Saints were in seventh heaven
MIRREN MATCHES AS THEY WERE REPORTED AT THE TIME
Craig Ritchie a lovely finish from 25 yards.
Reilly slotted beyond the keeper as the goals kept coming. He then sealed his hat-trick as he fired low into the bottom corner after the ball dropped to him just inside the box.
He could have had another as he raced one-on-one with the keeper, but Swain this time managed to get down to make a good save at the feet of the striker.
But it only proved to delay the inevitable as Reilly took advantage of an identical situation on the stroke of half-time as he clipped the ball past the keeper to make it 7-0.
Some frantic checking of record scores at half time saw many hoping of a repeat performance in the second half in a bid to match a 15-0 win over Glasgow University in the same competition back in 1960.
But those hopes never came close to fruition.
St Mirren took their foot off the gas and they were punished in 47 minutes when
Star Saint:
Gavin Reilly
A choice hard to argue against considering the striker struck four. Reilly was unstoppable in a first half, with everything he hit finding the back of the net. Saints will be hoping that he can carry this form into the league, first up against Inverness Caledonian Thistle on Saturday.
Match Facts
Score - Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale 1 St Mirren 7 Scorers - Morgan (4), Reilly (8, 32, 36, 42), Baird (17), Smith (24)
Bookings - Hare
Red carded - None
Referee - David Lowe
Attendance - 1,132
Teams: Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale
Swain, Sherlock, Munro, Crawford, Moore (Hare 57), Muir, Brown, O’Donnell (Hutchison 70), Swanson (Nhamburo 73), Wringe, Devlin. Subs not used: Robertson, Mungall, Simpson and Shala.
St Mirren Samson, MacPherson, Baird, Davis, Demetriou, McGinn, McShane (Hilson 57), Magennis, Smith, Morgan (Sutton 71), Reilly (Stewart 67). Subs not used: Stewart, Buchanan, Kirkpatrick and Duffy.
Sean Wringe blasted home a fantastic finish from the edge of the box to reduce the arrears.
The striker would have another couple of chances as the hosts attempted to make the scoreline a little bit more respectable, but fired wide of the target.
Gaffer Ross elected to introduce John Sutton, Ross Stewart and Dale Hilson at various stages in a bid to inject some life into Saints, with Hilson obliging with yet another sparkling substitute’s display.
Still trying to get up to full fitness, Hilson continues to impress in his cameo roles. And, with his deal up in January, he will be looking to continue in the same vein in a bid to extend his stay in Paisley.
In reality, Saints knew the game was won as early as half an hour in.
They wouldn’t add to their scoring in the second half, but had done more than enough in the opening 45 to ensure that they remain in the hunt for the cup, 30 years since they last got to grips with it.