8 – St Mirren thrashed Annan Athletic 8-2 at the SMISA Stadium to hold on to top spot in Premier Sports Cup Group D. A hat-trick from Mikael Mandron, two goals from Killian Phillips and one apiece from Richard King, Jayden Richardson and Roland Idowu secured an emphatic win for Stephen Robinson’s side. Mandron is the first player to score a hat-trick for Saints since Cody Cooke scored all three in a 3-2 win at Dens Park in May 2019, and the first in Paisley since Steven Thompson in a 4-4 draw with Dunfermline Athletic in 2012. This was the first time in over a quarter of a century that St Mirren scored eight goals in a game – the last time was an 8-0 win over Clydebank in March 2000.
3 – Heart of Midlothian made it three wins out of three in the Premier Sports Cup by beating Stirling Albion 4-0 at Forthbank. A double from Craig Halkett plus goals from summer signings Claudio Braga and Alexandros Kyziridis put one foot in the next round for Derek McInnes’ side. McInnes is just the third manager this century to win his first three games in charge of Hearts, joining George Burley and Robbie Neilson (who did so in both of his spells at the club). The Jam Tarts have scored four goals in each of their opening three matches – the last time they did so in three consecutive matches was back in August 2018. Saturday’s was Hearts’ 19th consecutive victory over the Binos, a run stretching back to 1966.
4 – Ayr United thumped Arbroath 4-0 at Somerset Park to maintain their perfect start to the Premier Sports Cup campaign. Curtis Main scored twice, and Jude Bonnar and George Oakley also found the net as Scott Brown’s side made it 10 goals in two matches in the competition so far. This is the first time since January 2018 that the Honest Men have scored four or more goals in consecutive matches. Ayr have lost just one of their last 10 Premier Sports Cup group stage matches – that was a narrow loss away to Dundee United in last season’s competition.
1 – Alloa Athletic secured one of the surprise results of the Premier Sports Cup weekend by beating William Hill Premiership side Dundee 1-0 at the Indodrill Stadium. A Luke Graham own goal was enough for Andy Graham’s side to make it three wins out of three. The Wasps also defeated top-flight opposition in last season’s group stage, beating St Johnstone 3-2 at the Recs. Saturday’s win ended Alloa’s run of 12 matches without a win against the Dees – they had lost nine and drawn three since a 2-1 victory in the Challenge Cup back in July 2008.
4 – East Kilbride moved to the top of Premier Sports Cup Group F thanks to a 4-1 victory over Elgin City at Borough Briggs. Jack Leitch scored twice and Nathan Flanagan and John Robertson were also on target as Kilby came out on top in the first ever meeting of these two clubs. Robertson is currently the competition’s top goalscorer with five goals – he scored in the opening game against St Johnstone then netted an incredible five-minute hat-trick against Raith Rovers in midweek. Four teams remain in contention in this very tight group – East Kilbride and St Johnstone are both tied on six points while Raith Rovers and Inverness Caledonian Thistle have three points, however Kilby have played an extra game compared to the others.
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