Cup joy at last!

Nov 27 2007 Gordon Bannerman

IT'S taken long enough but finally St Johnstone have their name engraved on a national piece of silverware. The wait is over.

Most clubs can reflect on the good old days, when a trophy or two was shown off around town or in the boardroom, even if their heroes were captured in sepia tones, sporting woolly jumpers and generous moustaches.

It was back in 1885 that cricketers got together to form St Johnstone, so two unsuccessful League Cup finals and a 1996 Challenge Cup appearance is a pretty meagre return for a century-plus of blood, sweat and tears.

Twenty-one previous managers, Willie Ormond, Alex Totten, Paul Sturrock and Sandy Clark included, failed to bring home the bacon. Yet Sandy Stewart, picking up the baton temporarily from Burnley-bound Owen Coyle, took just 90 minutes to worm his way into the affections of a grateful Perth support.

After a dramatic week in which the Perth club had lost the services of their first manager to be head-hunted since Luggy jumped ship, Stewart and skipper Derek McInnes ensured staff were focused on the job at hand, preventing speculation over the next incumbent of the McDiarmid manager's office impacting adversely on preparations for Sunday's showdown with a Dunfermline side desperate to evade yet more crisis headlines.

It would have been easy for Coyle's assistant to photocopy recent team lines but Stewart made several influential calls. For the first time since August, Peter MacDonald started, celebrating his 100th appearance with a goal. Kevin Rutkiewicz, Martin Hardie and Steven Milne all made an impact from the bench as Saints dug in to preserve a precarious 3-2 advantage, with the punchdrunk Pars hauling themselves off the canvas after being decked by a breath-taking 30-minute flurry of blows which saw Paul Sheerin, MacDonald and man of the match Kenny Deuchar all make their mark.

Four thousand delirious Perth fans sensed the end of a 123-year wait as Saints savaged the floundering Fifers. It was shaping-up as a brutal, one-sided assault. Saints were sublime, Dunfermline dreadful. It was three going on the sort of return those Victorian era cricketers would have settled for.

But admirable professional pride, a couple of effective substitutions and a controversial spot-kick decision, made by assistant Morag Pirie, the first woman to officiate at a major final in Scotland, turned the tide and ensured a memorable and absorbing spectacle. Only the most committed masochist would have relished the closing minutes, with the Saints penalty box enduring a sustained bombardment, but the anxiety and tension ignited elation after three tortuous minutes of additional time.

Stewart, his players, backroom staff, directors and departed manager Coyle with wife Kerry at his side welcomed the final whistle like the final magic number on a Lottery ticket. The supporters, who had rallied their side magnificently at crucial moments, were even more delirious.

As thrill rides go, this eclipsed anything on offer at Alton Towers and Disneyland. Sheerin set things in motion by stroking home his seventh penalty of the campaign in 11 minutes. Simmons bundled over Steven Anderson after McInnes risked life and limb to set the tone for an inspirational performance. The majority of fans enjoyed the perfect vantage point and while Deuchar almost squeezed home two attempts, MacDonald justified his manager's call by hooking the second instinctively into the top corner from 12 yards as the Pars defence failed to mop up a Goran Stanic throw-in.

When Andy Jackson slipped a pass into Deuchar's feet and the striker left painfully sluggish marker Bamba floundering before ramming a strike between Gallacher and his near post it was shaping up as a massacre. Thirty minutes in and some Pars fans had seen enough.

The energetic Rocco Quinn almost made it four after teaming-up with Deuchar to slash through a traumatised backline but the introduction of Young and a 36th minute Scott Wilson header finally gave the Pars a foothold. Unmarked, the defender powered in a Glass cross and Stewart had to restore composure at the interval after Crawford was denied by Alan Main, Simmons wasted a chance, Main was tested again by Ryan and relied on an upright to prevent Young reducing the deficit even further.

Quinn was frustrated by the woodwork within seconds of the restart and later talisman Deuchar edged a snapshot past the target, before producing a gloriously timed tackle in the six yard box to frustrate Hamilton in the act of shooting.

Two minutes later referee Eddie Smith signalled a free-kick for Anderson's barge on the Pars sub before taking his cue from the touchline. Glass seized on the spot-kick opportunity and Goran Stanic then clipped his own crossbar trying to divert a teasing Hamilton cross.

And that's when Stewart really earned his Saints spurs, utilising the height and strength of Hardie and Rutkiewicz to ride out the storm, with Milne proving fresh legs and respite as the countdown began to a landmark victory.

Dunfermline: Gallacher, Woods (Young 35), Wilson, Simmons (Harris 88), Bamba, Murphy, Ryan, Crawford, Burchill, Glass and McGlinchey (Hamilton 63). Subs not used: McBride and Murdoch.

St Johnstone: Main, Irvine, Stanic, McInnes, McManus, Anderson (Rutkiewicz 81), Quinn, Sheerin, Deuchar, Jackson (Milne 81) and MacDonald (Hardie 76). Subs not used: McLaren and Cuthbert.

Referee: Eddie Smith.