MATCH PREVIEW: SAINTS VERSUS HIBERNIAN
26th July 2016
Nine years ago, St. Johnstone faced Hibernian in an enthralling League Cup semi-final clash at Tynecastle. Tomorrow, history repeats itself.
In January 2007, St. Johnstone were the second-tier underdogs. There was nonetheless a sense of optimism within the squad. They had recently emerged victorious from an important First Division match against league leaders Gretna. Saints were hot on the trail of the Raydale Park side. However, Hibs would provide a sterner test. Plying their trade in the Premier League at the time, manager John Collins had a number of top-quality players at his disposal. Steven Whittaker, Scott Brown and Steven Fletcher would, of course, go on to become key members of the Scotland national team.
Indeed, it was Fletcher who opened the scoring after only three minutes of play. For those St. Johnstone supporters watching from the impressive vantage point of the Roseburn Stand, their initial pre-match belief had taken a premature knock. Yet, as the match progressed, Saints were competing increasingly well against their illustrious opponents. Kevin James, Paul Sheerin, Martin Hardie, Derek McInnes and Peter MacDonald all came close to finding that elusive equaliser. With fifteen minutes remaining, left-back Goran Stanic embarked upon one of his trademark runs. He provided an excellent pass for Filipe Morais who, in turn, scampered down the left wing and crossed the ball into the box. It was a sumptuous delivery, finding the head of Jason Scotland. The Trinidad & Tobago internationalist directed the ball over the Hibs keeper (seemingly in slow-motion) and the Roseburn Stand erupted.
However, it wasn't to be. A brave St. Johnstone performance took the game to extra-time, but Hibs' extra quality was evident during those additional thirty minutes. Saints goalkeeper Kevin Cuthbert was wrong-footed by David Murphy's free-kick before an excellent individual effort from Abdessalam Benjelloun sealed a win for the top-flight side. They progressed to the League Cup final, ultimately winning the trophy (their most recent major cup success) after a 5-1 demolition of Kilmarnock.
Almost a decade later, the roles are now reversed. St. Johnstone are the Premier League team whilst Hibs are chasing league leaders Rangers at the top of the Scottish Championship. Despite a recent slump in form, Tommy Wright will take encouragement from last weekend's performance at Celtic Park. Steven MacLean's first-half equaliser ended St. Johnstone's goalscoring drought. Encouragingly, Saints continued to create goal-scoring opportunities as the match progressed (although Celtic merited their 3-1 victory).
Hibs have been in fine form throughout the season, only falling to defeat in one of their previous twenty-two matches in all competitions. Alan Stubbs has bolstered his squad during the January transfer window, recruiting Niklas Gunnarsson (defender) and Otso Virtanen (goalkeeper). However, it's probably fair to say that two other recent additions have attracted most of the headlines. Shortly before the aforementioned League Cup semi-final match in 2007, Hibs midfielder Kevin Thomson departed the club in order to join Rangers. Thomson has now returned to Hibs in a player-coach role, alongside prolific striker Anthony Stokes who enjoyed an impressive spell in Leith between 2009 and 2010. Stokes has joined Hibs on loan from Celtic until the end of the season, providing St. Johnstone's semi-final opponents with an undeniable goal threat.
The Edinburgh side aren't short of attacking quality. Although Dominique Malonga has left for pastures new, Hibs' strength-in-depth is obvious. Liam Henderson, Dylan McGeouch, Chris Dagnall, Anthony Stokes and Jason Cummings are just a small selection of the players who could potentially cause problems for the St. Johnstone defence.
Despite some speculation, no incoming or outgoing transfers have arrived or departed from McDiarmid Park. Saints have been boosted by recent contract news. Cult hero Steven MacLean has signed a new deal with the club, running until 2017 with the option of an additional year. He'll be hoping to recapture the magic of 2014's Scottish Cup semi-final against Aberdeen, when his impromptu half time team-talk inspired the team to a brilliant 2-1 comeback victory. On a less positive note, Tommy Wright has confirmed that Chris Millar, Murray Davidson and Dave Mackay are injury doubts ahead of tomorrow's 3pm cup clash.
St. Johnstone supporters may be familiar with the names of Paul Hanlon and James Keatings, two Hibs players who have previously spent brief loan spells at Saints. On the other side of the coin, last season's Hibs captain Liam Craig will be wearing a blue shirt tomorrow afternoon. Former Hibs prodigy David Wotherspoon will also be lining up for the Perth Saints.
Before March 2014, St. Johnstone had developed something of a reputation for falling at the semi-final hurdle in major cup competitions. Saints have reached eight semi-finals in the last decade, but that memorable semi-final win against Aberdeen represents the first occasion since 1998 that they have progressed further than that. St. Johnstone have reached the League Cup final on two previous occasions: in 1998 (as previously mentioned) and in 1969, falling to narrow defeats against Rangers and Celtic respectively.
In the St. Johnstone v Hibernian semi-final clash of 2007, the top-flight team beat the second-tier side and eventually went on to win the cup. Tommy Wright's men, in addition to the faithful Perth support (in Edinburgh or elsewhere), will be hoping that this is a good omen for tomorrow's encounter. It certainly has the potential to be another pulsating and nail-biting encounter between two excellent teams. Come on ye Saints!
Match preview by Ollie Wale