Saints deserved to win. We were the better team until Rangers had Kevin Thomson, then Danny Wilson, sent off. Supposed Saints supporting ref Craig Thomson gave us all the help he could, but it still wasn't enough. We struggled with our advantage, didn't change things about and got caught on the break.
The players gave their all and were fantastic and you must wonder why they can't play like that more often. The bonus row was far from their minds as they played as if their lives depended on it. Sadly, our management didn't change things around when we had a two man advantage and we paid the penalty.
How on earth can you lose to nine men - in a cup final? It's surely never been done before, but I suppose it sums us up.
What does the future hold? It was a terrible way to lose and I'd rather have been trashed. The players will be mentally screwed after that, and as for the management? Well, assistant boss Andy Millen had a bust-up with chairman Stewart Gilmour after the game, so take from that what you will.
Andy Dorman was a surprise omission from the Saints team, with Garry Brady taking his place. Chris Innes failed to make it so David Barron started in the back three alongside John Potter and Lee Mair, with Paul Gallacher in behind them. Graham Carey and Jack Ross were in the wingback roles, Hugh Murray and Steven Thomson joined Brady in the middle and cup specialist Billy Mehmet was joined in the strikeforce by Michael Higdon. Craig Dargo joined Dorman, Stephen O'Donnell, Steven Robb and Mark Howard on the bench. Unsurprisingly, Steven Davis magically recovered from illness to start for Rangers, while Neil Alexander replaced Allan McGregor in goal. Strikers Kris Boyd, Kenny Miller and Nacho Novo all started.
It seemed early on that Davie Weir was going to struggle even without Dargo's pace. He completely miscontrolled a pass and as he tried to put the ball into touch, Mehmet charged in and stole it. He made his way into the box and delivered a cross that was deflected and needed Sasa Papac to put it behind under pressure from Thomson.
We'd started well and an outstanding cross field pass from Murray found Ross, who had time to cross for Higdon, but Steven Whittaker managed to block his shot from the edge of the box. The next half-chance fell to Mehmet, but Weir was in the right place to stop him getting a shot away. Shuggy was, unsurprisingly, the first player booked in the final, although his caution for a tackle on Lee McCulloch after 20 minutes seemed a bit harsh. The first Rangers attempt on goal came midway through the first half, but Whittaker's daisy cutter failed to trouble Gallacher.
The Rangers defence was looking increasingly shaky and a mistake allowed Higdon in, although by the time Thomson raced onto his pass the best he could do was fire in a poor cross that cleared everyone. A minute later we had a free-kick when Whittaker was booked for a foul on Carey, although the Irishman's set-piece came to nothing. There was a let-off when Whittaker slipped the ball to Miller and he charged towards the box, but his finish was awful and the bail sailed over the bar.
Ross showed just how much determination was in the Saints team when he chased down what appeared to be a lost cause and sliding in on the dallying Neil Alexander. It resulted in a goal-kick, but the keeper needed a bit of treatment after the challenge. He was called into action soon after, pulling off a wonderful save to deny Thomson with a shot that looked every inch a goal after he directed Higdon's cutback towards goal. Then Barron decided to have a go from miles out and was unlucky to see it hit the bar on its way over, before McCulloch shot wide at the other end. Higdon also had a go before the end of the break when he beat Danny Wilson to Mehmet's flick-on, but his shot found the side netting. Despite it appearing to be tipped wide by Alexander, a goal-kick was awarded.
Saints were the better team in the first half, Wilson and Weir looking unable to cope with the strength and power of Mehmet and Higdon. The worry was that the Buddies would be made to pay for not causing Rangers harm while they'd been so poor as they were bound to improve after the break. They didn't even bother with the same team, the sick Davis being replaced by Maurice Edu.
There was an early scare when Mair gave away a free-kick for a foul on Novo, but fortunately when it broke to Kevin Thomson he shot wide. There was a far better chance at the other end when Higdon effectively skinned Edu before picking out Murray, who played a ball to Ross. Her headed it on for Mehmet, but he was always stretching for his shot and failed to trouble Alexander from close range.
Saints' hopes were handed a massive boost after 53 minutes. After a minor bit of handbags involving Potter and Kevin Thomson near the Rangers box, play broke upfield. For some reason, Miller decided to try to pick a fight with Mair, the Saints defender sensibly refraining. When Saints won possession, Thomson had the ball near the right touchline and was promptly clattered by Kevin Thomson. Referee Craig Thomson (that's the third Thomson) had no option but to send the Rangers midfielder off, to the delight of the Saints fans and the anger of the Rangers support. Quite how they could argue is anyone's guess. Mair was next to enter the book a few minutes later for dissent after Mr Thomson gave a foul against him for a tackle on Miller. Fortunately, Boyd headed the free-kick just wide. With tackles flying in it was probably a wise move to withdraw Shuggy, Dorman coming on in his place.
You'd almost have thought it was Saints who had been reduced to 10 men due to our struggles, Ross making a mistake that resulted in a free-kick, with someone putting in a last-gasp tackle to deny Miller in a goalmouth scramble. A stupid tug on Miller earned Brady a booking before Barron and Thomson created a great chance for Higdon that he put wide. It looked as if that would be his last involvement when Craig Dargo was readied on the touchline, but surprisingly he replaced Mehmet.
It was instantly a genius decision as the nippy forward tried to get onto a long ball and was pulled back by Wilson. Incredibly, Mr Thomson produced another red card and Rangers - for the first time in living memory - were down to nine men! We even had a Rangers player being booked for diving when McCulloch went down without any contact from Barron. Having seen our tactic of putting on a nippy striker, Rangers followed suit - Stevie Naismith coming on for Boyd. And it worked. With seven minutes left he tore down the right, sent in a cross and Miller sent a header past Gallacher. Game over.
Stephen O'Donnell came on for Brady as Saints tried to respond, but it was too little too late, although he did have a half chance that Alexander saved comfortably. Rangers then brought Steven Smith on for Novo in a bid to run down the clock and shore up the defence. Ross was the last booking for a foul on Whittaker before a bizarre final came to an end.
Somehow we got worse the less players Rangers had. After a good start, we struggled with our advantage and you have to wonder why that's the case – and what the effect will be on our league form, which isn't exactly brilliant as it is.