Cummings: Fans were right to celebrate how they did, I’d have gone onto the pitch as well
HE MAY have been replaced around half an hour before the end, but Jason Cummings still managed to be right in the thick of it as Hibs supporters invaded the Hampden pitch on Saturday and he is hoping there will be no punishment for the post-match scenes that tainted his side’s victory.
Attacks on Rangers players and the damage to the Hampden pitch and one of the goals as jubilant Hibs supporters poured onto the pitch, rightly drew condemnation from all quarters, however the maverick striker who has been linked with a possible move to Ibrox, admitted to having revelled in the euphoria.
“I meant to get caught up in it. I was trying to enjoy the moment,” he said.
“It’s a moment that doesn’t come around every time so I thought I’d stay out and enjoy it a wee bit longer with the fans. I loved it.”
Hibs manager Alan Stubbs had said that he did not condone the action of supporters, but understood why emotion had spilled over as it did as the club’s 114-year wait for cup glory finally ended and for all that it is inevitable that there will be serious repercussions, Cummings echoed that message.
“It’s passion, it’s football isn’t it?” the 20-year-old asked rhetorically.
“You’re going to get that, especially with the Hibs fans. Everyone knows what a day it is, for Hibs a historical day. 114 years… no-one in this lifetime has seen Hibs win that cup so you’re going to get passion. If it didn’t happen you would wonder what’s going on.
“I don’t think they’ll get punished. It’s football. You’ve scored a last minute winner in the Scottish Cup that you’ve not got in 114 years. I wouldn’t be sitting in my chair, I would be on that pitch. It makes the game good and entertaining. That’s what makes football.”
Setting aside what seems a more than optimistic assessment of how things are likely to pan out once investigations into scenes that were reminiscent of some of the ugliness that was customary in the seventies and eighties as police horses were called onto the pitch to help drive the
Hibs supporters back into their seats, Cummings’ ecstasy was itself understandable for all that the man who had all but promised to get on the scoresheet had struggled to impose himself before being replaced.
“I didn’t know if I was going to start the game because (James) Keatings has been on fire and (Anthony) Stokes is always a threat as well, so I was delighted to get the nod and be part of a fantastic day,” he said.
“I knew before we were playing today it was our day, I just had a feeling, so I’m buzzing to be a part of a historical moment.
“We deserved a wee bit of luck because with the League Cup and the play-offs it wasn’t our day, we got a wee bit hard done by with the last minute goals and whatever and today I just thought it was our day.”
He claimed, too, that in spite of the speculation that has surrounded him, he has no plans to move on this summer.
“I’ve retired from Scottish football, never mind Hibs. That’s me, I’ve retired from Scottish football. There’s an exclusive for you,” he joked, before adding more seriously: “I’m contracted for next season so as far as I’m aware it’s back in for pre-season at Hibs. That’s all I know, seriously that is all I know. Obviously we’re in Europe now as well so that’s another reason for me to come back. I think I should be coming back.”