St Johnstone have won a cup double. Let that sink in.
A heroic Hampden Park effort from the Perth men has added the Scottish Cup to the Betfred Cup.
And for the second time in a few months, that man Shaun Rooney was the match-winner.
🏆 ST. JOHNSTONE HAVE DONE IT AND WON THE CUP DOUBLE!
What a moment for Callum Davidson and @StJohnstone!
Incredible 👏👏#ScottishCup pic.twitter.com/m7PExAV0z7
— Premier Sports 📺 (@PremierSportsTV) May 22, 2021
Just as he did against Livingston, Rooney scored with a power header for a 1-0 victory.
Saints utterly deserved this triumph and even coped with the set-back of Glenn Middleton having a penalty saved with 15 minutes to go.
Frankly, who cares?
It will now be part of the rich tapestry of an historic Scottish football achievement.
After having to cope with a Covid-19 crisis for over a fortnight, Callum Davidson had everyone available to him when it really mattered, Scott Tanser included.
And he came up with a surprising team selection.
The back five was as expected but Middleton started, as did Craig Bryson.
The latter was at the heart of some tidy Saints moves in the early stages and he helped set up Chris Kane for the first good chance of the game.
The hero of the semi-final and quarter-final, though, couldn’t keep his shot from the 18-yard line down.
It was a decent opportunity but at the other end Jackson Irvine had an even better one.
Inside the box, with only Zander Clark to beat, it was the Perth keeper who won the duel, making a superb low save.
That was four minutes before Saints took the lead.
Callum Booth won a block tackle on the left and then linked up with his former Hibs academy team-mate, David Wotherspoon. He sent Alex Gogic the wrong way and the cross to the back post was headed home by Rooney.
Both sides came very close to scoring a couple of minutes into the second half.
First a Gogic diving header was kept out by the right boot of Jamie McCart and then from the subsequent Glenn Middleton counter-attack, Rooney saw a left foot shot deflected wide.
Murray Davidson got his first taste of cup final football when he was brought on for Bryson on 64 minutes.
It was a sign that now was the time to try to manage the game to its conclusion.
By this point Jack Ross had made an attacking change – Jamie Murphy replacing Gogic.
Saints were happy to play on the break, wisely so, but they carried a real threat when they did so.
On one such occasion Middleton ended up having a shot saved by Matt Macey.
The Hibs keeper had an even bigger impact on the contest with 15 minutes left.
Saints were awarded a penalty after McGinn shoved Kane over as he was in the act of shooting (gifted the chance by a Ryan Porteous error).
Middleton took the spot-kick, with Macey guessing correctly and keeping it out low to his left.
He then had to get back to his feet to block Kane’s effort from the rebound.
It made for a nail-biting end to the match for Saints fans, that’s for sure.
And five minutes of injury time didn’t help the nerves either.
The agony was worth it, however.
The cup double is St Johnstone’s.
