Robinson takes positives despite St Mirren's disappointing' Scottish Cup exit on shootout 'lottery'

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson insists he can’t be critical of his players for their performance against Hearts after they were knocked out of the Scottish Cup.

The Tynecastle club fought back from a goal-down to score a late equaliser and take the game to a shootout “lottery” before progressing with a 4-2 win on penalties.

Robinson was disappointed with the manner of how they conceded the 85th minute goal from Calem Nieuwenhof after leading for an hour following Mika Mandron’s first-half strike in Paisley on Monday night.

But he is also taking some positives from the game and performance with his side on top for large spells without being able to kill it off.

Speaking after the match, he said: “We were excellent in the first half, had enough chances probably to finish the game off.

“We didn’t take them, so you’re always vulnerable to a good Hearts side that have spent a lot of money, to come back again.

“But the manner of the goal is really disappointing, with enough opportunities to clear it.

“That’s the biggest disappointment. There was nothing between the two teams in the extra time and it becomes a lottery then in the shootout.

“The story of our season has probably been about missed penalties where things could look very different, but unfortunately they don’t.”

St Mirren are now preparing to host the other side of Edinburgh this weekend when they take on Hibernian at the SMISA in the Premiership.

And Robinson says they will have to dust themselves down and start putting a run together in the league as they aim for another top-six finish.

He said: “There were a lot of positives in the performance, but we will go again on Saturday and hopefully get a good response.

“We were very good against a Hearts side who have been in great form, and who have resources beyond our dreams, it’s just the manner of the goal we conceded with six minutes left.

“We can do much better on about three or four occasions within the lead up to that goal, so that’s disappointing, but I can’t criticise the players for their work ethic or their desire but ultimately we lost out in the lottery of penalties.”