McGowan proud after final win

St Mirren midfielder Paul McGowan felt the Buddies fully deserved to win their first silverware in 26 years by defeating Hearts 3-2 in the Scottish Communities League Cup final at Hampden Park.

Goals from Esmael Goncalves, Steven Thompson and Conor Newton cemented the victory for Danny Lennon's men with goals sandwiched between Ryan Stevenson's double for the Jambos.

McGowan said: "It's unbelievable. I'm so proud of every one of the players and it's a great day. We truly deserved it.

"It's been coming for St Mirren, they're a great club with great fans and it's been a great day."

On his own performance, McGowan added: "They came and pressed us quite high and gave us a bit of trouble and so they moved me back into midfield and I helped us a lot there.

"It was a great day for us and I'm proud as anything.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to try and win a cup here and we've done it and made every one of the fans and our families proud. I can't ask for any more."

Thompson added: "It's pretty much indescribable really. I've been dreaming about doing it ever since we beat Celtic and I won't lie, I've not had a lot of sleep.

"I made a near-post run and made sure I was really concentrating to make a good connection with the ball - you could probably see from my face that it was a dramatic moment.

"It's just an amazing feeling and in the next few days I'll realise what it means.

"I'm a supporter too and it's been a quarter of a century since we won a cup so it means everything to them.

"It's great to be part of the history of this football club and I'm bursting with pride."