Stephen Robinson admitted his side were in a no-win situation after an extra-time winner saw St Mirren book their place in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup.
The Buddies took 115 minutes to see the tie over the line with a 2-1 win at Airdrie after a first-half strike from Jacob Devaney was cancelled out by home forward Euan Henderson.
The Paisley side did eventually find the winner in the second-half of extra-time through substitute Roland Idowu, but Robinson was clear, the victory over William Hill Championship battlers Airdrie is what is expected.
“You have to find a way,” he said. “You’re on a hiding to nothing in these games. Airdrie played without any fear. They’ve got nothing to lose. They’re not expected to go through.
“We went 1-0 up, started really, really well, and then we decided not to keep doing that. We decided to complicate the game and try things we didn’t need to try.
“We were through on goal three times in the first half-hour, and we decided to try to pass and walk it into the goal. Then it gets jittery.”
The Saints boss, whose side were on a seven-game winless run before this week’s 1-0 victory over Premiership leaders Hearts, heaped praise on Idowu after his extra-time winner sealed their last-eight spot.
“He takes his goal well,” Robinson added. “He nearly scored again with his right foot.
“He’s a very, very talented player. We wanted to try to get consistency with the team that played against Hearts, but a few of them looked leggy, which is understandable.”
Airdrie boss Aaron Taylor-Sinclair would not be drawn on whether his side should have been awarded a penalty following a challenge by Richard King on Jamie Barjonas.
“I haven’t seen it back,” said Taylor-Sinclair. “About 50 people have told me it was a penalty, so I’ll have to watch it back. It’s just one of those that we’ll have to move on with.
“We’ve just competed with the League Cup winners and a top-six side, so there are lots of positives to take.”
