St Johnstone complete dream double after beating Hibs to win Scottish Cup

Shaun Rooney was again the hero as St Johnstone beat Hibernian 1-0 in the Scottish Cup final to secure an extraordinary cup double.

The 24-year-old wing-back scored the only goal in the Scottish League Cup final win over Livingston at Hampden Park in February and also made the difference against Hibs at the national stadium to complete the greatest season in the club’s history.

Rooney’s header after 31 minutes proved to be crucial, with Hibs keeper Matt Macey’s penalty save from Glenn Middleton with 15 minutes remaining ultimately rendered academic.

St Johnstone, founded in 1884, won the Scottish Cup for the first time in 2014 – their first major honour – and now have won two trophies in the past three months. Callum Davidson’s side are the first team outside the Old Firm to land Scotland’s two major cup trophies since Aberdeen in 1989/90 and have a place in Europe to boot.

Saints had been bedevilled by Covid-19 issues in recent weeks but Davidson had a full squad available with on-loan winger Middleton, who was the hero of the semi-final win over St Mirren after coming off the bench, in the starting lineup. Goalkeeper Zander Clark, Liam Gordon, Ali McCann, Craig Bryson and Chris Kane were reinstated.

Attackers Martin Boyle, Kevin Nisbet and Christian Doidge, who had scored in every round, were among eight regulars who returned to the Hibs lineup after being left out against Celtic last week and they had the early pressure, with Boyle having a fresh air swipe at a Jackson Irvine cross.

But St Johnstone slowly got a foothold in the game and a pass from Bryson found Kane just inside the Hibs box, although the ball would not come down quickly enough and he fired over the bar.

In the 15th minute a darting solo run by Middleton ended with a shot deflecting off back-tracking midfielder Alex Gogić and being comfortably saved by Macey.

Irvine then had a great chance when the ball broke to him after midfielder Joe Newell tried to burst through St Johnstone’s defence but Clark’s left foot blocked the shot from 12 yards.

Then St Johnstone took the lead with a straightforward goal following good work by former Hibs players Callum Booth and midfielder David Wotherspoon down the left-hand flank.

When Wotherspoon swung a cross to the back post, Rooney leapt highest inside the six-yard box to power a header past Macey. Newell fizzed a shot from the edge of the box over the bar in retaliation moments later but St Johnstone were buoyed.

Shaun Rooney rises highest to head home the winner for St Johnstone. Photograph: Alan Rennie/Action Plus/Shutterstock

Hibs came back out for the second half fired up and just a minute later Nisbet fired a drive wide of the far post. Moments later Gogić’s header from a Irvine cross was blocked by Jamie McCart’s foot and after St Johnstone counterattacked with pace, Rooney’s goal-bound shot from a loose ball came off Newell for a corner.

Hibs were putting everything into getting back on level terms but there was always the sense that St Johnstone could snatch a second. It almost arrived in the 70th minute when Middleton drove forward on the break then gathered the loose ball after his attempted pass to Kane broke kindly to him, but his left-footed drive was saved by Macey.

St Johnstone had the chance to double their lead from the spot after Hibs defender Paul McGinn’s tackle on Kane was deemed a penalty by referee Nick Walsh.

Macey, though, dived to his left to brilliantly save Middleton’s spot-kick and then blocked Kane’s effort from the rebound, giving his side a lifeline.

Clark saved a Porteous header from a free kick with 10 minutes remaining but Hibs could not take advantage of their penalty reprieve and St Johnstone held out relatively comfortably to make history.