City streets paved
W Calls to honour club with Freedom of Perth
Perth was a sea of blue and white on Saturday as St Johnstone fans celebrated the club’s historic Scottish Cup victory.
Supporters were confined to their homes when the club captured the League Cup in February, but with restrictions starting to lift, pubs were packed across the Fair City to watch Shaun Rooney’s goal defeat Hibs 1-0.
And although fans were unable to be at Hampden, the players may well have heard the cheer all the way in Glasgow when the final whistle sounded.
Fans gathered at McDiarmid Park for the celebrations, with the players turning out to show off the stunning trophy.
The victory means Saints are only the fourth Scottish side to lift two major pieces of silverware in one season.
There were tears shed by many emotional fans, including by club owner Geoff Brown.
“I freely admit I was greetin’ at the final whistle and so was [son and club chairman] Steve,” Geoff said.
“And why not? You have to have a passion for what you do or there’s no point being involved in a football club.
“I was at the League Cup final back in 1969 against Celtic and I can’t remember how many semi-finals we lost down the years.
“But days like Saturday have more than made up for it.”
Watching Saints lift the Scottish Cup back in 2014 was the stuff of dreams. And this season has been simply incredible.
“What was the better cup win? That’s a tough one to call,” added Geoff.
“Obviously the 2014 win was special because it was the first time St Johnstone had ever won a major trophy and the weekend of celebrations was fantastic for our supporters and the city of Perth.
“But after all the challenges presented by the pandemic, for any club to win a cup double is incredible.
“We have a very good young manager with a real tight-knit group of players round about him.
“What Callum has achieved has been made even more impressive by having to handle the COVID-19 challenges in the build-up to the final.
“No other manager has had to handle that, wondering who is and isn’t going to be available for games.
“Hopefully we all get the chance to celebrate but players are on holiday now and we’ve no idea when the restrictions are going to be lifted.“
Since Saturday, attention has turned to how the city will honour its magnificent football club.
The PA has called on the club to be given the Freedom of the City.
Murdo Fraser MSP has also made that call, and lodged a motion in parliament to congratulate the club.
He said: “Not many football clubs achieve a cup double – especially outside of the Old Firm – so for St Johnstone to do so has really put Perth on the footballing map.