Kenyan forward Jonah Ayunga played a crucial role in St Mirren’s 1-0 victory against Queen of the South in the Scottish Cup fourth-round match at Paisley 2021 Stadium on Saturday.

This marked Ayunga’s first Cup appearance since returning from injury. The striker is gradually regaining his fitness, has made 10 appearances in the league campaign.

Jonah Ayunga apps

In the 10 league appearances, the forward has netted two goals. Ayunga, received his first call-up to the Kenya national team on August 5, 2016, but did not play.

St Mirren dominated proceedings in a tightly contested match, but several missed opportunities kept the scoreline level.

The breakthrough finally came when Cypriot defender Gogic headed home from a corner, securing St Mirren’s place in the draw for the next round.

Manager Stephen Robinson’s side displayed a strong lineup, with new signings Hyeokkyu Kwon and Elvis Bwomono making their debuts. Conor McMenamin also returned to the starting lineup after missing the previous game against Celtic.

Despite St Mirren’s early dominance, Queen of the South’s goalkeeper Harry Stone made a terrific save to deny the hosts an early lead.

The Buddies thought they had the lead when Greg Kiltie found the net, but the linesman’s offside flag denied the forward on his 99th St Mirren appearance.

Late threat

The visitors, Queen of the South, posed a threat on the counter, with Marcus Fraser making a crucial block to deny Lewis Gibson.

Kiltie and Bwomono came close to putting St Mirren ahead, but the breakthrough finally came in the second half when Gogic headed in Kiltie’s perfect corner.

Despite Kiltie having another goal disallowed for offside, St Mirren held on for a 1-0 victory, securing their place in the Fifth Round draw. Mikael Mandron had a late chance to double the lead, but his header from Boyd-Munce’s corner went over the bar.