Jay: Saints are sinners at hitting the target
ST MIRREN kid Jay Henderson admits his young team-mates failed to take their chances after being blown away by the Red Dragons.
The Colts more than matched their senior counterparts in the first half, spurning a host of chances.
And while Henderson pulled one back after the Welsh side had scored two quick second-half goals, Wrexham eventually cruised it.
Henderson, 17, insists the youngsters can still take heart from a cup run that included wins over senior sides Dumbarton, Stirling and East Kilbride.
He said: “It’s tough to take, especially considering how well we played in the first half.
“To lose it in the second half to four goals was gutting.
“The last three games in this cup we’ve won 1-0 despite creating lots, so we’re not scoring as many as we should be. We need to be more clinical.”
The Buddies went desperately close to opening the scoring after 20 minutes when Cameron MacPherson’s fierce drive from the edge of the box was deflected on to the bar.
St Mirren were posing a serious threat on the counter attack, with Joshua Jack and Conor McBrearty both stinging Rob Lainton’s palms.
The second half couldn’t have started any worse for the Saints.
After just one minute Devonte Redmond capitalised on poor defending to send a deflected strike past Dean Lyness.
It went from bad to worse for the Buddies when MacPherson brought striker Ben Tollitt down in the box and Lyness was powerless to stop Leighton McIntosh scoring from the spot.
Saints hit back when McBrearty sent a perfectly weighted pass to Scotland Under-19 cap Henderson who kept his cool to slam home.
The comeback didn’t last long as McIntosh and Tollitt put the gloss on the scoreline for Wrexham.
Buddies manager Allan McManus said: “The first 10 minutes of the second half killed the game for us.”