Mikael Mandron wants to create another magic moment in his special cup story tonight.
The St Mirren forward has racked up a string of high-profile successes in both the FA Cup and Scottish Cup. Now Hearts are firmly in his sights ahead of tonight’s televised fifth-round showdown at the SMiSA Stadium.
In the last decade, Mandron has made a name for himself in the national cup competitions north and south of the border.
It all started in 2015 when he netted for Hartlepool United in a 2-0 win over Salford City who had just been taken over by the Class of 92.
From there, he scored for non-league Eastleigh in 2016 who drew 1-1 with Swindon Town live on TV – he also netted in their 3-1 replay win over the Wiltshire side and they were among five goals he scored during the cup run.
Mandron was on target for Crewe Alexandra in their 3-2 triumph over Bolton Wanderers in 2020 and, in his first Scottish Cup game two years ago, bagged a brace for Motherwell who won 2-0 at Arbroath.
The 30-year-old also played for Gillingham in a 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light with Sunderland – where he started his career – and was back with the Gills who narrowly lost 1-0 to Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City just before his move to Scotland.
“I don’t know what it is but I always seem to do well in the cups,” he reflected. “I’ve never had the opportunity to go far but the games I’ve played I have a good track record of scoring goals.
“[At Eastleigh] we played Swindon at home and I scored a header. We drew that game and we had a replay at their place and I scored again!
“At Hartlepool, I scored against Salford in the FA Cup when they were starting to come up the leagues. For Crewe, I scored in an FA Cup win at Bolton. When I came up to Motherwell, I scored a couple in the Scottish Cup against Arbroath in one of my first games.
“When I was at Gillingham, we played Sunderland and I broke my tooth! It was good to go back to the Stadium of Light which is a great place to play.
“I have been fortunate to have those moments and hopefully I can score another couple on Monday. These are just good memories and good times. Cup games are special. They are not like league games. There is a lot at stake.”
Mandron reckons dumping the Jambos out the cup this evening might spark Saints’ season.
He said: “I think a win could be really good for us – especially in terms of confidence. The cup helps raise the profile of the players, the team and the club in general.”
Neil Critchley’s Hearts have rediscovered their form – posing a stiff test to the Buddies’ quarter-final ambitions.
And Mandron added: “They’ve got quality players and have managed to turn it around. But given the size of the club and the quality of the squad, that was only a matter of time.”
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