February 2, 2010. The date may not be memorable, but what happened that evening at Fir Park certainly is. Saints and Hearts met in the Co-operative Insurance Cup semi-final, which was played on a shocker of a pitch at Motherwell.
For some reason, we made a long overdue switch to 3-5-2 and every single player in black and white played their hearts out. The decisive moment came six minutes into the second half. Jack Ross won the ball back on the right and fed it into the middle. Michael Higdon left it but Mehmet ran onto it and sent a beautiful, curling shot over Hearts keeper Marian Kello and into the net. You can relive that goal at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AxqPJmV6JA
Andy Dorman should have made it two minutes later when he was sent clear and had just Kello to beat, but a lack of confidence and the shocking surface meant he screwed it up. It was our best chance to make it 2-0 and after that Hearts began to respond, but despite hitting the post they couldn't equalise. For just the second time in the club's history, St. Mirren were in the League Cup Final.
Every player that night was immense. Paul Gallacher was excellent in goals. John Potter, Lee Mair and Chris Innes were solid at the back. Jack Ross and David Barron bombed forward and did the defending when required. Steven Thomson, Andy Dorman and Hugh Murray dug in in midfield. Michael Higdon worked hard, but pick of the lot was Billy Mehmet. It was easily his best performance in a Saints shirt and he made Messi look like a rank amateur with some of his tricks, like this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hy2SO-Kxlqg
Ross, Dorman, Mehmet and Innes have all gone, but the rest are still here. Let's hope they can take inspiration from that night and get three points tonight - rather than repeating what happened in the final at Hampden...
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