Saints go marching onto Betfred Cup final

Match Preview

Saturday the 23rd of January 2021 and it was the first day of a semi-final weekend in the Betfred Cup. 4th placed Hibernian went to Hampden Park full of hope, as favorites of the competition at the last four stage against struggling St.Johnstone who lie in 9th place. The Perthshire outfit were looking to make history and make only their third ever Scottish League Cup final (their previous final outings being narrow loses to Celtic and Rangers in 1969/1999) and this was their first league cup semi-final since 2016 - also against 'hibs' - where they lost 2-1. Both teams have had mixed seasons, Hibernian battling with Aberdeen for third place while St.Johnstone have had a mixed bag with some big results and nice football, but struggling to put the ball in the back of the net and conceding poor goals, languishing in 9th place.

[Conway and Gogic tussle for the ball - Image:@SNS]

Hibernian won all 4 of their League Cup group stage games including a 4-1 thumping of Dundee. They then played the championship side again in the next round with a much more modest 1-0 victory doing the job and sending them into the quarter-finals. It was argued 'hibs' got the most favorable draw facing Alloa. A win at the Indodrill Stadium was not so easy, coming back after being 1-0 down until the 62nd to win a hard fought contest 2-1. This put Ross's team into the semi-finals at Hampden as bookies favorites after both old firm teams and Aberdeen were now out.

St.Johnstone picked up 10 points from their 4 group games with the only disappointment being a loss on penalties to Dundee United in a forgettable 0-0 draw. They then went and played Motherwell at Fir Park in the next round. Despite going behind they turned the game around and went through to the next stage with a 2-1 away win. Then off to East End Park Callum Davidson's men went and after a tense 120 minutes resulting in a 1-1 draw, they won on penalties to set up the semi-final clash against Hibernian. They were 3rd in the bookies odds to win the trophy after drawing the hardest team left.

In recent years this fixture has been a very tight one, before Saturday the last 24 matches between these teams had resulted in 8 St.Johnstone victories, 8 draws and 8 Hibernian wins. St.Johnstone are unbeaten at Easter Road since August 2012, whereas 'saints' haven't beaten 'Hibs' at McDiarmid Park since 2014.

[McCann slotting past Marciano earlier this season - Image:@SNS]

First Half

The opening 10 minutes were cagey with Hibernian enjoying a lot more possession than their opponents. The team in green continued this for most of the first half, with new signing Irvine having two strong headers threaten Zander Clark's goal, one narrowly flying wide and then the other smashing off of the post. Then captain Hanlon had a volley clawed out by the St.Johnstone stopper. Just moments later Gogic fired a purposeful cross into the box which was deflected into the path of Murphy 6 yards out, his first effort being expertly saved by the feet of Clark, before his rebound came back off of the bar from an impossible to miss angle. The crowd music had already begun to play as it was certain he had scored but after it crashed the woodwork it was cleared to safety. Golden opportunity passed up. A tame Kane header aside the Perth outfit offered very little and it seemed a formality that 'Hibs' would make a breakthrough sooner than later.

On a rare counterattack St.Johnstone won a 35th minute corner on the left hand side, Ex-'hibee' Wotherspoon's whipped delivery found Captain-Kerr who thumped the ball firmly past helpless Marciano with his head to put the men wearing yellow and blue ahead. Some have likened the goal to St.Johnstone legend Steven Anderson's opener in the 2014 Scottish Cup final and I'm sure Kerr would be flattered with the comparison, interesting to note that both were assisted by Wotherspoon. 1-0 in 35 minutes and Hibernian looked shell shocked. The game faded into half time and I don't think anyone could say that 'hibs' deserved to be behind at half time. Not that St.Johnstone would care as although not looking their best they still managed to ride the storm and put themselves in a strong position.

[St.Johnstone players celebrating - Image:@SNS]

Second Half

Going into the next 45 you would still be backing the side from the capital. For many they were still the favorites to win after a strong first half showing. Surely one more chance and they'd be level. Instead it was the team from the fair city who would start the second 45 stronger and they were playing full of confidence. With a dangerous St.Johnstone free-kick around 40 yards from goal, Conway and Wotherspoon stood over the ball. It was the former whose inviting delivery was met by Rooney high in the air, a thumping header into the roof of the net and the Perth side were in dreamland. St.Johnstone roared into a 2 goal lead and now the game was firmly in their hands.

Jack Ross's game plane was out the window in minutes, as the pressure on him and his side grew more and more as the game raged on. Minute by minute and this game was a ticking time bomb, the longer it went the closer to victory Davidson's army were and they were now playing like finalists. Right in the middle of the war zone was McCann and Davidson who put in an excellent performance to ensure that their opponents didn't have a second on the ball.

On the counter and 'saints' were ruthless, fully in control of this tie now and one foot in the final with only a third of the game to go. Some exciting play down the right between McCann and Rooney resulted in the wing-back firing a low cross to Conway who slotted away without a doubt, all but confirming that his side would feature in a second national cup final in 7 years. Now at 3-0 it looked like there was only one team in the game and St.Johnstone could have had a few more goals going late into the second half, with Hibernian conjuring up the odd half chance but nothing more. Jack Ross and his players knew it was over now, just a matter of time. Clark was virtually a spectator for the remainder. 90 minutes up and it was certainly an ensured performance from the slight underdogs at Hampden Park. Man of the match was Shaun Rooney who thoroughly deserved it after a goal and an assist.

[Shaun Rooney celebrating - Image:Jeff Holmes/PA

What This Means

This game added to an awful run of games for 'Hibs' who have won 1 in 6, slipping to 4th after their early promise 2 points behind Aberdeen with an extra game played with Livingston breathing down their neck, however there are positive signs as well as some decent additions in the transfer market, so it isn't all doom and gloom for the 'Hibees'. Bar a mid season collapse the club look destined to finish in the European places, a far cry from last seasons disappointing 7th.

For St.Johnstone this is a historic victory which despite not being able to be there in person will mean a lot for their fans, a memory to be savored for those in Perth, especially if it is third time lucky in the League Cup Final on the 28th of February against Livingston who defeated St. Mirren on Sunday 1-0. While they have been under performing on the results side of things 'saints' have been nice on the eye, and a squad containing mostly players who have came through the clubs youth system, with the others being shrewd free transfers it has to be said the Perth club are extremely well run especially in times as tough as these. A great model for clubs to follow especially with youth development being a priority in Perth.

What The Managers Had To Say

Jack Ross clearly believed his side threw a good opportunity away, saying "You work hard to get here, and we've thumbed our nose at the opportunity to get to a final". The Hibernian manager also wasn't too happy "I'm angry at the manner in which we played in the final 35 minutes of the game". After the game many Hibernian fans have taken to social media to call for Ross's head and only time will tell if the former Hearts favorite can win them back around, even if they are in a strong league position.

Callum Davidson was delighted with his players performances and especially the result and would be delighted if they could play like that every week. Davidson said "Hopefully we can start a little run. We are four unbeaten in the league now so make sure we can carry on and win games of football". The St.Johnstone legend then said "The way we performed for 60 minutes, it has to give them a lot of confidence.".

Two very different interviews as you would expect after League Cup Semi-final like that one but now both managers look the league where St.Johnstone take on Aberdeen on Wednesday 18:00 at McDiarmid Park, whereas Hibernian have the challenge of Rangers 19:45 at Easter Road.

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