jayden Richardson and Alex Gogic made it back into the starting XI, after their suspensions, with Conor McMenamin and Richard King dropping to the bench.

Miguel Freckleton and Malik Dijksteel were St Mirren’s only doubts before the game. Freckleton, with a knock that he sustained against Hearts midweek and Dijksteel, who has been recovering from an illness all week.

Motherwell made five changes from their 2-0 win against Dundee United. Liam Gordon, Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, Elijah Just, Emmanuel Longelo and Ibrahim Said all came in to replace. Stephen O’Donnell, Callum Slattery, Stephen Welsh, Callum Hendry and Regan Charles-Cook.

Club captain Stephen O’Donnell was a doubt and did not make the match day squad, whilst star winger Tawanda Maswanhise was a doubt but made the squad. Jordan McGhee, Zach Robinson, Eseosa Sule, Filip Stuparevic and Sam Nicholson were all ruled out.

St Mirren got the game kicked off and got an early first chance. Great pressure from Nlundulu forced a loose pass that fell to Baccus, whose ball into to Mandron was too heavy for the St Mirren number nine.

Motherwell responded positively with a plethora of crosses and corners into the St Mirren box. St Mirren were dealing well with them, with one free kick from Watt finding Stamatelopoulos, who didn’t trouble George with his header.

The Saints grew more and more in the game, creating chances but struggling to get any clear-cut chances towards the Motherwell goal.

Motherwell broke down the left hand side with some lovely one touch football. A fortuitous bounce found Maswanhise who had a low driven strike, going wide of the St Mirren goal.

St Mirren broke the deadlock moments later. Gogic took a quick free kick releasing John on the left hand side, winning St Mirren a corner. John took the resulting corner on the left hand side, with Gogic flicking the ball on towards Mandron. Mandron fired the ball into the back of the net for his sixth goal in the Premier Sports Cup and his seventh of the season.

The Saints went close to a second. A long ball found Richardson who beat the offside trap. His cross nearly found Mandron but Ward collected.

St Mirren moments later got their second of the match. Mandron’s pass deflected off Watt and fell to the feet of Nlundulu. The striker then smashed the ball from the edge of the box into the top right corner, scoring for the third match in a row and leaving Ward no chance.

Four minutes were added on after an earlier head injury to Freckleton. Freckleton then won the ball, having a mazy run on the left hand side. His cross found Richardson, whose shot went wide of the goal with the half ending Motherwell 0-2 St Mirren.

Motherwell made the one change at the half bring on Welsh for Gordon before getting the half underway.

The Steelmen started the half off strong. After some scrappy challenges and the ball bouncing around, it found its way to Watt 30 yards from goal. Watt’s thunderous shot was well handled by George.

Motherwell kept piling on the pressure. Some well worked football found Said. He flicked the ball over to Just, who found Maswanhise and his strike was again dragged low and wide of George’s goal. Said was then replaced by Slattery.

The Steelmen were hunting to break down this stubborn Saints defense. Koutroumbis’ pass found Slattery, who had his effort pushed to safety from George.

St Mirren made their first change of the afternoon bring on Ayunga for goal scorer Nlundulu. Moments later John’s cross found Mandron, who couldn’t get his second of the afternoon.

Motherwell then made their third and fourth changes of the afternoon, bringing on Hendry and Sparrow for Stamatelopoulos and Koutroumbis.

Motherwell should have scored after Maswanhise, who was inches to putting the ball into the net, couldn’t convert a ball in from Just. St Mirren then made a double substitution, with King and Donnelly coming on for Richardson and Baccus.

Moments later Mandron nearly got the Saints third. Substitutes Donnelly and Ayunga hounded the Motherwell defence, winning the ball in the six yard box. The ball was given to Mandron who spun his man, but thanks to excellent defending from McGinn the ball hit the post.

St Mirren broke away on the very next attack, with some lovely link up play from King and Mandron. Mandron’s ball found Phillips with his strike unable to trouble Ward in the Motherwell goal. 

Motherwell then made their final substitution with Charles-Cook replacing Maswanhise. Ayunga was fouled by Sparrow, earning the first yellow of the afternoon.

Motherwell got back into the game after a quick free kick found substitute Charles-Cook. He travelled 30 yards giving the ball wide right to Sparrow. Sparrow’s low cross was tucked away by Hendry.

But that joy for Motherwell was short lasting. Yet another substitute goal involvement but this time for St Mirren. King wins the ball in the Motherwell half finds Mandron, who gets fouled. The ref waves play on with King picking up the ball and striking in at Ward. The ball then spins in, with King getting his second goal for the club.

The Saints made a double substitution with Tanser and McMenamin coming on for John and O’Hara.

St Mirren had confirmed their place in next months final by adding in a fourth. A terrific strike form Phillips looped and smashed off the cross bar. Mandron was the most alert, winning the ball and putting the ball into the bottom right hand corner to get his second goal of the game. After a VAR check for both an offside and possible foul the goal was given.

St Mirren will play either Celtic or Rangers at Hampden Park on Sunday 14th December in the League Cup final.

Full-Time: Motherwell 1-4 St Mirren

St Mirren: George, Fraser, Gogic, Freckleton, Richardson (King 71), Phillips, Baccus (Donnelly 71), O'Hara (c) (Tanser 88), John (McMenamin 88), Nlundulu (Ayunga 63), Mandron
Subs: Mullen, Idowu, Dijksteel, Mooney

Motherwell: Ward, Koutroumbis (Sparrow 65), McGinn (c), Gordon (Welsh 46), Longelo, Watt, Fadinger, Said (Slattery 57), Maswanhise, Stamatelopoulos (Hendry 66)
Subs Not Used: Connelly, Balmer, Halliday, Priestman

Referee: Don Robertson
AR1: David Roome
AR2: Ross Macleod
Fourth Official: Ryan Lee
VAR: Greg Aitken

St Mirren's Premier Sports Cup semi-final side has been announced with Stephen Robinson making two changes to the side that drew with Hearts on Wednesday night. 

Alex Gogic and Jayden Richardson return to the starting 11 after suspensions. That sees Richard King and Conor McMenamin drop to the bench. Miguel Freckleton has passed a fitness test and starts for the Buddies after scoring on Wednesday evening.

Kick-off at Hampden Park is at 5:30pm and the match is live on Premier Sports. International subscribers to St Mirren TV can watch live as part of their subscription. 

St Mirren: George, Fraser, Gogic, Freckleton, Richardson, Phillips, Baccus, O'Hara (c), John, Nlundulu, Mandron
Subs: Mullen, Tanser, King, Donnelly, McMenamin, Idowu, Dijksteel, Ayunga, Mooney

Motherwell: Ward, Koutroumbis, McGinn (c), Gordon, Longelo, Watt, Fadinger, Said, Maswanhise, Stamatelopoulos
Subs: Connelly, Balmer, Sparrow, Slattery, Halliday, Priestman, Welsh, Hendry, Charles-Cook

We're getting ready for for semi-final Saturday as Saints take on Motherwell at Hampden Park in the last four of the Premier Sports Cup. 

Sales for Saturday's Premier Sports Cup semi-final will close on Friday (31st Oct) at 12 noon. Tickets are available to buy up until that point online. 

Motherwell v St Mirren 
Premier Sports Cup
Venue: Hampden Park, Glasgow
Date: Saturday 1st November 2025
Kick-off: 5:30pm

The match day officials for Saturday's match are as follows:

Referee: Don Robertson
Assistant Referee: David Roome
Assistant Referee: Ross Macleod
VAR: Greg Aitken

Match Details

Sales for Saturday's Premier Sports Cup semi-final will close on Friday (31st Oct) at 12 noon.

Tickets are available to buy up until that point online. This is to allow our ticket office staff the time to process all final orders and pass across to Hampden Park ticketing team to ensure smooth injection into the Hampden Park Ticket App.

Ticket Information 

Travel Information

We would advise that supporters should allow plenty of time when travelling to the match.

If travelling by train, purchase tickets in advance and use M-tickets. Please be aware that there will be queueing systems in place at Glasgow Central, Kings Park and Mount Florida. St Mirren fans should travel to and from Mount Florida Station with opposition fans travelling to and from Kings Park.

Access to enter Mount Florida Station is via Cathkinview Road. All other station entrances are closed, including access to the Langside College carpark which should be accessed via Battlefield Road. Stay up-to-date by checking scotrail.co.uk/sport.

Disabled Parking

Disabled parking for Saturday's match is available for collection for those who have booked them. Please note there is no spare allocation and these are only available to those that have ordered in advance. 

St Mirren are at Hampden Park on Saturday as we take on Motherwell in the semi-final of the Premier Sports Cup.

A place in the final is up for grabs with the winner of Saturday's tie going on to face either Celtic or Rangers at the National Stadium in December. 

Match Details

Motherwell v St Mirren
Competition: Premier Sports Cup
Date: Saturday 1st November 2025
Kick-off: 5:30pm
Venue: Hampden Park

Tickets

Sales for Saturday's Premier Sports Cup semi-final will close on Friday (31st Oct) at 12noon. Tickets are available to buy up until that point online. This is to allow our ticket office staff the time to process all final orders and pass across to Hampden Park ticketing team to ensure smooth injection into the Hampden Park Ticket App. We would strongly recommend that supporters purchase their tickets in plenty of time ahead of the deadline.

We urge all supporters to read the guide HERE and familiarise themselves with ticket distribution and entry procedure ahead of Saturday's match.

Form

Saints go into Saturday's semi-final on the back of a 2-2 draw against league leaders Hearts at The SMiSA Stadium on Wednesday night. 

Our passage to the semi-final has come after penalty shoot-out victories over Hearts and Kilmarnock. After winning Group D back in July, Saints were paired against Hearts at The SMiSA Stadium in the round of 16. A 5-4 penalty shoot-out victory saw the Buddies progress to the quarter-final where we were drawn away to Kilmarnock. A 2-2 draw after 90 minutes and extra-time saw us head to spot-kicks once again and another five perfect penalties saw us reach Hampden Park. 

Motherwell defeated Dundee United 2-0 at Fir Park on Wednesday evening. That result came off the back of a last-gasp win away to Livingston at the weekend. 

The Steelmen reached the semi-final stage of the Premier Sports Cup last season where they were narrowly edged out by Rangers. This season, Jens Berthel Askou's side have made it to the last four after wins away to St Johnstone (0-1) and Aberdeen (0-1). 

Malik Dijksteel scored Saints' winning penalty in both of our shoot-outs

The Officials

Don Robertson is the referee on Saturday. Greg Aitken is on VAR.

St Mirren picked up a point against league leaders Hearts after an eventful 2-2 draw at The SMiSA Stadium. But once again, a VAR decision proved costly and frustrating as the Buddies were denied the opportunity to go 3-1 up when Miguel Freckleton's second goal was disallowed.

Dan Nlundulu made it two in two as his stunning overhead kick gave Saints the lead. A defensive error allowed Lawrence Shankland to level for the visitors. Freckleton put Stephen Robinson's men ahead for the second time with a tidy finish early in the second-half. And he thought he'd extended the lead when he added a third five minutes later. But a baffling VAR call saw the goal overturned to the bemusement of all in the stadium. Hearts levelled through Claudio Braga with 20 minutes remaining and thought they'd won it in the final minutes, only for Pierre Kabore's goal to be disallowed for offside. 

Richard King came in for the suspended Alex Gogic, while Mikael Mandron led the line with Nlundulu in the only two changes from Saturday's defeat to Dundee United.

An even opening to the match was stirred on 13 minutes when Beni Baningime struck the post for the visitors. The ball rolled along the line before going out for a goal-kick. Four minutes later, Saints threatened with Mandron heading into the side-net.

Saints broke the deadlock heading into the half-hour mark when Nlundulu scored his second goal for the Buddies. Shamal George lifted a free-kick into the Hearts box where Nlundulu brought it under control before sending an overhead kick high into the net with Alexander Schwolow unable to get near it. 

Dan Nlundulu scores overhead kick (Image: Allan Picken)

Frustratingly, Hearts found themselves level six minutes later. Keanu Baccus attempted to bring a defensive header under control in his box, but his heavy touch landed at the feet of Shankland who finished beyond George to equalise.

The Buddies flew out the traps at the start of the second-half with a beautiful Phillips ball over the top finding Mandron. The forward brought the ball down but saw his shot well blocked by Oisin McEntee. Phillips was then the recipient of a brilliant cross from Declan John only to see his header turned over by Schwolow. Saints retook the lead from the resulting corner with the ball eventually landing at the feet of Freckleton who smashed home from close range. 

Miguel Freckleton scores against Hearts (Image: Allan Picken)

Freckleton thought he had his second and Saints' third five minutes later. John's free-kick delivery was superb and found the head of Freckleton. He bulleted a header off the post but quickly met the rebound and fired into the net to give the Buddies a commanding lead over the league leaders. Or so he thought. Referee Matthew MacDermid was called over to the monitor and eventually disallowed the goal for what was seemingly a foul by captain Mark O'Hara, but it was hard to see what the infringement actually was. 

Undeterred, Saints came agonisingly close on 69 minutes when Schwolow made a truly stunning save to deny Phillips' header. And within a minute the visitors found themselves level. George made a wonderful stop to touch Alexandros Kyziridis' effort onto the bar. But Braga was on hand to knock into the net.

Substitute Jonah Ayunga forced another big save from Schwolow as the game headed into the final 10 minutes. The visitors thought they had won it in the dying minutes when Kabore eventually forced home at close range, but VAR eventually disallowed the goal with McEntee offside in the build up.

Full-Time: St Mirren 2-2 Hearts

St Mirren: George, Fraser, King, Freckleton, McMenamin (Sobowale 85), Phillips, Baccus (Donnelly 75), O'Hara (c), John, Mandron, Nlundulu (Ayunga 75)
Subs Not Used: Mullen, Tanser, Idowu, Calvin, Taylor, Mooney

Hearts: Schwolow, McEntee, Halkett, Findlay, Kingsley (Kabore 66), Milne, Devlin, Baningime, Kyziridis, Braga (Magnusson 85), Shankland
Subs Not Used: Gordon, McCart, Kabangu, Steinwender, Spittal, Kertoja, Ageu 

Referee: Matthew MacDermid
AR1: Chris Rae
AR2: Graham McNeillie
VAR: Nick Walsh

Attendance: 7,105

St Mirren's starting lineup for this evening's William Hill Premiership match at home to Hearts has been confirmed with manager Stephen Robinson making two changes to the side that lost to Dundee United on Saturday. 

Richard King comes in for the suspended Alex Gogic, while Mikael Mandron takes the place of Jonah Ayunga who drops to the bench.

Mikael Mandron returns to the starting line-up

Hearts stick with the same starting 11 from their 3-1 win over Celtic on Sunday.

Tonight's match is live on PPV in the UK and Ireland, to purchase a PPV pass please click HERE. 

St Mirren: George, Fraser, King, Freckleton, McMenamin, Phillips, Baccus, O'Hara (c), John, Mandron, Nlundulu
Subs: Mullen, Tanser, Sobowale, Donnelly, Idowu, Ayunga, Calvin, Taylor, Mooney

Hearts: Schwolow, McEntee, Halkett, Findlay, Kingsley, Milne, Devlin, Baningime, Kyziridis, Braga, Shankland
Subs: Gordon, McCart, Kabangu, Kabore, Steinwender, Spittal, Magnusson, Kertoja, Ageu 

Thank you to the over 8,000 supporters who have bought their ticket for Saturday's Premier Sports Cup semi-final against Motherwell.

Sales for Saturday's Premier Sports Cup semi-final will close on Friday (31st Oct) at 12noon. Tickets are available to buy up until that point online. This is to allow our ticket office staff the time to process all final orders and pass across to Hampden Park ticketing team to ensure smooth injection into the Hampden Park Ticket App. We would strongly recommend that supporters purchase their tickets in plenty of time ahead of the deadline.

We urge all supporters to read the guide below and familiarise themselves with ticket distribution and entry procedure ahead of Saturday's match.

Match Details

Motherwell v St Mirren
Competition: Premier Sports Cup
Date: Saturday 1st November 2025
Kick-off: 5:30pm
Venue: Hampden Park

Tickets Distribution and Entry

Please note that ALL tickets will be distributed digitally via the Hampden Park tickets app. This is the only app that will allow entry for Saturday’s match. You can download the Hampden Park Tickets app via the Apple app store or on Google Play.

If you have already purchased your tickets will begin to appear as a QR code on the Hampden Park tickets app from Thursday afternoon (30th Oct). These QR codes will only become active on the day of the match. You can use the QR code to enter the stadium by simply scanning at the turnstile reader.

This is an active QR code and tickets cannot be screenshotted to be used as a valid ticket. The QR code will be blocked if this is attempted.  We would ask supporters to ensure that your ticket(s) is active before departing for the match.

Please note that there has been a recent update on the Hampden Park tickets app therefore, each supporter will be required to update their app if they have not already done so to receive their ticket. For more detailed information surrounding the Hampden Park tickets app, please click HERE.

We must stress that there are no paper tickets available and any QR codes/barcodes produced on the St Mirren ticket app or via email when purchasing on stmirren.com are merely receipts of your purchase for the St Mirren Ticket Office to process the order – they are NOT valid for entry at Hampden. Supporters should also note that they must sit in their allocated seats and cannot request a change of seat. 

Multiple Ticket Purchases and Transfers 

If you have purchased multiple tickets for friends and family using your email address, then be aware that ALL these tickets will show on your Hampden Park tickets app. You can transfer these via the app to recipients (using their email address) provided that have the Hampden Park tickets app and a registered account.

Alternatively, you have the option to scan each individual in using your phone and selecting each ticket.

Please be aware that you will be limited to a maximum of two transfers per ticket.

Transferred to wrong email address

If you have accidentally transferred a ticket to the wrong email address, you can cancel the transfer of a ticket – provided this has not been accepted by the recipient.

To cancel the send, go to My Transfers and select the Ticket that is pending a transfer. Once clicked, you will see the ticket details and the email. You can select ‘Cancel transfer’ to take the ticket back. Then you can send to the correct email address using the Transfer button via the My Tickets section.

More on Hampden Park Tickets App

For a full step-by-step guide on how to download and use the Hampden Park Tickets App, please click the link HERE.

If you have any further queries, please contact our St Mirren Ticket Office staff at tickets@stmirren.com

Disabled Parking

Disabled parking for Saturday's match is now available for collection for those who have booked them. Please note there is no spare allocation and these are only available to those that have ordered in advance. 

St Mirren host Hearts at The SMiSA Stadium this evening as we close out October at home to the William Hill Premiership league leaders.

St Mirren vs Hearts
William Hill Premiership
Venue: The SMiSA Stadium, Paisley
Date: Wednesday 29th October 2025
Kick-off: 7:45pm

The match day officials for tonight's match are as follows:

Referee: Matthew MacDermid
Assistant Referee: Chris Rae
Assistant Referee: Graham McNeillie
VAR: Nick Walsh

Match Details

The game kicks-off at 7:45pm and season tickets are valid for the match. Full instructions on how to download and use the Future Ticketing digital app can be found HERE.

The St Mirren Ticket Office is open on matchday from 10am-2pm and 6pm until just after kick-off (7:45pm). The match is all ticket – tickets will be on sale UNTIL KICK-OFF (subject to availability).

Away tickets are sold out. There are NO tickets available for away supporters at The SMiSA Stadium.

Turnstiles will open to supporters on matchday from 6:45pm. Supporters should arrive early to avoid delays. Supporters should be respectful of each other and remain within their allocated seats. Please do not stand in non-seated areas.

Supporters should also note that there is no access between the West and North Stands.

Ticket Information

Supporter Information

Supporters travelling to the match should be aware of ongoing major bridge refurbishment on the M8 at Junction 26 (Hillington Interchange) causing delays. As always, please plan your journey accordingly.

We'll have a face painter in The Tony Fitzpatrick Family Stand before kick-off, as well as our #Saints1stGoal, Bung a Baw and Spot the Ball challenges too!

Car Parking

The club would like to remind supporters of parking restrictions in and around The SMiSA Stadium on matchdays. Please click here for the full update.

A limited number of matchday parking passes for Wednesday's match are available to buy online. These are available in the White Car Park. Please note all parking must now be bought in advance, there will no longer be matchday cash on the gate sales for car parking.

Seasonal car park passes are sold out.

Red Zone - South

For Hospitality Patrons and Home Disabled Supporters Seasonal Passes Only.

To enter/exit Greenhill Road.

Black Zone - Southwest

For The Tony Fitzpatrick Family Stand and Main Stand Patrons.

To enter/exit via Drums Avenue.

White Zone - West

For West Stand Patrons Seasonal Passes and those with matchday pass. Home disabled supporters in bays behind West Stand.

To enter/exit via Ferguslie Park Avenue.

Yellow Zone - North West

Away disabled supporters in bays behind the 4G pitch.

To enter/exit via Ferguslie Park Avenue.

Post Match

Drivers should not encroach onto pedestrian areas while fans are exiting the stadium.

How to Follow

If you can't make the match on Wednesday night you can follow the action with updates on our X page.

PPV is available to supporters in the UK and Ireland at a cost of £12.50. PPV passes can be purchased on tv.stmirren.com.

International subscribers to St Mirren TV can watch the match live on tv.stmirren.com as normal as part of their subscription.

Visitor Information

It's a midweek under The SMiSA Stadium lights as St Mirren get set to host league leaders Hearts in the William Hill Premiership on Wednesday night. 

Match Details

St Mirren v Hearts
Competition: William Hill Premiership
Date: Wednesday 29th October 2025
Kick-off: 7:45pm
Venue: The SMiSA Stadium

Tickets

Season tickets are valid for Wednesday night's match. Supporters without a season ticket can buy online at stmirren.com/matchtickets. 

Tickets for away supporters are sold out. There are no away tickets available to purchase from St Mirren. 

PPV passes are available to buy online for supporters in the UK and Ireland at tv.stmirren.com. International subscribers to St Mirren TV will still be able to access the match as normal. 

Form

St Mirren suffered a frustrating defeat away to Dundee United on Saturday. That came after a last-gasp loss at home to Aberdeen the previous weekend. Stephen Robinson's men have picked up nine points from their opening nine games and sit in ninth in the William Hill Premiership. 

Hearts stretched their lead at the top of the William Hill Premiership to eight points after a 3-1 win at home to Celtic on Sunday. Derek McInnes' side have picked up 25 points from a possible 27 in their opening nine league matches this season. 

Saints are the only side to have had the best of Hearts this season, defeating the Gorgie side on penalty kicks in the Premier Sports Cup in August. Alex Gogic fired the Buddies ahead at The SMiSA Stadium before Oisin McEntee levelled for the visitors to take the game to extra-time and penalties. Five perfect spot kicks from Richard King, Marcus Fraser, Roland Idowu, Evan Mooney and Malik Dijksteel, coupled by a Shamal George save from Claudio Braga saw Saints progress 5-4 on penalties.

An own goal from Gerard Taylor and a Toyosi Olusanya strike saw the Buddies defeat Hearts 2-1 in the only meeting between the two at The SMiSA Stadium last season.

Malik Dijksteel scored the winning penalty when the sides met in the Premier Sports Cup in August (Image: Craig Brown)

The Officials

The referee on Wednesday evening is Matthew MacDermid. The VAR is Nick Walsh.

St Mirren were dealt more VAR frustration and ended the game with 10 men for the second week in a row as we lost 3-1 to Dundee United at Tannadice.

Dan Nlundulu scored his first goal for St Mirren to give the Buddies a deserved lead. But the home side levelled late in the half through Zach Sapsford after a dubious free-kick call. Saints looked the more likely to re-take the lead, but found themselves behind when a VAR intervention saw referee John Beaton award United a penalty with less than 10 to play and show a red card to Alex Gogic. Substitute Amar Fatah made no mistake from the spot before Craig Sibbald added a third in the final minute of normal time. 

Manager Stephen Robinson made two changes with Conor McMenamin in for the suspended Jayden Richardson, while Jonah Ayunga replaced Mikael Mandron who was only fit enough for a place on the bench.

The Buddies started brightly and would be awarded with the breakthrough on 18 minutes. Declan John's wicked cross was touched onto the bar by United goalkeeper Yevhenni Kucherenko and Nlundulu was quickest to react to rebound, nodding into the net from close-range to score his first for Saints.

Dan Nlundulu celebrates his first St Mirren goal with Mark O'Hara and Jonah Ayunga (Image: Andy Barr)

The forward had a big opportunity to double his tally with five minutes of the first-half remaining. He was first on to a brilliant corner kick delivery from captain Mark O'Hara, but he bulleted wide of target.

Frustratingly, United drew level two minutes later. Shamal George was penalised for seemingly picking the ball up outside the area which saw the goalkeeper cautioned and the hosts awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box. Sapsford struck low into the bottom corner to make it 1-1. It was a bitterly disappointing moment as the Buddies had looked well in control, limiting United to very little. 

Saints almost reacted in the perfect manner with Nlundulu forcing an important save from Kucherenko on 44 minutes as the half drew to a close. 

United almost got themselves in front quickly after the restart when a Sibbald pass cut open the Saints defence which saw Panutche Camara run through on goal. George was out quickly to narrow the angle and that saw Camara slide the ball by the far post.

Killian Phillips could have put St Mirren back ahead just after the hour mark but failed to hit the target. Miguel Freckleton's ball into the box was brought down on the chest of Gogic and sat nicely for Phillips to get on to it though the Irishman struck high over the bar.

Most of the game was being played deep in the United half with Saints trying to force the issue in search of a second goal. A number of corners and crosses caused the hosts pressure. Keanu Baccus dragged an effort wide from 20 yards on 64 minutes before Ayunga couldn't get enough curl from a similar position three minutes later. Baccus came close again when he let fly from 25 yards with a strike that flew just wide of the post on 72 minutes. 

With less than 10 minutes to go, Dundee United were awarded a penalty after a VAR call. John Beaton was sent to the monitor and subsequently pointed to the spot and showed Gogic a red card for a foul on Nikolaj Moller. Substitute Amar Fatah rolled it home to give the hosts the lead. They wrapped up the points in the final minute of time with Sibbald curling high into the net from the edge of the box.

Full-Time: Dundee United 3-1 St Mirren

St Mirren: George, Fraser, Gogic, Freckleton, McMenamin (King 85), Phillips, Baccus, O'Hara (c) (Taylor 85), John, Ayunga (Mandron 70), Nlundulu (Calvin 85)
Subs: Mullen, Tanser, Donnelly, Idowu, Dijksteel

Dundee United: Kucherenko, Esselink, Iovu (Naamo 73), Sevelj, Camara, Sapsford (Amar Fatah 77), Ferry, Sibbald, Stephenson (Trapanovski 67), Keresztes, Moller (Stirton 90)
Subs: Richards, Eskesen, Dolcek, Cleall-Harding, Beattie

Referee: John Beaton
AR1: David McGeachie
AR2: Alastair Mather
Fourth Official: Duncan Williams
VAR: Gavin Duncan