- St Mirren stun Celtic 3-1 in 25/26 Scottish League Cup final.
- Kenyan foward Jonah Ayunga scored a brace in that game to hand his side the title.
- It was St Mirren’s first title in 12 years.
Harambee Stars Striker Jonah Ayunga was the hero on Sunday afternoon as he netted a brace to help his St Mirren side lift the Scottish League Cup for the first time in 12 years after stunning powerhouses Celtic United 3-1 in the final.
Ayunga, who was named in that starting eleven, bagged the second half brace, to guide his side to the Scottish League Cup for only the second time in the club’s history and their first since 2013.
Ayunga got the first of his two goals in the 64th minute when he headed Alex Gogic’s cross over the onrushing Celtic keeper Kasper Schmeichel to restore St. Mirren’s lead.
St Mirren had opened the scoring through Marcus Fraser after just 90 seconds before Reo Hatate grabbed Celtic’s equaliser later in the first half.
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Jonah Ayunga nets brace against Celtic
The Kenyan then drove the final nail in Celtic’s coffin twelve minutes later, finishing a deadly St. Mirren counter attack after being played on goal by Declan John.
The victory was made even sweeter by the fact that St Mirren, managed by Stephen Robinson, were the overwhelming underdogs against the defending champions.
A visibly enthusiastic Ayunga was all over the moon at full-time, terming it as a dream come true, and underlining the belief within the team
“As we were speaking before the game, I didn’t at any point think that we are gonna lose today,” Ayunga told Premier Sports TV moments after the final whistle.
Ayunga wins Scottish League Cup final
The Kenyan who has now bagged his first senior career title made it clear that everything was at stake for the club and his teammates
“I said before the game, I have been playing football since I was 16 or 17 and this was my first cup final and it might be the last one.
For a lot of the boys in the team, it might also be the first one, so everyone of us had a lot of energy for the whole 90 minutes,” Ayunga reacted at full-time as he received the Man of the Match award.
Compatriot Dan Nlundulu jokingly proposed the setting up of a Statue in Paisley Town to honour the Kenyan Star who broke their decade long wait for silverware.
For Ayunga, whose dream-fulfilling performance prompted suggestions of a statue, this final will forever be etched in history and will be known as the day he cemented his place as a club icon in Scotland.
Ayunga, who was born in Beaminster, England to a Kenyan father and English mother made his debut for the senior men’s national team coming on as a substitute in March 2024 as the Harambee Stars defeated Malawi 4-0.
He would go on to score his first goal for the country eight months later in the Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers 1-1 draw to Zimbabwe.
