St Mirren midfielder Paul McGowan believes the players did the club proud by ending a 26-year wait for a trophy in winning the Scottish League Cup at Hampden Park.

The trophy was St Mirren's first since Scottish Cup glory in 1987 and McGowan told BBC Scotland: "It's unbelievable. I'm so proud of every one of the players and it's a great day. We truly deserved it.

"It's been coming for St Mirren, they're a great club with great fans and it's been a great day.''

St Mirren faced an uphill battle when Stevenson opened the scoring in the 10th minute but they did not look back after Goncalves levelled eight minutes before the break. Thompson scored 50 seconds after the restart and Newton's first St Mirren goal rendered Stevenson's 86th-minute response for Hearts a mere consolation.

"They came and pressed us quite high and gave us a bit of trouble and so they moved me back into midfield and I helped us a lot there,'' McGowan added. "It was a great day for us and I'm proud as anything.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to try and win a cup here and we've done it and made every one of the fans and our families proud. I can't ask for any more.''

Former Rangers and Burnley forward Thompson relived the moment he beat Hearts goalkeeper Jamie McDonald to give his side a lead they would never surrender.

"It's pretty much indescribable really,'' he said on BBC Scotland. "I've been dreaming about doing it ever since we beat Celtic and I won't lie, I've not had a lot of sleep.

"I made a near-post run and made sure I was really concentrating to make a good connection with the ball - you could probably see from my face that it was a dramatic moment. It's just an amazing feeling and in the next few days I'll realise what it means.''

Of the fans, Thompson added: "I'm a supporter too and it's been a quarter of a century since we won a cup so it means everything to them. It's great to be part of the history of this football club and I'm bursting with pride.''

Victorious manager Lennon also revelled in the moment but paid tribute to Hearts' dominant display in the first half. He said: "It's absolutely fantastic. I've always had a great deal of belief in this side.

"I must give them a lot of credit for what they did in the first half. We let the occasion get to us and were fortunate to get to the break at 1-1. The players got themselves into a comfortable lead after the break and I must say that they brought it in - it was the people's final.

"We're certainly going to enjoy the occasion and it will live long in the memory. I'm delighted we've done it for Paisley.''

A deflated Gary Locke did not even attempt to hide his disappointment in what was his first match as Hearts' permanent manager. After three weeks in caretaker charge, the 37-year-old was entrusted with the first team until the end of next season following John McGlynn's departure.

He said: "I'm disappointed. I thought when we were 1-0 ahead we had chances after that to go 2-0 up. I'm really disappointed with the start of the second half where we never really got going at all and that's cost us the game.

"I'm looking for total commitment from the players and to their credit they did produce that. In the last 20 minutes we put St Mirren under pressure and did put balls in their box. Stevo (Ryan Stevenson) scored a good second goal and could have had a second one so we're really disappointed.''

Locke's immediate concern is salvaging some dignity from Hearts' dismal Premier League season, with the Tynecastle club currently occupying 10th place in the table with seven games remaining.

"It's been one of those seasons where we've been really disappointed with the way things have gone but we've got to keep our heads up,'' he added. "We've got important league games still to come and between now and the end of the season we've got to win as many games as we can.''