JONAH THE GIANT

Kenyan striker scores two of the biggest goals of his career as Buddies secure historic cup victory

- COLIN PATERSON

An incredible journey almost four years in the making received its silver lining as St Mirren lifted the Premier Sports Cup last night.

Stephen Robinson and his brilliant Buddies secured immortality and a place on the legends' wall beside Danny Lennon's Class of 2013 by delivering a stunning success.

Esmael Goncalves, Steven Thompson and Conor Newton were emulated by Marcus Fraser and Jonah Ayunga, whose second-half double set the seal on a quite glorious day at Hampden.

Celtic were sunk and deservedly so. There was a Paisley takeover of Mount Florida as an emotional, disbelieving black-and-white army witnessed history.

This was no fluke. Robbo's troops produced a performance which will be handed down to future generations. They ran faster, tackled harder and embodied their unofficial motto of Faith Over Fear.

When club captain Mark O'Hara and stand-in skipper for the day Fraser hoisted the old silver trophy into the evening sky, flames shot up and tickertape rained down.

Christmas had come early for Saints. There was no better present than this.

Last night's celebrations were long and loud as they should be when you win the League Cup for only the second time in 148 years.

Hampden crackled as the teams emerged under brooding grey skies with a Saints support numbering 13,500 settling in for what would become the day of their lives.