Penalty king McGrath is spot on again for the Saints

Next Monday evening Jamie McGrath's St Mirren will play Kilmarnock in a Scottish Cup quarter-final clash that is crunch game for the player and the club as they seek to end the season with a piece of silverware.

Last night McGrath warmed up for that encounter by scoring his 14th goal of the season as St Mirren defeated Ross County away 3-1 in the Scottish Premiership.

McGrath's goal was scored in injury time and came from the penalty spot with the young Athboy man confidently slotting the ball home. It was his ninth goal of the season from the penalty spot. He has only missed one penalty and is now one of the most consistent penalty-takers in the Scottish top flight.

"McGrath did what he does best and put the penalty away," said the former Scottish international striker Billy Dodds who now commentates on soccer matters on BBC Scotland and was at Ross County's home ground in Dingwall for the game.

A few weeks ago St Mirren manager Jim Goodwin said Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny should call McGrath into the national squad because of his consistent levels of performance.

Dylan Connolly wasn't involved for St Mirren in last night's victory. Also missing was Jake Doyle-Hayes who grew up in Cavan but whose mother is from the Drumree area.

This has been an excellent season for St Mirren who just missed out on a place in the top six. Invariably they are club looking to avoid relegation but that worry was dispelled some time ago - with McGrath's fine form one of the reasons for their good run.