DEFEATING A RANGERS side who were undefeated in 26 games came as no surprise to the St Mirren players, according to two-goal hero Jamie McGrath.
The 24-year-old attacking midfielder from Meath continued his excellent form by helping himself to a double in last night’s 3-2 win against Steven Gerrard’s side in the quarter-finals of the Scottish League Cup.
It was a first loss of the season for a Rangers team that currently sits 13 points clear of Celtic at the summit of the Scottish Premiership.
McGrath, who joined St Mirren from Dundalk last January, scored goals in each half to put his side ahead after the visitors took an early lead through Connor Goldson.
Steven Davis snatched a late equaliser for the Glasgow outfit, before former Cork City defender Conor McCarthy scored a stoppage-time winner for St Mirren.
Under the management of Waterford native Jim Goodwin, it’s now eight games without defeat for St Mirren, whose Irish contingent also includes Joe Shaughnessy, Dylan Connolly, Jake Doyle-Hayes and Sam Foley.
McGrath, who has scored five times in his last four games, told Premier Sports: “I’m obviously over the moon. What a shift from all the lads.
“Probably no one gave us a chance before the game but I said it before the match that there is a belief here and it wasn’t just cheap talk. We’re capable of beating anyone out there and we’ve proven it.
“We dug deep, we went a goal behind and we could have chucked it in at the end when they got that last-minute goal. We stayed strong and we got our reward.”
St Mirren will now face fellow Scottish Premiership side Livingston in a semi-final at Hampden Park next month, with Hibernian meeting St Johnstone on the other side of the draw.
It’s an opportunity for the Paisley club to win the competition for just the second time in their history. Their only previous triumph came back in 2013 when they were captained by Goodwin, who won an Ireland senior cap in a 2002 friendly against Finland.
“We have a trip to Hampden to look forward to now,” McGrath added. “We’re all wrecked but we’re absolutely over the moon.”
