19/09/2025 – KILMARNOCK (A)

What a night!

Every now and then we are treated to something brilliant following our club, and Friday evening was one of those occasions.

Maybe it was the rarity of playing on a strange day of the week, combined with the latter stages of a cup in a venue close to Renfrewshire, meaning a huge following backed the team, but it felt different before the match.

There was anticipation and excitement in the stand as though we were about to witness something good. Then again, it may just have been the beer!

The players seemed to respond to this atmosphere however, and started the match very well indeed, bossing proceedings and putting the home side under considerable pressure for the opening 20 minutes.

Just as the home side started to get back into the match, Saints struck with a goal of outstanding quality from Mikael Mandron after 25 minutes.

Jayden Richardson found the striker with a long pass, and after initially holding it up on the poor surface, the Saints no 9 flicked it over the head of a Killie defender with his right foot before smashing it into the net with his left. Outstanding!

Killie had little threat or answer to Saints, and their game plan seemed to be win free kicks and hope for the best from a set piece, a tactic helped considerably by some extremely generous decisions from referee David Dickinson.

From one of these dubiously awarded free kicks, Robbie Deas headed home at the back post to equalise on the half time whistle, and it went in level at the break despite Saints dominance.

The players seemed undeterred however, and ramped it up in the second half, almost taking the lead after 55 minutes when Killian Phillips left foot shot rattled off the bar following great build up, the home side still level thanks to an astonishing save from Max Stryjek who flicked it onto woodwork.

Saints wouldn’t be denied though, and 4 minutes later took the lead with a goal of the season decade contender from Jayden Richardson, who cushioned a clearance on the edge of the box with his chest and instantaneously hit an unsavable volley into the top corner to send the close to 2,500 Saints fans wild.

From here, the match should have been won and we passed up multiple opportunities to do so, before being hit by another dubious decision with 4 minutes remaining when Killie were awarded a penalty after Richard King was judged to have fouled an attacker in the box.

Ironically, having negatively affected us more than any other club, VAR would have saved us on this occasion as King won the ball and the home player was a bit naughty with his fall, however VAR was not in operation, and Bruce Anderson smashed home the penalty to take the match into extra time.

In the previous round, we struggled during the extra period as we simply didn’t have enough fit or available players to make impactful substitutions, but this wasn’t the case in Ayrshire.

Making his debut after signing in July and being injured early in pre-season, was Liam Donnelly, who slotted into midfield seamlessly and gave us real composure and experience as Baccus and O’Hara had no more to give after great displays in the engine room.

Dan N’Lundulu made his second appearance for the club, with his pace and power allowing no let up for the Killie backline after being battered by Ayunga and Mandron for 90 minutes.

After 6 weeks out injured, Connor McMenamin retuned to action, and Malik Dijksteel was also introduced for the first time since the previous round against Hearts, having worked hard on his tactical game to help the squad, the step up from part-time football taking time of course.

All this meant Saints competed right until the end, and the squad is looking strong currently, even without the injured Marcus Fraser.

Both sides threatened in the additional period but penalties though was to decide this match, just like the previous round.

Saints had lost one in the group stages against Arbroath and won one against Hearts in round two, so there maybe wasn’t the fear we would have had last couple of seasons when just scoring a penalty seemed an insurmountable obstacle!

The players deserve massive credit, as just like the Hearts shoot out, all 5 were scored. Richard King, Roland Idowu, Liam Donnelly, Dan N’Lundulu and Malik Dijksteel were the heroes, that’s 4 of the subs, with Dijksteel again scoring the crucial winner.

However, we still needed Killie to miss, and Shamal George stepped up once more when he expertly stopped the kick from former Saints hero Kyle Magennis, which secured the path to progression.

The scenes when the winner went in were special. Alex Gogic marched from one end of the ground to the other with George on his shoulders, triumphantly displaying the keeper to the overjoyed Saints support.

A few hundred fans spilled on to aid Gogic, but he needed no help and the celebrations began in full as George was delivered to the support. Scenes, as the youngsters say.

These really are great times to be a Saints fan, 1 defeat in our last 17 matches, only due to a lucky deflected last minute Celtic goal at Parkhead, and now in the semi final of a national cup competition, where we will be allowed to attend, unlike 2021.

We now have Dundee at home on Saturday, and an opportunity to build on our great start to the season. If you can, get along to the SMISA and support the team!

COYS!

Kilmarnock Players of the Match:

5 points – Jayden Richardson

3 points – Mikael Mandron

1 point – Killian Phillips

Check our the Player of the Season race here –

PLAYER OF THE SEASON 2025/26