St Mirren 0 - 1 Ayr United: Smith is the head man as Ayr shock SPL Saints

Chris Smith grabbed the only goal of the game as Ayr United dumped St Mirren to book their place in the last four of the Scottish Communities League Cup.

The Buddies had the best of the chances in the clash in Paisley but it was the Irn-Bru First Division outfit who struck late on to remain in the tournament.

The win means a hat-trick of victories over Clydesdale Bank Premier League opposition so far, Ayr having also seen off Inverness and Hearts in previous rounds.

Saints tried to put their opponents under pressure early on and David van Zanten was not too far away with a shot from inside the area that dipped just over the crossbar. There was another nervous moment for Ayr when goalkeeper Kevin Cuthbert attempted to gather a cross from Jereon Tesselaar and spilled the ball with Steven Thompson loitering with intent in front of goal, but Smith was alert and hooked to safety.

Thompson then saw another opportunity squandered when he rose above everyone else in the packed goalmouth and nodded a corner just over. Another Thompson header saw Cuthbert slip before recovering to claw the ball past the upright.

With the tie still deadlocked, Saints made their first change 11 minutes into the second half, with Nigel Hasselbaink thrown into the action.

The match was becoming increasingly scrappy with both sides struggling to create much in the way of clear-cut opportunities.

The home side made another switch when Gary Teale was withdrawn for Graham Carey with just over 20 minutes to go.

Saints pushed forward in numbers in search of the goal that would see them progress but Lee Mair was off-target with a header from a corner.

And the SPL side were left rueing their missed opportunities when Ayr went into the lead with 81 minutes gone. Eddie Malone’s free-kick picked out Smith unmarked inside the box and he sent a firm downward header past goalkeeper Craig Samson.

Deep into injury time, Carey was denied a leveller by the crossbar.

St Mirren: Samson, van Zanten, McAusland, Mair, Tesselaar, Goodwin, McLean, Teale, Thomson, Thompson, McGowan. Subs: Graeme Smith, Hasselbaink, Haddad, Carey, McShane.

Ayr United: Cuthbert, Tiffoney, John Robertson, Smith, Malone, McGowan, Ross Robertson, Geggan, Trouten, Moffat, Wardlaw. Subs: McWilliams, Roberts, Burke, Connolly, Armstrong.