Murray laps it up after missing out on 2014 cup win
He missed out on the 2014 Scottish Cup win and this year’s League Cup victory - but legendary midfielder Murray Davidson finally got the moment his St Johnstone career deserved on Saturday.
The 33-year-old was a second -half substitute as the pride of Perth defeated Hibs 1-0 at Hampden.
Moments after full-time, he lifted the Scottish Cup trophy high into the sky as team-mates crowded round in delight.
“It’s been a long wait but this makes it worth it,”Davidson beamed.
“I’ve been so desperate to get back here ever since 2014 and as the years went by I thought it wasn’t going to happen.
“When the League Cup came along and I missed that, I thought that was my last chance.
“But the manager was the first person to say after winning the League Cup that we just had to get to the Scottish Cup final. I laughed it off but here we are.
“I’m just more happy for my friends and especially my family, because they’ve been my biggest supporters.
“They’ve travelled with me all over the country since I was aged 10, sometimes three times a week, and I am so happy for them.
“They were all in my local pub – the Toll Bar in Innerleithen in the Scottish Borders – enjoying themselves. It’s all decked out with flags.
“I am delighted for myself and my team-mates, but I’m so, so happy for my mum and dad especially. It means a lot to them.
“They’ve made a day of it. I FaceTimed them and the pub was in good spirit, let’s say that.
“In time, I’ll get down to celebrate with them and hopefully get to take the cup with me.”
The St Johnstone support and the whole of Perth had their fingers crossed that Davidson would make the showdown. There was a hiccup when he was required to self-isolate due to COVID-19 in the build-up and subsequently missed the semi-final.
“I feel like at times I’ve been jinxed,”he said.“I’ve probably been unlucky. The last 10 days, honestly, I’ve not left my house.
“I’ve said to everybody‘I’m not leaving my house, I don’t want to see anyone’. I’ve done everything.
“I‘ve been washing my hands 20 times a day. Everything you can name, I was doing it. Because I thought knowing my luck I’ll get COVID.
“Probably the most nervous I’ve ever been was the last COVID test we did because I knew it was the last test before the final.
“The manager put on the group ‘all tests negative’and what a relief. That was Wednesday or Thursday.
“I just remember looking at my phone because if I saw the manager or Mel the physio phoning, like she did the week before saying I had to self-isolate, I knew it wouldn’t be good news.
“I kept looking at my phone, no news is good news.”
While Davidson was able to hold off the tears, he admits the feeling at full-time was one of pure joy.
He said:“I remember looking at the big screen and it said 65 minutes gone and I thought:‘This could be a long 25 minutes’.
“But what a season we’ve had. Nobody in our wildest dreams could have said we’d have done this. I’m just so happy for everyone. The chairman, the board, the supporters, my team-mates, the manager -– everyone.
“The club is run in the right way and that’s why we’re successful. People keep asking why we are successful and it’s just hard work. There’s no magic secret.
“We work hard every day and the manager trusts us. He has been brilliant since he came in and we are getting the rewards now.
“Craig Bryson, myself, there are four or five players who have been in and out. But everyone knows their job individually and collectively and that’s the reason we’ve won two cups and finished fifth in the league.”