St Mirren star Stevie Mallan has bagged the IRN-BRU Golden Balls Award for his phenomenal performance in the semi-final victory over The New Saints.
It’s the second ginger accolade in just over a week for the Buddies midfielder, who caused a social media stir when he was presented at the final whistle with his special IRN-BRU Cup Man of the Match award as part of the live semi-final TV broadcast.
The clip of the Saints player receiving a special bottle of ginger was soon uploaded on to social media and viewed more than 500,000 times, with some fans even describing it as the ‘Greatest Man of the Match Award’ ever.
Fans of the IRN-BRU Cup have now awarded Mallan with another celebratory bottle of ginger to add to his collection. His silky performance captured the imagination of supporters who voted for him via a Twitter poll @IrnBruFootball to win the award, beating Tony Andreu from Dundee United, with 52% of the overall votes.
To commemorate his achievements, IRN-BRU will present the midfielder with a trophy cabinet to store his favourite bottles of Scotland’s other national drink.
On receiving the IRN-BRU Cup Golden Balls Award, Mallan said: “We’re delighted to have put in a great second-half performance to beat a tough TNS side and we’re all looking forward to playing in the IRN-BRU Cup final.
“It was hilarious that receiving the bottle of IRN-BRU for a man of the match award trended on social media and I’m delighted to add the Golden Balls Award to my collection. Hopefully I can put in another good performance and add more BRU to the trophy cabinet!”
Adrian Troy, Marketing Director at IRN-BRU, said: “Stevie put in a phenomenal performance in the semi-final and thoroughly deserved the man of the match award. Clearly, the fans thought he loved the bottle of IRN-BRU so they decided he deserved another with the Golden Balls Award. If he wants to add a third bottle to his collection, he’ll have to put in a ballsy display to be in with a chance of winning another award.”
Despite trailing 1-0 at half-time, the Buddies stormed the second half, scoring four goals with Mallan netting their second goal before setting-up Rory Loy to make it 4-1 in injury time.
The IRN-BRU Cup Final between St Mirren and Dundee United will take place on Saturday 25 March at Fir Park, kick off 12.30pm.
